Planning Board Meeting ~ December 4, 2024

2024-12-04 · Planning Board · 3:02:19 · watch on YouTube →

Regular meeting of the Durham Planning Board on December 4, 2024, with five members present. The board finished preliminary plan review of Bowie Hill subdivision Phase 2, approved a waiver of the on-site fire protection water requirement and granted preliminary approval with conditions; reviewed and voted on a road maintenance agreement for Cranberry Drive/Lane off Swamp Road after requiring changes to its lien language; and worked through the conditional use criteria for an automotive repair business at 1586 Royalsborough Road, granting conditional use approval with six conditions. The board then took up a seven-lot subdivision off Oak Fell Lane, approved the completeness review, acted on a storm water waiver, and voted 4-1 not to grant a waiver from the paving standard for the subdivision road. Preliminary plan review of that subdivision was carried over to January 8, when the board will open with a public hearing. The meeting closed with discussion of the battery energy storage moratorium adopted at the November 19 special town meeting, the contract zoning amendments the select board has asked the town attorney to draft, a December 11 workshop, the code enforcement officer's building permit numbers and a resident email about Granite Hill.

What was discussed

1. 0:21
   Call to order, agenda amendments and minutes

   Chair John Talbot opened the meeting at 6:30 p.m. with five members present, and the board voted to add two items at the end: the code enforcement officer's monthly report and an email received November 14 regarding Granite Hills. The minutes of the November 6 meeting were approved with no changes.

2. 0:21
   Town planner report on the battery storage moratorium

   George Thebarge reported that the November 19 special town meeting adopted a moratorium on battery energy storage systems, and that the select board has asked the town attorney to draft land use ordinance amendments creating contract zoning as a way of controlling where such facilities can go. The board was asked to continue work on battery energy storage performance standards, and a special workshop was scheduled for a week later with the town attorney present.

3. 5:23
   Public hearing and staff review, Bowie Hill subdivision Phase 2

   The chair opened the public hearing on the preliminary plan for Phase 2 of the Bowie Hill subdivision, map 10 lot 38, and closed it at 6:33 with no one asking to speak. George Thebarge summarised the application: roughly 1,100 feet of extension to Matty Lane, a cluster layout allowing one-acre lots with 150 feet of frontage rather than 300, private wells and septic systems on each lot, and a DEP site location permit now required because the project has crossed the DEP thresholds.

4. 10:55
   Fire pond waiver and well yields, Phase 2

   The applicant requested a waiver of the requirement for on-site water for fire protection; the packet included a memo from the Durham fire chief saying he was satisfied if all homes are sprinklered, which is what Phase 1 did. Board members also questioned the domestic water well inventory map and the yields shown on it before voting on the waiver.

5. 16:50
   Phosphorus management and wetlands, Phase 2

   Because the site is in the Runaround Pond watershed, a phosphorus management plan is required; the applicant's engineer said the storm water ponds double as phosphorus treatment and that forested buffers would be placed along the back of the lots and kept off individual properties so owners cannot cut them. Maintenance of the treatment devices passes to the homeowners association once the developer moves out. The engineer said Phase 2 involves no wetland impact.

6. 22:16
   Public works comments, peer review and preliminary approval

   Two comments were relayed from the public works director: the line of sight at Bowie Hill Road should be annotated, and the final plan should show a detail for how each driveway crosses the ditch running along Matty Lane, including a larger culvert for the standalone lot. George Thebarge recommended the applicant take the final plan to Gorrill Palmer for peer review before filing. The board then approved the preliminary plan with the draft conditions plus three additions. The standalone lot with the Bowie Hill Road driveway is called lot 26 at one point in the discussion and lot 13 at another.

7. 27:43
   Cranberry Drive maintenance agreement: staff notes

   The applicants sought approval of a maintenance agreement for a private way off Swamp Road, map 4 lot 103b, serving a series of family back lots created from 1999 through 2024. George Thebarge explained that section 5.23 of the land use ordinance, added in 2004, requires a recorded maintenance agreement, and that the template the applicants used (from a development called James Place) omits the required authority for the parties to place a lien on an owner who does not pay a share. No building permits can be issued for the new lots until the agreement is recorded.

