Planning Board

Laconia Planning Board Minutes August 5, 2014 Approved September 9, 2014 Present: W. Hutchins, Chairman; W. Contardo, Vice Chair, D. Richards, G. Denio, L. Guild, J. Tivnan, H. McLean, D. Bownes Absent: C. Smith, J. Mailloux Staff: S. Saunders, B. Loughlin I. Call to Order W. Hutchins called the meeting to order at 6:30 pm. H. McLean was asked to vote in J. Mailloux absence. II. Presentations Master Plan Presentation from S. Saunders S. Saunders updated the Board on where the Master Plan process was at. They have been meeting for 3 months with the advisory team. The funding of the chapters will be through a non-profit organization called the Orton Family Foundation. They will help with the Visual and Use and Economics chapters of the Master Plan and nothing else. The Master Plan is not law regulations but a road map for the City’s future. They want the community to decide what direction the City should go in. RSA 674:1 states how often the Master Plan needs to be done. They are trying to get everyone in the process and to find common ground and long term decisions. The idea is to identify the values of the area and put that into action. There will be a road show per se, there is a Facebook page called “Re-imagine Laconia. S. Saunders asked the Board to check it out and tell others to check it out and “like” the page. They will be interviewing members of the community looking for values and visions of what others want to see in Laconia. The question asked will be how the community would re imagine the city for the future. They are having coasters made to be handed out for people to write on the back to tell what the community sees the community to be for the future. A kiosk will be on the street parking spot, called (Park)ing days, and will be talking to people and letting people know how they can be involved. (Park)ing days are scheduled for the Downtown area, Lakeport area, the Weirs, and the industrial park. The focus on values is because there would be a bunch of different ideas instead of what is actually cared about. This way there can be a focus on what is important and not spend time on sorting out the ideas. An example of an action item was for strong local economy. By Sept or Oct there will be a listening session to bring it back to the community, then the Master Plan will be written. The drafts will then go back to the community to make sure the intent was filled. D. Bownes was confused about the time frame. S. Saunders outlined: the outreach items will be Aug/Sept and the community listens session will be early October. Once a concrete set of values is determined, the land use chapter will be drafted and brought back to the community. At the same time, the consultant will be working on the economics chapter and those two chapters are thought to be before the Board early 2015. The vision statement and second chapter will be first. W. Hutchins participated in the Master Plan process the last time and noted that this is a different approach and he feels better. This is more interactive right up front. He thinks the Master Plan should reflect what the community desires along with the other base economic conditions the City is subject to. III. Extensions 1  Laconia Planning Board Minutes August 5, 2014 Approved September 9, 2014 None IV. Continued Public Hearings 1. 193 Endicott St North Map/Lot 156-252-13 Cumberland Farms Proposal to remove the vacuum sensor system from the fuel dispensing system, system will still be monitored with a liquid sensor system The applicant withdrew the application S. Saunders told the board Cumberland Farms requested a withdrawal of the application, based on the issues with the system. The applicant will continue to use the existing system. The plan is to closely monitor the site and if any issues arise they will need to be back before the Board. W. Contardo said at the meeting between the applicant, Staff and a few board members, the timeline reports was requested and S. Saunders said now that is a moot point. Most of the alarms to appear to be false alarms. The 4 major alarms were important and someone came to the property to fix the leaks because of the alarm. W. Contardo asked what the branches were all about and why only 2 were tested. B. Loughlin noted all 3 were tested but two had more tests due to issues. S. Saunders said they will be getting reports and staff will look at them closely to make sure it’s not the same things happening. S. Saunders thinks the city is in a good position to keep a better eye and be able to bring them back to the board in the future if need be. W. Contardo asked if the report could be given on a scheduled basis or if something happens the City should be immediately aware. H. McLean asked if there is something in the ordinance that states a facility requires checking on and was told it was a State regulation and the State is fine with the site. W. Hutchins said Cumberland Farms is heavily utilized and he commends them for the appearance and cleanliness of the site. It is a strong business and has been an excellent partner with the City. D. Bownes asked if the State monitors the site and was told yes. S. Saunders gave D. Bownes a background of the application. W. Hutchins noted that the applicant paid for all the third party reviews. D. Richards said it was a step beyond what was required. S. Saunders said they will not let the issue drop and she will keep