Planning Board

Laconia Planning Board Minutes September 9, 2014 Approved October 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, S. Saunders, J. Mailloux Staff: B. Loughlin I. Call to Order W. Hutchins called the meeting to order at 6:30 pm. He introduced H. McLean as no longer an alt and as taking the remaining term of D. Vachon, for the City Manager Ex Officio. II. Presentations None III. Extensions 1. Appl# 05-024 CUP (wetlands), Appleridge Rd/Mile Hill Rd water line extension, is requesting an extension for the completion date. a. Plan Revision: Completed b. Site Security: Completed c. Mylar, final plans: Completed d. Completion: July 10, 2007, Oct 2, 2007, June 10, 2008, Jan 6, 2009, Jan 5, 2010, June 1, 2010, Dec 4, 2011, July 3,2012, Sept 3, 2013, Sept 9, 2014. New request: September 1, 2015 Applicant: Jon Rokeh discussed both applications at the same time, the Appleridge Apartments and the Waterline extension. He said that P. Brouillard originally had the water line and now is signed over to Dick Anagnost. All the agreements have been completed and P. Brouillard is not involved in the water line anymore. In November or December the financing got started and that is in progress. The offsite work for Provencal Road is adding an extra debt which is making the difference to finance. The College (LRCC) is looking at taking a building to use for students. J. Rokeh said they are trying to get the project underway. Construction is tied to financing and LRCC is a big part of that. Hopefully they will be starting within a year and thinking might be ready in 6 months. Financing is the only thing holding this project up. Staff recommended approval of the extension. Motion: W. Contardo made the motion to approve the extension request to Sept 1, 2015 and L. Guild second the motion. The motion passed unanimously. 2. Appl#06-005 SP, 06-013 CUP (wetlands) Map/Lot 483-349-4.1/480-350-4, Appleridge Rd, lot 1 & 2, is requesting an extension for the completion of the Apartment project. a. Plan Revision: completed b. Mylar, final plans: completed c. Site Improvement Security: completed d. Completion: Sept 2, 2007, March 2, 2008, March 3, 2009, March 2, 2010, June 1, 2010, Dec 4, 2011, Sept 4, 2012, Sept 3, 2013 Sept 9, 2014. New request: September 1, 2015 1  Laconia Planning Board Minutes September 9, 2014 Approved October 9, 2014 Motion: D. Richards made the motion to approve the extension request to Sept 1, 2015 and G. Denio second the motion. The motion passed unanimously. 3. Appl# 05-014SP, 05-017CUP, 05-018CUP, Akwa Marina Yacht Club, is requesting an extension for the completion of the project. a. Plan Revisions: Done b. Mylar, final plans: Done c. Site Improvement Security: Done d. Completion: Phase 1: Aug 7, 2006, ext Aug 2, 2011, ext Aug 6, 2013, ext Sept 9, 2014; Phase 2: Aug 6, 2007 ext Aug 2, 2011, ext Aug 6, 2013, ext Sept 9, 2014. new request: Sept 8,2015 for both phases Applicant: Charles Cleary represented the applicant and said that phase 1 is substantially complete, only the parking lot across the street needs some work like grading, lighting and landscaping. The applicant thinks all that is part of phase 1 and should be done by end of the year. Phase 2 was for retail shops and the restaurant that hasn’t been started. The latter is tied to the Meredith Bay community and still waiting on that to develop. The back portion of the parking lot needs about 5k square feet of grading. A few feet of material needs to be removed and graded in the rear of the parking lot. The Parking lot can be used currently. B. Loughlin said reviewing the file this project was approved in 2003 and had expired and reapproved in 2006. Last year the extension was continued a month so the applicant and Staff could come up with a schedule to get the phases finished. W. Hutchins said if phase one is approved, it seems like there should be a dialog as to what is keeping from finishing phase two and maybe pull out the element that is holding the applicant back. He suggested the applicant come back at an appropriate time to finish as a new proposal. W. Hutchins was trying to think of ways to help the applicant instead of them coming back every year for extensions and said the Board could grant the extension to next month to allow those changes to happen. C. Cleary said phasing was more internally. C. Cleary thinks its ok to approve one phase and not the other phase. B. Loughlin explained what the board did last year which was to continue the extension request a month. D. Bownes asked what the impact would be to get rid of phase 2 and suggested taking it out and to be resubmit without prejudice. Motion: D. Richards made the motion to continue the application to October 7 so Staff and the applicant can work out the phasing and W. Contardo seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. 