August 16, 2006

Agenda: The Town of Stratham, Planning Board conducted a Public Hearing on Wednesday, August 16, 2006, at 7:00 p.m., at the Stratham Town Hall, 10 Bunker Hill Avenue, Stratham, NH to consider the following:

Approval of Minutes: August 2, 2006

New Business – Public Hearing

Map 6 Lot 12-16 – Located at 39 Gifford Farm Road for location of a temporary 28’ X 68’ modular structure and a 30’ X 72’ concrete pad with a covered walkway by Stratham Memorial School, SAU 16, 24 Front Street, Exeter, NH

Ongoing Business - Continued Applications:

Map 18 Lots 8, 9-3, 12, 13-1 for Scott Cornell, CC Property Group, LLC of 61 Union Road and David Moriaty of Winnicutt Road for a Lot Line Relocation and Consolidation.

Subdivision / Site Plan Review Public Hearing:

To amend the Site Plan Review Regulations Section 5.2 Landscaping Design Standards to replace the entire section with new standards for landscaping requirements for all Site Review applications brought before the Planning Board.

Members Present: Chair Janet Johnson, Joe Russell, Jeffrey Hyland, Martin Wool, Bruno Federico, and Town Planner, Charles (Chuck) Grassie. Mary Jane Werner arrived late.

Ms. Johnson noted that Ms. Werner would be arriving late, and asked Mr. Russell to act as a voting member until Ms. Werner arrives. Ms. Johnson stated that the August 2, 2006 meeting minutes needed approval. Mr. Federico made a motion to approve the August 2, 2006 minutes as written. Mr. Wool seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.

Map 18 Lots 9-3, 13-1 for Scott Cornell, CC Property Group, LLC of 61 Union Road for Single Family Open Space Cluster Subdivision – Approval of Yield Plan for a 8 lot traditional subdivision or a 11 lot open space cluster subdivision; and Map 18 Lots 8, 9-3, 12, 13-1 for Scott Cornell, CC Property Group, LLC of 61 Union Road and David Moriarty of Winnicutt Road for a Lot Line Relocation and Consolidation.

Mr. Grassie indicated that he had received a written request from Scott Cornell to continue his applications until September 6, 2006. The engineering is not completed. Mr. Grassie stated that he had notified Mr. Cornell that if he is not ready for the September 6, 2006 hearing, he will be required to re-notify abutters and pay for reposting as well. Mr. Federico made a motion to continue both the Subdivision and Lot Line Relocation applications to September 6, 2006 as requested. Mr. Wool seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.

Ken Berry from Beals Associates was present to represent the Stratham Memorial School. Nathan Lunney from the Stratham School District; Tom Fosher, Principal of the Stratham Memorial School; and Robert O’Sullivan and Luke Breton from the Stratham School Board were also present. Mr. Berry described the modular classroom; the covered walkway; and the play areas in detail. He said the modular classroom will be arriving next week. It has two classrooms. There was a brief slide show presentation, and Mr. Berry explained the status of the construction preparation work that has been done at the site. He went over the drainage.

There were discussions on: the ramp walkway that leads to the school building; the handrails along the ramp; the modular classroom’s height off the ground; the weight of the modular classroom building; sewage disposal from the modular; the safety of the covering over the walkway; and why the modular is not connected directly to the current school building. Mr. O’Sullivan indicated that the School District is planning on including a sprinkler system for the Stratham Memorial School in the Capital Improvements Budget within the next few years. There was additional discussions on: what will be used for a ground surface on the playground areas; what the asphalt surfaced areas would be used for; the evacuation plan; heating for the modular building; the cost of the modular building; the length of time they expect to use the modular building; why they needed a modular building; the possible future sprinkler system; the student population; what the stated occupancy of the existing school is; obtaining numbers from the school system; having a member of the School Board attend some of the Planning Board meetings; the number of adults who work at the school; why not build rather than lease a modular; the existing fire cistern and future fire protection; setbacks from the wetlands; and the drainage from the heated pad. No action was taken on this application.

Subdivision / Site Plan Review Public Hearing:

Mr. Grassie noted that Mr. Hyland had e-mailed some suggested changes to the proposed Landscaping Design Standards regulations. Mr. Grassie had not yet seen the changes. Mr. Hyland said the changes were mostly wording and clarification of the regulation. He went over some of his suggested changes. Ms. Werner stated that she was a member of the Heritage Commission. Since the Heritage Commission is mentioned in the proposed regulations, she sent a copy of the proposed Landscaping Regulations to them for their review. The Heritage Commission asked why only boundary stonewalls are mentioned and not all stonewalls. The Heritage Commission would like to be allowed to review any plan with stonewalls on the site of a Subdivision or Site Plan. There was a brief discussion on this issue. Mr. Hyland indicated that one item he feels is very important is a requiring a plant schedule listing all the individual plants and sizes on a plan showing where they will be located. Since Mr. Grassie has not yet reviewed the proposed changes, the Board decided to wait until the next meeting to discussion the regulation. Mr. Grassie will e-mail copies of the revised regulation to the members to review.

Other:

Ms. Johnson stated that the Zoning Subcommittee will be meeting next Wednesday, August 23, 2006 at 7:00 p.m. Mr. Grassie mentioned that he had heard from owners of the property on the corner of Portsmouth Avenue and Bunker Hill Avenue regarding rezoning their property to Commercial. Mr. Federico made a motion to adjourn at 8:23 p.m. Mr. Wool seconded the motion, which carried.

Respectfully submitted,

Linda A. Beaudoin

Secretary Stratham Planning Board