8. 32:48
   Road name and paving questions

   The board could not settle whether the way is Cranberry Drive or Cranberry Lane: the sign says Lane, the tax bill says Drive, and one deed uses both. The board decided to require the agreement to read 'Cranberry Drive and Lane' throughout. A member also asked why the road has not had to be paved; the planner said the paving requirement applies to subdivisions, and these exempt family lots may keep the gravel road.

9. 37:58
   Lien provision in the maintenance agreement

   The chair asked for two changes to the agreement's paragraph on non-payment: drop the reference to the planning board, because the requirement comes from the land use ordinance rather than the board, and delete the closing sentence urging owners 'as Christians' to carry the burden of anyone unable or unwilling to pay in lieu of a lien, on the grounds that it dilutes the lien requirement. The applicants said that sentence came from the template they were given. George Thebarge said he does not think the board has authority to waive the lien provision.

10. 49:09
    Conditional use application, Dugas automotive repair

    Justin Dugas applied for conditional use approval for an automotive repair business at 1586 Royalsborough Road, map 1 lot 56, having outgrown what can be done as a home occupation. George Thebarge explained the two-stage process: the board reviews the conditional use criteria now, and the applicant returns for site plan review before building the new structure. The board worked through the criteria one at a time and voted on each.

11. 54:13
    Public health findings and waste oil storage

    Discussion focused on how used oil is stored and removed. Justin Dugas (?) said he currently keeps a caged plastic container outside the garage, has about 300 gallons on hand after roughly six years and has been disposing of it at a relative's boat yard, and that he plans a waste oil furnace and enclosed storage in the new building. The board added a finding that details of hazardous waste storage and disposal under section 5.26 of the ordinance be provided at site plan review.

12. 1:04:47
    Traffic safety findings and sight distance

    The applicant's findings put traffic at fewer than ten vehicles a day and stated no MDOT entrance permit is required; the entrance dates from 1983. The board discussed whether a change of use could trigger a new MDOT entrance permit and added a requirement that sight distance in both directions on the state road be measured and shown on the site plan.

13. 1:11:10
    Public safety and environmental findings

    The applicant listed the surrounding uses (logging, excavation, campgrounds, firewood processing, farming, horse boarding, construction, carpet cleaning) and said his dumpster is emptied every two weeks. On environmental impacts the board discussed tree removal, roof runoff reaching a swale that runs several hundred feet to a neighbour's pond, and whether a wetland delineation would be needed; the planner said that is a site plan submission item that can be waived or provided at that stage.

14. 1:21:39
    Scale, intensity, noise and hours

    The proposed building is 52 by 52 feet with a 12-foot lean-to and ceilings the applicant believed to be about 18 feet, though his drawings do not yet show heights; building elevations are required at site plan review. Hours are Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with work indoors and little compressor or generator use. The board noted the ordinance limits noise crossing a property line.

15. 1:32:10
    Financial and technical ability

    The application put the estimated project cost at $150,000, which the applicant said covers a weathertight building on a foundation and not lifts, site work or other improvements. Board members said past applicants have supplied a letter from a financial institution, and a finding was added that a total project cost with financing be submitted at site plan review.

16. 1:37:46
    Conditions of approval, including outdoor vehicle storage

    A member raised the number of vehicles that could be stored outdoors, citing an earlier approval that became an eyesore, and noted that the approval runs with the land. After discussion the applicant agreed to a limit of three vehicles stored outside, with no time limit attached to what counts as stored. Five other conditions were assembled covering construction per the submissions, hazardous waste storage, sight distance, drainage and project cost.

17. 1:48:41
    Oak Fell Lane subdivision: project overview

    Bill Gerrish and Connor Bourassa of Northeast Civil Solutions, with property owner Dave Brackett, presented a seven-lot subdivision on 64 acres for applicant PBG LLC, the seventh lot being common area and the others ranging from about 6 to 12 acres. Access is over the existing gravel Oak Fell Lane, to be improved to town width standards. The plan shows a significant vernal pool with a 250-foot radius at the north end, stream setbacks, just under 1,800 square feet of wetland fill at the end of the road under a permit by rule, and a proposed fire pond in the common lot. The engineer said net density would allow roughly twelve to fourteen units.

