Conservation Commission

12/12/2018 - Minutes 1. Call To Order Members Present: Chairman Dean Anson, Vice Chair Deborah Williams, Marnie Schulz, Michael Foote, and Richard Christopher Members Absent: Lisa Morin Staff Technician: Evan Rathburn Guests: Planning Director Dean Trefethen There is no one in the audience. Wesley Bates arrives at 7:10 PM. 2. Review Of The Previous Meeting's Minutes D. Williams makes a motion to approve the minutes from the previous meeting with amendments. M. Foote seconds. All in favor. The motion passes. 3. New Business 3.I. Master Plan The Planning Director for Laconia begins his presentation about a proposed change to the Laconia Zoning Ordinance and informs the commission that they are the first public body that he will be presenting this too and would like their opinion on the proposed change. The change to the ordinance would modify and strenghten the RR1 and RR2 districts. The specific explanation is that from the setback of the RR2 district it would become a buffer which would prevent clearcutting of roadside trees and vegetation. The current setback only says that structures are to be a certain amount setback from the road. It does not prohibit cutting of roadside vegetation which runs contrary to the goal of the RR2 zone which is to preserve the rural aesthetic of the zone. Multiple members express confusion to what the proposal is and how the two zones cooexist with each other. The director explains that for example "75 feet from the edge of the road" would be the maximum space of the RR2 zone under the change as opposed to the 400 ft. space currently in place. The tradeoff is that the 75 feet would be prohibited from being cut. The RR1 zone would pickup after the 75 feet of buffer and would have some reduced setback as to what it currently has now. M. Foote voices concerns about reduced sidebacks in the side and what that would mean for building. The director states that the only setback that would really be affected is the front setback and possibly the rear setback. The side setbacks will stay the same.This satisfies the members. E. Rathburn asks whether it will be a variance or a CUP that someone would have to apply for if they wish to impact the proposed buffer. The director answers it will be a variance they will apply for. D. Anson inquires whether Meredith, a neighboring town that has road frontage that butts up against the RR2 zone has a similar type of zone. The director is not sure if they do and E. Rathburn will do research into the other town's ordinance. R. Christopher thinks that the commission should come to a concensus about how they feel about the proposed changes. Overall the commission seems favorable to proposal. The director states that this is a preliminary proposal and that he will be coming back again the when there is something more concrete for the commission to review.  D. Anson asks questions about the State School property and how a individual that was working on the project gave a presentation that he was at. D. Anson also informed the director that he asked for the individual to consider keeping the commission in the loop since the State School property is part of the City and a sensitive site. 4. Old Business 4.I. Stormwater Ordinance Regulations There is discussion about the stormwater ordinance that is being worked on by the commission. E. Rathburn will contact Luke Powell, previos LDPW Director and Shanna Saunders, previous Planning Director about what their thought process was about working on the ordinance. D. Anson will also look into finding other examples of stormwater ordinances and E. Rathburn will review previous meeting minutes to find where the commisison had said they had seen them before. 5. General Business 6. Liaison And Subcommittee Reports 6.I. Milfoil Information E. Rathburn presented a copy of the summary of milfoil activities drawn up by Richard Tilton, Milfoil Subcommittee Chairman, to the commission for them to review. He also informs them that they are working on future grant info and that the commission will be meeting with Mr. Tilton's non-profit organization in the future to go over how to reach out to the citizens that own property on the lake along with businesses. 7. New Hampshire Department Of Environmental Services Applications The commisson reviewed one NHDES Wetlands Permit for Terry Graham, Docks Unlimited. There was no comment and the Chairman signed off on the application. 8. Staff Report E. Rathburn updates the commission on what improvements he is making to the Erosion Control BMP Inspections that the department is conducting during building season. 9. Adjournment M. Schulz makes a motion to adjourn at 7:45 PM. M. Foote seconds. All in favor. The motion passes. The meeting is adjourned. 10. Non-Public Session (According To RSA 91-A:3, II) D. Anson made a motion to unseal the minutes of the April 8th, 2018 meeting minutes before going into non-public session. D. Williams seconded. All in favor. The motion passed.