STRATHAM PLANNING
BOARD
PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES
August 2, 2006
Agenda: The
Town of Stratham, Planning Board conducted a Public Hearing on Wednesday, August 2, 2006, at 7:00 p.m., at the Stratham
Town Hall, 10
Bunker Hill Avenue, Stratham, NH
to consider the following:
Approval of Minutes: July 19,
2006
New Business:
Map 1 Lot 9 Squamscott Scullers, Boat Club Drive, for a Conservation Easement by the Town of Stratham.
Old
Business – Continued Public Hearings:
Map 18 Lot 13 – Located on Roby
Jewell Lane, for a 10-lot subdivision, by Albert
Carbonneau of 21
Muirfield Drive.
Map
2 Lots 30 & 37 – Site Plan Review for the construction of 250,000 s.f. of
new warehouse space and 7,700 s.f. of manufacturing with related
infrastructure, located at One Fine Chocolate Place, by Lindt & Sprungli, Inc.
Other:
Agreement between Planning Board
and Rollins Hill Development, Map 2 Lot 25.
Subdivision, Site Review and
Zoning workshop.
Other
Members Present: Acting Chair Bruno Federico, Joe
Russell, Jeffrey Hyland, Gordon Barker, Martin Wool, Mary Jane Werner, and Town
Planner, Charles (Chuck) Grassie.
Mr. Federico asked Mr. Hyland to act as a voting member
for the evening. Mr. Federico noted that
the July 19, 2006 meeting
minutes needed approval. Ms. Werner made
a motion to approve the July 19, 2006
minutes as written. Mr. Wool seconded
the motion, which passed unanimously.
Map 1 Lot 9
Squamscott Scullers, Boat Club Drive, for
a Conservation Easement by the Town of Stratham:
Town Administrator Paul Deschaine informed the Board that
the Town had obtained a Conservation Easement for the entire Squamscott
Scullers’ lot (Map 1, Lot 9). He gave a brief history of the lot, and a
description of the Conservation Easement.
Roger Stephenson from the Ad-Hoc Conservation Bond Subcommittee
indicated that the Subcommittee intends to close on the property after the
Board signs the Conservation Easement Plan.
He noted that the Squamscott Scullers have offered to sell the easement
for 50% off. Mr. Federico asked about
the acreage. Mr. Stephenson stated that
it was 4-1/2 acres. There were
discussions on: a little triangle of land shown on the plan; the fact that this
property is open to public use, except for the use of the dock; and where the
river can be accessed from. Hearing no
additional comments, Mr. Wool made a motion to accept the Conservation Easement
Plan from the Squamscott Scullers for Map 1, Lot 9 as
presented, and to authorize the Acting Chair to sign the Conservation Easement
Plan. Mr. Barker seconded the motion,
which passed unanimously.
Old Business – Continued
Public Hearings:
Map 18 Lot 13 –
Located on Roby Jewell Lane, for a 10-lot subdivision, by Albert Carbonneau of 21 Muirfield Drive:
Scott Cole from Beals Associates was present to represent
the applicant. He noted that they
received a review letter from Civilworks dated July 27, 2006, which indicated that they had addressed all
the engineering concerns. Mr. Cole
stated that they are still working with the utility companies. He submitted a letter from Duke Energy
regarding the gas transmission line. He
said that the person reviewing the subdivision application for PSNH is no
longer there, so someone else is doing the review. He stated that the Board had requested some
type of visual means to show that the road stops at the end of the
hammerhead. The applicant has added two
proposed red maple trees approximately 10 feet back from the end of the
pavement. They have also added some low
lying shrubs to aid in the absorption of water runoff in the drainage
swales. Mr. Cole said the Board had
requested more detail regarding a note on the plan about putting in a stone
dust pedestrian path along the right-of-way.
He stated that Sheet D1 shows construction detail on the pedestrian
pathway. He noted that the only
outstanding State permit is the State Subdivision Approval, which he expects
shortly.
Mr. Hyland was concerned that the red maple trees at the
end of the pavement would be too small.
He felt the trees should be larger, possibly 2-1/2 inches or
larger. Mr. Cole said he would discuss
it with the applicant. Mr. Grassie
indicated that there was a memo in the members’ books from Police Chief Michael
Daley on the proposed subdivision. There
were discussions regarding the Police Chief’s comments on the street names; and
the fire cistern. Mr. Grassie read the
conditions of approval that are listed in his Planner’s Review memo dated 8/2/06. It was pointed out that the connection to Smith
Farm Road was incorrectly named. It should have a new name. He added a 12th condition that the
connection to Smith Farm Road
be renamed and a correction to the plan be made to reflect the change. Mr. Wool asked if the pigtail of land that
goes to Winnicutt Road was
being transferred to the abutter. Mr. Cole
said it would be when this application is approved. Mr. Barker expressed a concern about possible
encroachment on the wetlands behind the houses.
He suggested that a 25 foot non-disturb
buffer be flagged when clearing the land, so they don’t clear into the
wetlands. Mr. Grassie stated that Mr.
Barker’s suggestion could be included as condition #13. The increased tree size will also be added as
condition (#14). There was a brief
discussion on which conditions were precedent and which ones are subsequent. Condition #2 is a precedent condition. All others are subsequent. Mr. Barker made a motion to approve this
application with the fourteen (14) conditions as listed and stated. Ms. Werner seconded the motion, which passed
unanimously.
