Planning Board

CITY OF LACONIA PLANNING BOARD Historic Overlay District Subcommittee 6:30 PM City Hall - Armand A. Bolduc Council Chamber Draft Minutes 7/17/2019 - Minutes 1. CALL TO ORDER Members present: Tara Shore, Sarah Jenna, Brett Beliveau, Councilor David Bownes, Planning Director Dean Trefethen, Assistant Director Rob Mora Absent: Jay Forester 2. NEW BUSINESS Planning Director Dean Trefethen explained to the subcommittee how this proposal came about. Chose Durham's as a model and changes were made after Legal Counsel review. There have been discussions with folks in the community and the church. From a planning/zoning perspective, the concern raised is that the HOD to be spot zoning, due to the size. Another discussion item would be adding more parcels to the HOD. He stated the document is very lengthy and from his personal experience, for the most part, this ordinance works in Durham but over the years there have been controversy/challenges with certain properties. There will need to be a process put in place. There was discussion with the COuncil subcommittee about not being picky enough down to door knobs. There are waivers available in this document. T. Shore suggested that while creating the ordinance, we follow the certifiable local government model. D. Trefethen noted that the difference between the HOD and Heritage Commission is the teeth. D. Bownes asked if something should be written in that acknowledges the Performance zoning and would allow planning/zoning boards to make recommendations. D. Trefethen noted that under the performance zoning, there is a list of allowed waivers. Appeals to the HOD would go to the Zoning Board, then to court. D. Bownes would like some flexibility for the historic commission so they aren't bound by all the rules and regulations, like the planning board has, in terms of how they can deal with projects. He suggested a few more considerations, on Main Street and Pleasant, to be added to the HOD. T. Shore said the 1982 preservation plan was a good plan, adding in the mills. D. Bownes feels a plan should be made to make the downtown area attractive for developers to want to come in. D. Trefethen said this is where performance zoning can work. The intent is to give developers greater flexibility, but the planning board has the authority to say yes or no based on the quality of the project, as per the Master Plan. B. Beliveau's concern is that property owners may have a hard time selling something that could be losing money because the district is too restrictive, which could leave the building in shambles. T. Shore would encourage people to call the cities that have the HOD areas and see what they have to say. D. Bownes stated, the question that needs to be answered in terms of this ordinance is not what would happen if, but how do we make it happen when and how to use the concept to encourage people to say Laconia is a nice place. There will a separate commission from the Heritage Commission. D. Bownes noted it would consist of one council member, one planning board member, and three to five from the community. T. Shore added that someone that understands real estate law and someone that has historical architecture might be good to have on the commission. D. Bownes asked how to get the volunteers and T. Shore noted she had a list of people who are on board. D. Trefethen suggested the committee read through the document with modifications if needed. Also to think about what lots to include in the district. B. Beliveau asked if the langue should be done first, then the properties and D. Trefethen said no, the properties should be decided first. In regards to the document, page one paragraph two, D. Bownes would like to just make the amount of members five. He wants something added in to the waiver part or somewhere, that acknowledges the performance zoning to give the HOD commission some flexibility. T. Shore noted that time if of the essence and asked for clarification on the timeline. D. Trefethen explained  In regards to the document, page one paragraph two, D. Bownes would like to just make the amount of members five. He wants something added in to the waiver part or somewhere, that acknowledges the performance zoning to give the HOD commission some flexibility. T. Shore noted that time if of the essence and asked for clarification on the timeline. D. Trefethen explained the process. The earliest council could enact this new district would be mid October. D. Trefethen proposed to meet at the end of the month to come to an agreement, it could still go to August Planning Board for presentation. D. Trefethen asked that the committee come up with a set number of the members, the powers of duties to be defined, designation of the historic district and the criteria, identification or delineation of the district, actions section, standards for review, and any other section that the committee might want to change before the next meeting. T. Shore will try to find the 1982 proposal and send that out to the committee. D. Trefethen will send the electronic version of the document to the committee. The next meeting will be July 30 at 5:00 PM. 3. ADJOURNMENT