the board up to date for the next few months. Abutter: none Public: none W. Hutchins closed the public hearing. He told S. Saunders the Board supports her plan. 2. Appl#PL2014-0078SP 1092 Union Ave MBL 327-220-1 Proposal for site improvement and construction of new building Applicant: Mark Gross of MHF Design was present. He was the on the original project in 2009. There was interest in maintaining the Hathaway House at one time. This proposal is to develop the easterly side of the property with a building for 3 retail tenants. The drive thru has had 2  Laconia Planning Board Minutes August 5, 2014 Approved September 9, 2014 issues and the owner has wanted to increase the queue area on the site. In certain areas 10-12 queue spots are standard but in this case looking at additional 10 to make the queue over 20. The entrance will be relocated across from the entrance with the new building. Originally the exit was going to be two-way but based on the traffic review it will be an exit only. The proposal has been through two TRC meetings. The delivery truck will come in and around the back of the retail building and around the other side to the exit. Generally the deliveries are supposed to be done off peak hours. The manager will be working with the driver on some issues. The queue length is doubling. A few spaces were gained by moving the Dunkins’ entrance down. The dumpsters are in the back behind the buildings and they will be screened. M. Gross said the site will be curbed and there is an existing treatment swale in the back before water outlets. The site meets the green space requirements. There is a 6 inch fire and domestic service into the building. Lighting will be similar to the Dunkin Donut’s fixtures. There is a large mature Oak tree on the corner of the lot near Dairy Queen which will be preserved. The architecture of the new building will be more of a New England style building with gables over the entrances and cupolas on the roof. The variance for signs was approved by the ZBA last week. W. Contardo asked if there could be a light in the cupolas and S. Saunders said would just need to meet the lighting ordinance. The sidewalk will be continued down Union Ave. There is a 16 ft ROW easement down on the Dairy Queen property. M. Gross said most of comments in the Board’s packets have been addressed and the recommended changes will be made on any traffic concerns. L. Guild asked about the destruction of the Hathaway House. M. Gross said there was a demolition permit has been applied for and issued. His understanding is that it will be demolished when everything is done with the State. L. Guild is disappointed to see people come in from outside Laconia and destroy the beautiful buildings. D. Bownes asked if there were any disagreements on any of the recommendations and M. Gross said no. W. Contardo asked about the lead and other hazardous materials and S. Saunders said that is all state requirements. Staff review: S. Saunders read the staff review. They are asking for a larger size silt sock rather than silt fence. There will be an impact fee of $3637.50. Abutters: none Public: Dorothy Duffy is on the Heritage Commission, Historical Society and also on the Master Plan Advisory Team. She is interested in the past. She thinks changes can be made without having to lose everything. Sometimes the future is not always planned for; sometimes the physical is what is important. The applicant came before the board 3 different times with 3 different plans. She wonders what happens in the future when the ownership of the new building changes. W. Hutchins said the parcel is one site and if ownership changed, it would change together. W. Contardo would like to know why the community did so little. He would have thought in that time that money would have been found to protect it. S. Saunders said the timing is important and federal funding was not available. The only choice was to privately fundraise. D. Duffy would like to have support from the community and the help. S. Saunders noted the Heritage Commission is established by the City but is not City funded. D. Bownes added that when the Heritage Commission was established it wasn’t given any authority, but to 3  Laconia Planning Board Minutes August 5, 2014 Approved September 9, 2014 only write letters and recommendations. He gets the reasons for the development and gets the loss of the historic markers as well. D. Duffy added that the Board needs to be aware for the future to establish certain homes that should be protected, and suggested a fund be established by developers make donations upfront to help. B. Loughlin noted that being on the national register doesn’t automatically protect a structure. W. Hutchins asked if the Heritage Commission could come back to the Planning Board to help them understand buildings and what is important to look at. H. McLean suggested that all demo permits should go to the Heritage Commission. Pam Clark, chair of the Heritage Commission, backed D. Duffy up and said the two main goals are to review the demolition ordinance and the Commission is coming up with list of properties that are important. W. Hutchins closed the public hearing. Motion: W. Contardo made the motion to approve the application with the conditions and dates and J. Tivnan seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. V. Public Hearings 1. Appl#PL2014-0099CR Maiden Lady Cove area A