Map 2 Lots 30 & 37 – Site Plan Review for the construction of 250,000
s.f. of new warehouse space and 7,700 s.f. of manufacturing with related
infrastructure, located at One Fine Chocolate Place, by Lindt & Sprungli,
Inc:
Barry Kimball from the Maguire Group was present to
represent the applicant. He gave a brief
history and outline of this project. He
went over some changes they had made to the plans. The plans show a reserve area for a future a
septic system in case issues are not resolved regarding the existing sanitary
sewer system. Mr. Kimball noted that it
had been determined that this application would have a regional impact, so they
had a meeting with the Rockingham Planning Commission. It was determined, at that meeting, that the
potential regional impact would be on traffic.
He indicated that they had completed a Traffic Study and submitted it
for review. He briefly went over the
results of the Traffic Study. He said
that the level of service was determined to be unacceptable mostly for the
turning movement exiting the industrial park at peak times. The owner’s of the industrial park currently
hire someone from the Exeter Police to direct traffic. He stated that there have been very few
accidents in the vicinity. Mr. Kimball
said they have worked with Fire Chief Bob Law on the fire protection
system. Mr. Kimball stated that Lindt
will be donating $30,000 towards a project Mr. Law is working on for having
fire alarms go directly to the Fire House instead of through Dispatch.
There were discussions on: a proposed well for water on
the site; upgrading the fire pump system; paving the fire road that goes around
the building; the amount of area that is paved vs. unpaved; the Special
Exception granted by the ZBA for building height; not using Norway Maple or barberry
for landscaping on the site; an entrance plan to the industrial park; where the
entrance is located (Exeter or Stratham); and possible improvements that could
be done to the entrance to the industrial park to help with the traffic. Lindt is not proposing to implement
the suggestions on possible improvements to the entrance to the industrial
park. Abutter Kathleen Breslin said it
looks like the building is going to sit on the Breslin right-of-way to their landlocked
property. Mr. Kimball stated that this
issue has come up in the last couple of weeks.
He indicated that after doing research, they could find no reference to
any right-of-way on any deeds or easements.
He said there will be a loop road around the new proposed building, and
if the Breslins can show that they do, in fact, have a legal right, they will
have more than ample ways to access their property. There was additional discussion on this
issue, and how people can get legal access to landlocked parcels.
Mr. Grassie noted that the applicants have asked for a
waiver from Section 5.9.f.1 – Parking Areas and Access Drives, and read the
waiver request aloud. After a brief
discussion, Mr. Wool made a motion to approve the waiver request from Section
5.9.f.1 – Parking Areas and Access Drives as submitted. Ms. Werner seconded the motion, which passed
unanimously. Mr. Grassie read the list
of Subsequent Conditions listed on his Planner’s Review dated 8/2/06. He went into more detail regarding
issues with waste water discharge into the
Exeter sewer system; the Renwick
Realty Trust septic system; and non-conforming building setbacks. An additional condition (#18) was added to
include a change to the notations on the landscaping to remove any invasive species,
such as Norway Maple and Barberry. There were additional discussions on: the 120
day deadline to meet all precedent conditions; and where the possible septic
system would be located. Mr. Wool made a
motion to approve this application with the 18 conditions as stated and
written. Mr. Barker seconded the motion,
which passed unanimously.
Other:
Agreement between Planning Board and Rollins Hill Development, Map 2 Lot 25:
Mr. Grassie stated that this agreement is basically a
sidebar agreement. He said it doesn’t
impact Lindt & Sprungli in any way.
He indicated that it deals with a Marin Way
issue and the road through the Lindt property.
He gave a brief explanation of the agreement. There were discussions on: who would pay for
the construction of the road; the reasons for the connecting road; and who
would be responsible for building which portion of the road. Mr. Wool made a motion to authorize Mr.
Federico to sign the agreement between the Renwick Realty Trust, the Town of
Stratham and Lindt & Sprungli on behalf of the Planning Board. Ms. Werner seconded the motion, which passed
unanimously.
Mr. Barker asked if there had been any discussion with
Renwick Realty Trust about the possibility of expanding the industrial park
onto Renwick property. Mr. Grassie said
that they would like to expand the Retirement Planned Community (RPC) Zone to
their property, with some changes, to be able to provide some workforce
affordable housing. There was further
discussion on the agreement, the connector road.
Mr. Grassie informed the Board members that the Office of
Energy & Planning (OEP) has scheduled a training seminar/workshop for
October 28, 2006, if anyone was interested in attending. He noted that the OEP also does training
seminars in the spring.
Mr. Grassie gave a brief report on the work being done by
the Zoning Subcommittee. They have been
discussing a possible zoning change for the NH Technical College property. He said that the Subcommittee had also
briefly discussed widening the Commercial Zone, which did not get very far.
Mr. Grassie noted that Building Inspector/Code Enforcement
Officer Terry Barnes had been raising a problem with real estate signs. Mr. Grassie indicated that, technically, you
can’t have real estate signs in the Professional Residential or Town Center
Zones in Stratham. They are not
mentioned at all in those two zones.
There is also a problem with off-premises signs. Town Administrator Paul Deschaine stated that
the Town does not have the manpower to go out once a day and pick up
off-premises signs. Mr. Grassie stated
that the Landscape Design Regulation would be on the agenda for the next
meeting.
Respectfully submitted,
Linda A. Beaudoin
Secretary Stratham Planning
Board