18. 1:54:04
    Completeness review and historic resources

    The only item missing from the planner's completeness checklist was the indication of historic or architectural resources; the engineers said the request to the Maine Historic Preservation Commission has been sent and a reply is usually a few weeks. The board asked for the site boundary to be added to the FEMA flood map exhibit and noted the homeowners association documents covering the road and open space are not yet submitted. The planner confirmed no part of the site exceeds five acres of prime or statewide-significant farmland soil.

19. 2:04:52
    Storm water management waiver

    The engineers requested a waiver of the storm water management plan requirement, saying impervious area is about 2.4 percent, roughly 1.55 acres, against the ordinance threshold of 5 percent, and that because lots will be conveyed individually the DEP would review only the road infrastructure under a permit by rule. Board members questioned why gravel and rooftops count as impervious; the engineer pointed to DEP Chapter 500. The engineers said the waiver would avoid the cost of preparing a formal plan and additional tree clearing for ponds.

20. 2:16:24
    Waiver from the paving standard

    The engineers asked to surface the subdivision road with crushed aggregate rather than the 3.5 inches of superpave the ordinance appendix requires, arguing that a low-use road does not generate enough traffic for asphalt and that pavement left with little use oxidizes and cracks. Board members objected on the grounds of precedent, the town's consistent requirement, plowing and washout, and the difficulty of relying on maintenance, and one noted the board would want waste collection at individual driveways rather than at the main road.

21. 2:26:30
    Lot 6 driveway easement and hammerhead

    Brian Lanoie objected to the driveway to lot 6 running through a right of way across lot 5 and asked the engineers to look at moving the end of the road and flipping the hammerhead turnaround so the driveway comes off it directly. The engineers explained the hammerhead was reversed to save a large oak, cross the wetland at its narrowest point and stay out of steep slopes, and agreed to look at the alternative; the chair said the fire chief should be asked whether the hammerhead may serve as the last driveway. The board told the applicants to also contact the public works director, obtain an MDOT driveway permit and start the state approvals.

22. 2:37:39
    Contract zoning and battery storage standards

    The chair and George Thebarge explained that the select board and town attorney are writing the contract zoning article, while the planning board's task is the battery energy storage performance standards, built on the earlier solar energy farm work. Under the approach described, projects above a set scale could only proceed by contract zone approved at town meeting, with the safety standards applying to any project. Several members questioned the split, whether contract zoning should be limited to battery and solar projects, and the lack of money for a consultant; the chair asked members to review the draft standards ahead of the December 11 workshop.

23. 2:58:29
    Building permit report and Granite Hill email

    George Thebarge reported the town is up to 16 new single-family homes this year plus about half a dozen accessory apartments; the November report from the code enforcement officer had not yet reached board members. On the Granite Hill email, the board was told the code officer is investigating a gravel pit generating truck traffic, and that a separate request to change the status of the private road and form an association is a matter for an attorney. Members gave two different names for the resident who sent the email.