4. Appl# PL2010-0010SP Scenic Rd, Map/Lot 130-234-1 & 124-234-3, Meredith Bay’s Midrise Condos, is requesting an extension for site security and the completion date. a. Plan Revision: November 9, 2010 – Complete b. Site Security: April 5, 2011, Oct 4, 2011, Oct 2, 2012, Oct 1, 2013, Oct 7, 2014. New request: Oct 6, 2015 2  Laconia Planning Board Minutes September 9, 2014 Approved October 9, 2014 c. Mylar, Final Plans: April 5, 2011, Oct 4, 2011, January 12, 2012 - Complete d. Completion: Oct 4, 2011, Oct 2, 2012 Oct 1, 2013, Oct 7, 2014. New request: Oct 6, 2015 Applicant: Chris Duprey representing Akwa Waterfont LLC was present. He noted that the applicant went in front of ZBA in June and received a six month extension. The request is for the same reason as before, and that was to focus on the North Lodges site. He is optimistic that sales will pick up and should be able to roll right into this. Staff had no issues and recommends granting the extension. Motion: D. Richards made the motion to approve the extension request and J. Tivnan seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. 5. Appl# PL2013-0093SP, 0094CUP (alt parking), 126 Union Ave MBL 432-220-39, is requesting an extension for the site improvement security and final plans. a. Plan Revision: September 3, 2013 – complete b. Site Improvement Security: October 1, 2013, April 1, 2014, Sept 9, 2014 new request: April 7, 2015 c. Mylar, final plans: October 1, 2013, April 1, 2014, Sept 9, 2014 new request: April 7, 2015 d. Completion: August 5, 2014, Aug 4, 2015 new request: Jan 6, 2016 Applicant: Sal Steven-Hubbard with LACLT was present. She noted that they have all the financing in place and fully expected to close in July. One ground water sample came back bad and that is holding up the process. More testing was done and now coming back clean. There was one monitoring well where low levels of VOCs were found. They hope to close in October. The asbestos removal is planned for next week and will continue on with demolition. Staff has no issues with the extension and recommends approval. Motion: D. Richards made the motion to approve the extension requested and J. Tivnan seconded. S. Steven-Hubbard hopes to not be back before the board again for extensions. The motion passed unanimously. The extensions ended at 7:01 pm. IV. Continued Public Hearings None V. Public Hearings 1. Appl# PL2014-0110SP 848 Main St MBL413-142-22 Proposal for addition to the Main Street Fire Station (Decision) 3  Laconia Planning Board Minutes September 9, 2014 Approved October 9, 2014 Applicant: Charlie Roffo, Deputy Chief Prevention specialist, John Halle from Warren Street Architects and Jean Brodeaur from SFC Engineering were present. C. Roffo presented the new fire station. They are looking at starting October 2014. The proposal is for an addition to the existing building off the administrative side. They will be adding administrative offices and parking and garages. By adding to the main station, they will be able to move out of the Lakeport station and close it. The administrative access will be off Tremont Street, to separate the space and make it less conflicted. All the pavement will be brought together. A community room will be added to the administrative wing to be used after hours as well. Plantings on the Main Street side of the building would present a visual obstruction when the trucks pull out. They are re-evaluating putting in lower plantings. There will be a walkway from Main Street to the administrative door to help in assisting the flow to the new entrance. It is going to be a learning factor since it’s been over 40 years that was used as an entrance. Drainage was looked at and offsite flows meet the requirements. The architectural work fits into the neighborhood and they are following the EPA requirements about infill development. It will not look like a building was added to the original station. W. Hutchins asked what will happen if another apparatus was needed and C. Roffo said based on the way the city is laid out, if there were to be any new development it will be in either the Weirs or the North End. He doesn’t anticipate adding to this new building. There is a spare ambulance in the Weirs. The main station houses two ambulances currently and if they were to get new trucks the oldest would go away. There is room to squeeze things in if necessary. City Council approved the project as is. C. Roffo explained that a built-in exhaust system will be going in the ceiling. Currently they have a plymovent system and it is very loud. The newer trucks run clean diesel and the need for the plymovent is going away. The idea was to take all the dirty, noisy and wet actively on one side of the building and have clean and quiet on the other side. The bay doors will be folding doors where the driver shuts the door after they leave the building. That will be about