conceptual review of a proposal from the State to replace a force main (Application Acceptance & Decision) B. Loughlin told the Board the application was complete and ready for hearing. Action: L. Guild made the motion to accept the application as complete and open the public hearing and G. Denio seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Applicant: Steven Dolloff of NHDES- Superintendent of the Winnipesaukee River Basin Program was present. He runs the treatment plant in Franklin and 10 of the surrounding communities. The area of the work will be just north of Centenary Ave, adjacent to the city pump station and in the ROW of the sewer force main. The force main transports from Maiden Lady Cove pump station. About 10% of the flow is from Laconia, the rest is from Meredith and Center Harbor and Moultonborough. From there, it discharges to a gravity main by the Weirs Motel to the interceptor and continues to the Paugus Park pump station. It flows about 300,000 gallons a day. It is a dual force main with 18 inch pipes. A gabion wall was made when the line was constructed in the 1970’s in order to provide covering. The drainage culvert passes under the railroad and over the years the bedding has filtered through the stone box culvert and the lines are sagging. There are 60 feet of ductal iron and 80 feet of gabion wall to be replaced. The contracts for construction include any voids in the railroad and replacement of anything else that may happen. Next Wednesday is bid opening. Construction time should be November 1 to December 31 because the railroad is active before that. All piping has an expected life of 100 years. Ductal iron was thought of as the “forever pipe” except when the soils are corrosive and eat away from the pipe from the outside. This area is elevated and drier than other parts of the 4  Laconia Planning Board Minutes August 5, 2014 Approved September 9, 2014 city where corrosion is an issue. D. Richards asked what the large square cover down where the beach is at the Weirs is for and asked if that was part of the pipes and was told there is a syphon under the Weirs Channel and that is the outlet. That is state responsibility to maintain. D. Richards said the seal keeps breaking and S. Dolloff said if anything happens or seems off, to call the Franklin treatment plant or the shop in Laconia. They have been upgrading and replacing in the treatment plants in the last few years. Staff review: B. Loughlin said because it’s a state project Staff recommends approval with no revisions. Abutters: None Pubic: None W. Hutchins closed the public hearing. Motion: D. Richards made the motion to approve the application with the conditions and W. Contardo seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. 2. Appl#PL2014- 0100SP & PL2014-0101SP amendment Long Bay Dr MBL 228-330-5 & 228-330-7 Proposal to revoke the dedication of the lots from impervious coverage calculations in the Bay Reach Association (Application Acceptance & Decision) B. Loughlin told the Board the application was complete and ready for hearing. Action: D. Richards made the motion to accept the application as complete and opened the public hearing. L. Guild seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously Applicant: Mike Persson representing William Bald and Lori Herz, and Dean Clark of DMC Surveyors was present. The proposal is not making building requests, but to remove the dedication on the plans for Bay Reach to dedication for coverage consideration. The lots are fully conforming lots, with no special exception or variance on either of them. Bay Reach released the lots and they are not part of Bay Reach, rather they are part of Long Bay. The lots were approved in 1988 as part of Long Bay free standing homes. The request will not be to decide on the buildability of the lots, just to take the classification off. If approved, the lots will have the potential to be buildable. The lots are technically Long Bay lots but were dedicated to Bay Reach to help with coverage calculations. W. Contardo asked if that would tie into Long Bay and D. Clark said that when the project started the zone was RR1. They requested the zone change and that changed the numbers. All the lots around Willow Pond have 40% lot coverage. W. Contardo asked if Southdown watches coverage and was told yes. That is different from Long Bay, they look at lots individually. Long Bay basically has single family homes. The only village in Long Bay is Prides Point and they meet their lot coverage. M. Persson continued stating that in 1988 it was village C which later became The Willows. Between 1988 and 1989 the lots were 5  Laconia Planning Board Minutes August 5, 2014 Approved September 9, 2014 dedicated and there is nothing in the records as to why that happened. There is a statement in the deeds stating nothing can be done with the lots unless approved by the Planning Board. In 2012, Bay Reach went to the ZBA to increase coverage from 20% to 30% and that was approved. Under the 30% all the lots can be built out fully without these two lots, so there is no need for the preservation. D. Clark said the largest amount of coverage was .56% and currently thy are at 19.4%. J. Tivnan asked if lot 7 would be buildable and D. Clark said yes, it would be a smaller home on a single family lot. Staff review: B. Loughlin read the staff review. Staff recommends a conditional approval with plan