What was decided

• 0:21
  Amend the agenda to add the code enforcement officer's monthly report and the November 14 email regarding Granite Hills at the end of the meetingpassed
• 0:21
  Approve the minutes of the November 6 meetingpassed
• 10:55
  Grant Bowie Hill Phase 2 a waiver of the performance standard requiring on-site water for fire protection, on the basis of the fire chief's memo accepting sprinklered homes; chair recorded the vote as 5 in favourpassed
• 22:16
  Approve the preliminary plan for Bowie Hill subdivision Phase 2, map 10 lot 38, with the draft conditions plus three additions: correction of the technical and typographical errors raised by Brian Lanoie, driveway culvert details on the final plan, and sight distances carried onto the final planpassed
• 43:38
  Approve the Cranberry Drive and Lane maintenance agreement with three changes: 'Cranberry Drive/Lane' to read 'Cranberry Drive and Lane' throughout, deletion of the closing sentence urging owners in lieu of a lien, and removal of the reference to the planning board from the lien requirement. A vote was called; the transcript does not record the count or the resultoutcome unclear
• 1:04:47
  Find that the Dugas application satisfies the conditional use criterion for public health impacts, with an added finding that hazardous waste details be provided at site plan; chair recorded 5-0passed
• 1:11:10
  Find that the Dugas application satisfies the criterion for traffic safety impacts with findings a through d, finding d being sight distance. A vote was called; the transcript does not record the count or the resultoutcome unclear
• 1:11:10
  Find that the Dugas application satisfies the criterion for public safety impacts; chair recorded 5-0passed
• 1:16:26
  Find that the Dugas application satisfies the criterion for environmental impacts with findings a through e. A vote was called; the transcript does not record the count or the resultoutcome unclear
• 1:21:39
  Find that the Dugas application satisfies the criterion for scale and intensity of use; chair recorded 5-0passed
• 1:26:53
  Find that the Dugas application satisfies the criterion for noise and hours of operation; chair counted 5 in favourpassed
• 1:26:53
  Find that the applicant has sufficient right, title or interest, based on the submitted warranty deed; chair recorded 5-0passed
• 1:32:10
  Find that the applicant satisfies the criterion for financial and technical ability, with an added finding d that the total project cost and financing be submitted at site plan review; chair counted 5 in favourpassed
• 1:43:37
  Attach six conditions to the conditional use permit: construction per the approved submissions; hazardous waste storage per section 5.26 at site plan; sight distance on Route 136 on the site plan; drainage details at site plan; total cost estimate with proof of financial capacity; and no more than three vehicles stored outside. A vote was called; the transcript does not record the count or the resultoutcome unclear
• 1:43:37
  Grant conditional use approval for the automotive repair business at 1586 Royalsborough Road, map 1 lot 56; the chair told the applicant step one was done and that he would receive the decision in writingpassed
• 1:59:10
  Accept the completeness review for the Oak Fell Lane seven-lot subdivision, with the historic resources letter to be submitted before the next meeting; chair recorded 5-0passed
• 2:10:43
  Grant the waiver of the storm water management plan requirement for the Oak Fell Lane subdivision on the basis that impervious area is under the ordinance's 5 percent threshold. A vote was called; the transcript does not record the count or the resultoutcome unclear
• 2:21:26
  Motion that the board not approve the waiver of the paving standard for the Oak Fell Lane subdivision road; the chair recorded the vote as 4 to 1passed
• 2:32:10
  Hold over preliminary plan review of the Oak Fell Lane subdivision and open the January 8 meeting with a public hearing on the application; agreed without a recorded votetabled
• 2:58:29
  Adjournpassed

An outcome reads "unclear" where the recording does not state it plainly. The recogniser drops short words, and "the motion does not carry" is one missing word from its opposite.

Worth knowing

• 10:55
  The transcript gives two conflicting sets of well yield figures for Bowie Hill: a board member reading the domestic water well inventory map cited nearby data points of zero, one and two gallons per minute, while the applicant's team said the wells already drilled on the site have run from 3 to 8 gallons per minute. The two are not reconciled on the record.
• 2:21:26
  The board voted 4 to 1 not to waive the paving standard for the Oak Fell Lane subdivision road, with members citing the precedent it would set, the town's consistent requirement on other subdivisions, and doubts about long-term maintenance of a gravel surface.
• 2:37:39
  The select board's direction is for the battery energy storage performance standards and the contract zoning article to be ready for the town meeting on or about April 5, which means a public hearing at least seven days beforehand and drafting through March. A workshop with the town attorney on contract zoning was set for December 11 at 6:30 p.m. at the fire station.
• 2:58:29
  The town planner reported 16 new single-family home permits this year plus about half a dozen accessory apartments; the code enforcement officer's November report had not yet been circulated to board members.

Motion language found in the transcript

Located by pattern matching, with no model involved: "I move that", "I'll second", "all those in favour". This is an independent check on the summary above: 10 passages of motion language, against 20 decisions summarised.

Elsewhere

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