a third of the horse power as to what is running now. The doors will be similar to high speed doors where they open and close in 7 seconds. If there is a power loss the chain would be pulled and the doors could be pushed open. C. Roffo met with the City Manager about the conditions on the staff review and they will be taken under advisement. D. Bownes asked if the project’s conditions will slow the project down and concerned of any additional cost and C. Roffo said nothing should delay the project and the sidewalks are not funded or anticipated. There are internal pathways to access the building. The stormwater issues are being addressed. Staff review: B. Loughlin said the applicant came to TRC and took the comments under advisement. The submission is for a conceptual review and the project was reviewed as if it were a regular project. Abutters: Pat Anderson, the Director of the Boys and Girls club next door said they are in favor of the project. Jim Carroll of 115 Dartmouth Street, asked what the building will look like in the rear of the lot and if there would be parking there. C. Roffo said the plan to install a 6 feet white vinyl stockade fence on the onset of construction, for noise, aesthetics and safety to the abutters. J. Carroll 4  Laconia Planning Board Minutes September 9, 2014 Approved October 9, 2014 wanted the Board to know that the Fire Dept are a great neighbor although a sidewalk would be a great addition on Tremont Street. Public: None W. Hutchins closed the public hearing. Motion: Motion: W. Contardo made the motion to approve the application with the conditions noted. W. Hutchins noted to be clear to the Board that the motion includes requiring sidewalks. L. Guild stated that he feels that sidewalks are a good idea, given the proximity to the Boys & Girls Club and the schools. D. Bownes said there have never been sidewalks on Tremont and W. Hutchins said there is a sidewalk from Pleasant to Dartmouth Street, so half of the sidewalk does exist. Any new sidewalks would continue the sidewalk that is on the other side. W. Hutchins then requested that D. Bownes, being a member of the City Council, convey to the Council the Planning Board’s official recommendation to require sidewalks and the Board’s position that sidewalks in this location are a priority, as this is a very important safely issue for the City and to the Planning Board. D. Bownes replied that he would be sure to convey that to the City Council. J. Tivnan seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. 2. Appl#PL2014-0102CUP (wetlands) 602 Scenic Rd MBL 124-234-2 Proposal to construct a two family dwelling in the wetland buffer (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 W. Contardo seconded the motion and opened the public hearing. Application: C. Duprey representing JR Laconia LLC was present. The proposal is to demolish the A-frame house next to the North Lodges. There is one abutter to the property that is not Meredith Bay owned and that is the Ortolani’s. The reason for the application was because of the wetlands impact. The proposal is for a townhome style two unit structure. The wetland impact is in an area that was previously disturbed during the construction of the A-frame house and became a manmade wetland from the retaining wall and driveway, where the water pools. The existing drive will be utilized and parking is proposed in the rear of the property. The building is proposed to look like the four units across the street, but cutting the middle out and pushing the ends together. The wetlands assessment that was done identified that there were no functions or values to the wetland. The applicant went before the ConCom. The parcel would be serviced by a private well and septic. They are at capacity with the North Lodges and Lodges for sewer. A Dredge and Fill permit from DES will be needed. They are ready to start depending on the outcome of the Planning Board meeting. ConCom had three requests that he believes, they are in good shape on. They asked to incorporate rain barrels on the downspouts, to create a sort of rain garden 5  Laconia Planning Board Minutes September 9, 2014 Approved October 9, 2014 where the runoff can pool off and dissipate, and to look at the overall impact to the drainage culverts under Scenic Road from all the development and potential future build out. He feels they are not creating any additional impacts to the culverts. DPW also asked for that during the North Lodges and those concerns were satisfied. Condo docs have not been done yet and the two units will tie into one of the other associations when the time comes. D. Richards noticed how narrow the driveway is and C. Duprey said he had not thought about that yet. There is an existing easement to access the driveway to pass and repass. DPW said there is an intermittent stream between the properties and