revisions. They would like the calculations of the remaining lots. D. Bownes asked if ConCom had revised the comments since their conversation earlier in the day. S. Saunders said she talked with S. McPhie, the ConCom tech about the comments. He clarified to say that ConCom didn’t feel comfortable in approving the change because there was a reason for the open space and the ConCom feels it unnecessary to change that. H. McLean asked if there are any limitations of green space with steep slopes and S. Saunders said these were part of the open space, not green space but, under the green space it has to be green. D. Bownes asked if granted, would they be considered now to be buildable lot and was told yes by M. Persson. S. Saunders said they would have to meet the current regs under a building permit. M. Persson said the Planning Board approved the lots as buildable lot in 1989. The lots both have underground ties. If this were a new project today, M. Persson doesn’t think the lots would be allowed to be open space lots. Abutters: Keith Noe of 209 Long Bay Drive said he purchased his lot from his parents in 2007 and built their house in 2008. The reason why the lot was desired was because the state forest is in the back and on the side were undevelopable lots. He relied on the privacy and asked the Planning Board to deny the request. J. Noe disagreed with one thing. In January he became aware of Bay Reach wanting less green space. He went into the office and the staff member told him the lots were undevelopable. They have also always been transferred at a low price. He doesn’t think they were developable at any time. He feels his privacy would be lost if the lots were to be developed. H. McLean said the developer seemed to want green space in the development to protect the lots. K. Noe said he has vested rights and relied on that. The lot slopes down from the road and then down more in the back. There is a trail where a neighbor had dropped his grass clippings in the back of the lot. D. Clark noted the lot is fairly level and as long as there are no wetlands, the driveway meets grade and utility hookups are available. George Washburn 175 Long Bay Dr, abuts lot 7, at the corner of Cow Path and Long Bay. When he purchased his property he checked with the City and was informed the lot was not buildable because of green space. He welcomes company and doesn’t have a problem with neighbors because of the gated community. Public: none W. Hutchins closed the public hearing. 6  Laconia Planning Board Minutes August 5, 2014 Approved September 9, 2014 Motion: D. Richards made the motion to approve the application with the revision of the title block, conditions a-z and the dates and W. Contardo seconded the motion. H. McLean not sure that just because there are no records that that’s a good reason to approve the application. There is a reason why things were done in the past. W. Contardo agreed and that’s why he asked if their calculations to be being kept up with, to make sure the space will stay within the guidelines. H. McLean would vote against the motion. D. Bownes said the question is will the decision impact in a negative or positive way. It is an opportunity for 2 people to be able to live in Laconia. The motion passed with one opposing. The Public hearings ended at 8:55 pm. D. Bownes exited the meeting. VI. Application Acceptance None VII. New Business 1. Planning Board CIP appointees D. Richards explained the process of the CIP. There are 3 member positions to be filled. D. Richards said the Depts present their capital budget and why they want the money. There is a scoring sheet on what each member thinks is important, then that goes to Council for approval. W. Contardo will continue as chair, H. McLean will volunteer, and G. Denio will volunteer. VIII. Old Business None IX. Reports A. Planning Department Report: S. Saunders had and enforcement issue. She passed out a graph of tree cutting regarding the North Lodges project. There was a misunderstanding and a number of trees were cut. The applicant submitted pictures showing that there are still plenty of trees left. S. Saunders noted this has happened before with the Look Off Rock site as well. Her thought process was to take a look at the site or require a replanting plan by the applicant. Several of the trees were dead, dying or diseased. There were 13 viable trees, and in those 13, some had woodpecker damage or broken tops. D. Richards was disappointed because they had gone through this once before with the applicant. W. Hutchins was not happy because knowing the applicant would need views to sell units, which he didn’t come to the Dept to mention more trees wanted to come down. The cooperation shown is that the Board will bend when acceptable to help sell the units. L. Guild went out the other day, and didn’t notice all the trees gone. W. Hutchins noted that the new building hasn’t affected the waterscape, but wants the opportunity to know beforehand. C. Duprey was present and noted that there has always been a concern with the view from the lake. 103 trees that qualified were surveyed and they had decided to wait until the buildings go up and take out the selected trees with a crane. He feels he has made an extended effort to work with the City. If they were going 7  Laconia Planning Board Minutes August 5, 2014 Approved September 9, 2014 to take down all the dead or dying trees, then more