an 8 inch PVC pipe is currently there and was asked to upgrade that pipe. Later DPW apologized for asking for the upgrade because it is not on the subject property. C. Duprey has not talked with the abutter yet and will if need be. ConCom had always been interested in Scenic Road. The building peak elevation wouldn’t be higher than the North Lodges. Staff Review: Staff recommends approval. The impacts are small and they are building on same footprint. She noted the conditions should be a-h, the lettering got off somehow on the format. Abutters: Mark Ortolani of 596 Scenic Road said the drainage problem is tearing up his property now and wanted to know if it would just get worse. He also has a well that is about 20 ft from the development that is used for gardening and other things, not drinking water. He said the developer does outstanding work and is happy. He is just concerned about the water issues. Pubic: None W. Hutchins closed the public hearing. Motion: D. Bownes made the motion to approve the application and W. Contardo seconded the motion. D. Richards asked if the septic is approved and was told yes. D. Richards just noted that the width of the drive was a concern to him. W. Hutchins said there is a line of site from the road to the house currently. There is a turnoff near the beginning of the drive by the purple house. C. Duprey will look into the concern. D. Bownes concern is the safety and the grade. It is an issue because of being a multifamily. L. Guild moved the question. D. Richards expects better from the developer. W. Contardo, D. Bownes and D. Richards oppose the motion. D. Bownes modified the motion by suggesting a continuance of the application for 30 days to have Staff deal with the drive concern. C. Duprey said the Planning Director and the Conservation Tech made a site visit already and the only concern was the wetland issue. W. Hutchins reiterated the motion. H. McLean abstained, the motion passed 4-3. B. Loughlin suggested adding a condition to add something about the driveway and D. Richards said he assumes the applicant will do it with an approval. C. Duprey said that the property is being used now for storage and the contractors are in and out and have not had any problems. 3. Appl# PL2014-0107SU 14 Jackson St MBL 413-116-35 Boundary Line adjustment after the merging of lots that were involuntarily merged by the City (Acceptance & Decision) 6  Laconia Planning Board Minutes September 9, 2014 Approved October 9, 2014 B. Loughlin told the Board the application was complete and recommended acceptance. Action: L. Guild made the motion to accept the application as complete and J. Tivnan seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. B. Loughlin said applicant requested a continuance to October 7 in order to complete sales details and other items being worked on. Motion: W. Contardo made the motion to continue the application to October 7, 2014 and J. Tivnan seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. 4. Appl#PL2014-0111SP amd 155, 161, 163 Court St MBL 450-51-63 Proposal to amend original site plan; modify existing building, add 8,991sq ft, reorganize parking, & drainage. (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 G. Denio seconded the motion and opened the public hearing. Applicant: Steve Smith and Mike McCarthy were present. S. Smith said that July 2013 the applicant was before the Board to build the auto parts store. Part of that approval was to take off the Skate Escape frontage and modify building. Then there was a fire that took out all of unit two and a portion of unit one. Recently they received an extension because that approval was about to expire and now requesting to amend the site plan. The proposal is to build 8,999 square feet of retail space. There are no pending tenants so they may return when one comes to accommodate. M. McCarthy said the building is missing a wall. Nothing happened to the laundry facility unit and that unit could be utilized now. The parking in front of the old building will continue and more parking will be added along the sides of the building and employee parking in the rear. Deliveries will be in the rear of the addition and they are adding a turn around to keep the truck out of parking areas. They are proposing removal of the access to Cook Court, and making it a green buffer. Stormwater treatment is being put in like with the auto store and will percolate the ground. A Screen fence will be put along the abutter property line on Fair Street and dumpsters will go in that area as well. A new water line will be put in the rear of the building and a fire hydrant needs to be put in per the Fire Dept. There are no offsite improvements proposed. Part of the original approval needed street trees and all are done but one, which will be added. Sidewalks exist on all streets. They have improved on the