would come down. 13 trees were removed where 75 could have been taken down. He has heard nothing but positive things on the townhomes. People come to the lake to see that lake. The fifth floor has great views compared to the first floor, which are blocked with trees. W. Hutchins and S. Saunders went out to the site to see the trees marked. Reaction to the general contractor was to determine which were the dead, dying, or diseased. At the time, C. Duprey was out of the area and they didn’t want anything to be cut until he came back to discuss the situation. S. Saunders asked the Board if they wished to see the site or have the applicant submit a replanting plan. C. Duprey said there are more trees to be taken down and will work with S. Saunders on the plan. L. Guild thinks the Board should see the site. D. Richards thought there was an agreement with the tree cutting. L. Guild noted that they have been dealing with the best developer and that provides first class work and D. Richards said that is why the disappointment. C. Duprey is not in any rush at this point and the next meeting should be fine for an answer. B. S. Saunders mentioned another issue at the same site: the rain gardens locations were changed and instead of few smaller gardens the applicant has made one large one. Her concern was access for maintenance. The subsurface piping and depression are already installed. The concern is the flow across the site. She would like to have a third party, with board approval, take a look at the new proposal and then have the applicant do an amended site plan. S. Saunders met with S. McPhie, B. Loughlin and L. Powell and all agreed that a third party should take a look. C. Duprey said their engineer assured there were no offsite increases in stormwater flows. D. Richards understands that you can plan all you want to but when construction starts, things change as long as it is cleared first. S. Saunders said the subsurface and retaining walls are already installed and she is not sure what to do. C. Duprey said the rain gardens could not be behind the retaining wall to outlet over the wall. A lot was going on and it happened quickly. W. Contardo suggested someone be there all times to keep an eye out and billed to the applicant. S. Saunders said it would take a couple weeks for the third party review to happen. W. Contardo thinks the City needs someone to keep watch on the big projects. He doesn’t feel confident that things that shouldn’t be going on aren’t going on. There needs to be more communication between the applicant and Staff. S. Saunders would like to send the storm water and rain garden to third party review. W. Hutchins agrees with L. Guild that the work is superb, and the only issue is the clearing of the trees. C. Duprey appreciates that and as work takes place they can’t wait for an answer. He understands they are not the only one developing in town and understands the desire to find out issues before hand and not afterward. C. S. Saunders mentioned that 126 Washington landscaping has an issue. The owner does not want to put the landscaping that was required. Staff is holding money and if not done by the applicant, then will be done by the City. She is not sure what the issue is and why the developer doesn’t want to put the landscaping in. S. Saunders said the property owner has gone to the City manager and said the conditions were outrageous and felt they didn’t need to comply. D. The Main Street Bridge Project is moving on the phase 3 in couple of weeks. Beacon East will open and the center portion of the road will be closed. 8  Laconia Planning Board Minutes August 5, 2014 Approved September 9, 2014 E. Ready to get final plans and move on for Chinburg. The Riverwalk will be in front of the building and building will be moved so the Riverwalk will be along the side, not the front. The council will make final decision on the placement of riverwalk. X. Liaison Reports A. Lakes Region Planning Commission: W. Hutchins said there was a DES meeting last week in the Laconia Middle School. The wetlands process and application are being redone and DES will be having listening and interaction sessions around the state. So many changes have been made over time and the people are confused. The plan is to do it similar to how the architecture regs were made. They are not under legislative time limit so the intent is to involve the public in the changes. The Executive Summary for the Regional Master Plan will be released next week. B. Conservation Commission: W. Contardo noted that the ConCom is signing off on many replacement in kind DES dock permits to expedite repairs due to last year’s bad winter, tributary and deep water testing is underway in Paugus Bay, the Black Brook Geo Morphological study is under way, there will be educational articles in the Laconia City newsletter on how to properly remove invasive species, and will host an invasive species educational event and clean up at the Perley Oak parcel. C. City Council: D. Bownes left early. XI. Other Business None XII. Minutes Approval of the minutes from April 1 & July 1 Motion: D. Richards made the motion to approve the minutes with changes noted to July 1 and H. McLean seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. XIII. Adjournment Motion: D. Richards made the motion to adjourn and G. Denio seconded the motion. The meeting adjourned at 9:47 pm. Respectfully, K. Graham` 9