stormwater management plan. At TRC, there was a question on lighting and they will be the same fixtures as with the auto parts store. There will be less building square footage as to what was on the site. W. Contardo asked M. McCarthy said the new construction will be a Dollar Tree and the colors 7  Laconia Planning Board Minutes September 9, 2014 Approved October 9, 2014 will match the insurance building that is there currently. G. Denio asked how much of the green space increased and S. Smith said it was 23.4% and with the new proposal it will be 31.4%. Staff review: staff worked with the applicant and that was helpful at the TRC meeting. Staff recommends approval with only minor plan revisions. Abutters: Laurie Crete of 95 Fair Street asked where the dumpsters will be and was told near the doors in the rear right near their property. M. McCarthy said the fence was only going to go half way down but can make the fence go all the way down. The abutter and he can get together on that. Bob Crete of 95 Fair Street said he has water issues; every time it rains there is at least a foot of water and wants to know where the water from McCarthy’s site will go. M. McCarthy thinks the water is coming off Hebert’s from all the paving and it slopes toward the abutter’s property. All of the roof drains on the subject property drain into the City storm drains and B. Crete doesn’t think the City drains are catching the water. S. Smith said all the development has been on the front of the property and now that water is stored underground and released at a lesser rate than before. W. Hutchins said that with this design there is less water leaving the site. B. Crete said that for the past 8 years he has been dealing with the issue and the last rains storm there was a foot and half of water in the back yard. He is worried because it undermines the foundation. W. Hutchins asked B. Crete if he had talked with DPW and P. Moynihan said to talk with Hebert’s. Pubic: None W. Hutchins closed the public hearing. Motion: W. Contardo made the motion to approve the amendment with the conditions and G. Denio seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. 5. Appl#PL2014-0113SP amendment 616 Scenic Rd MBL 124-234-3 North Lodges at Meredith Bay Proposal to amend the original site plan’s services and stormwater configuration (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 J. Tivnan seconded the motion and opened the public hearing. Applicant: Chris Duprey representing Akwa Waterfront LLC , was present. B. Loughlin noted that the blue staff review is the revised staff review: condition “e” under “Plan Revisions” for third party comments. She said the application was originally approved with three small rain gardens 8  Laconia Planning Board Minutes September 9, 2014 Approved October 9, 2014 that were replaced with one large one. That is currently under third party review to make sure it can handle as one. If there are unresolved stormwater issues then the applicant will need to be back in to the Board in November. C. Duprey explained the request for a few site plan amendments. Some changes are the rain gardens going from three to one, the retaining walls in front of the building made from manufactured products or use of materials onsite, and they found a use for the large boulders which made the number of retaining walls change from 3 to 2 large walls. A rain tank system is being put in and that will give more green area. They would like to eliminate the retaining wall in the back of the driveway for aesthetics. The propane tanks need to be relocated on the other side of the building. The Fire Dept. wants a plan showing the location for approving before that is done. They found a need for a generator for the pump station and elevators and decided that they would provide a connection in each unit for one electrical outlet to provide some kind of electricity. The building will be fully sprinkled. The original transformer will be moved up by the driveway. The approved plan has asphalt curbing and that would be upgraded to granite curbing. C. Duprey passed out photos of the tree cutting area. The ribbons around the trees were from the identity of the trees. Orange fencing was the shoreline marker. He has not seen any erosion since trees were taken out. W. Hutchins said the area is like desert and plantings would look much better. Where the building was put in, originally there were not many trees, the trees were in the front of the lot. W. Hutchins asked how the views of the lake are from level one and two and C. Duprey said it depends on the unit. Unit 6 has relatively good views, but at the north end of the building there are no views. They have requested removal of five more trees, four of those, on the north end. The view gets better the higher the floor. The first floor level looks out at about 50% of the trees and up. W. Contardo suggested planting lower smaller vegetation in place of some of the trees taken out. C. Duprey would like to hire a landscape architect on what they should put in place of the trees being removed. ConCom recommended that they want some of the larger trees to stay and if the larger trees are in the five to be removed, to keep two of them. D. Richards noted that an arborist should look at the two that ConCom want and see if they would be worth keeping or not. D. Bownes said the Planning Board should be looking at the best way to develop the property and analyze the problem to resolve it and come up with a resolution. C. Duprey said when the process was started 20% of the trees were dead or dying. C. Duprey it is highly subjective. D. Bownes left at 9:30pm. L. Guild said on the first project the Board took a visit and suggested the Board do another site visit. W. Hutchins suggested asking Luke Powell, Scott McPhie and an arborist be there also. B. Loughlin said she could design a condition to read “no additional cutting allowed until a proposed plan is given by an arborists and approved by the Planning Board at the site visit”. There was discussion to re-word condition “a”. C. Duprey discussed item 2 b on the staff review. He said there is nothing in the proposal that will create slopes. The amount of water going into the rain garden is minimal according to the engineer. B. Loughlin thinks the concern was the curve area around the rain garden because it’s an earth berm. W. Hutchins thinks it comes down to what the third party says. B. Loughlin 9  Laconia Planning Board Minutes September 9, 2014 Approved October 9, 2014 added to the beginning of condition b “pending results for the third party if recommended and resolved” then the rest of the condition. Abutters: None Pubic: None W. Hutchins closed the public hearing. Motion: L. Guild made the motion to approve the amendment with conditions and adding to the beginning of condition b. W. Contardo seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. VI. Application Acceptance Appl# PL2014-0108SU, 0109CUP (wetland buffer) 1. 47 Cedar St MBL 427-36-54 Proposal to subdivide one lot into two B. Loughlin explained the application was complete and ready for hearing. Motion: L. Guild made the motion to accept the application as complete and H. McLean seconded the motion. The public hearing was scheduled for October 7, 2014. VII. New Business None VIII. Old Business None IX. Reports A. Planning Department Report: B. Loughlin updated the Board. The Master Plan process: They have been conducting outreach for input. There were (Park)ing days in the Weirs, Downtown, Rotary Park and Multicultural Fest. There will be a community forum on Oct 8, at the Belknap Mill. Flyers will go out soon. Update on the Hathaway House: The developer has been working with the Heritage Commission on salvage plans and items that will be displayed around town. The Heritage Commission will get a few items to display. They want to start ASAP. She is not sure where everything else stands. The Heritage Commission is trying to start the process. Lilac Valley started construction and it is an active construction site. Off Parade Road, on Anthony Drive, the state is upgrading pipes there in case anyone asks. There have been a lot of calls about a lot on Weirs Blvd where there has been clearing. They haven’t and shouldn’t stump but have been told they only want to put in a single family house. X. Liaison Reports A. Lakes Region Planning Commission: W. Hutchins said the Executive Summary and a memo were in the packets to look over. The Planning Commission will be having a public 10  Laconia Planning Board Minutes September 9, 2014 Approved October 9, 2014 meeting about the plan on Monday, September 29, from 4:30-6pm. He recommended the Board attend. B. Conservation Commission: W. Contardo said a lot going on right now. C. City Council: D. Bownes was gone. W. Hutchins concerned with fire station because such a huge project and feels that sidewalks are needed. XI. Other Business D. Richards gave an update on the Weirs Park. It is complete and extremely well done and beautiful. There were little to now problems with contractors. The only drawback was the grant for the playground equipment, they have been waiting for it and it came through a week ago. The playground equipment should arrive this week with a crew to install. Should get open this year. The ribbon cutting is October 15 at 1pm. Public is welcome to the ribbon cutting also. XII. Minutes Approval of the minutes from August 5 Motion: H. McLean made the motion to approve the minutes and D. Richards seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. XIII. Adjournment Motion: G. Denio made the motion to adjourn and H. McLean seconded the motion. The meeting adjourned at 10:13 pm. Respectfully, K. Graham` 11