Planning Board

CITY OF LACONIA PLANNING BOARD 6:30 PM City Hall - Armand A. Bolduc Council Chamber Accepted August 1, 2023 6/6/2023 - Minutes 1. CALL TO ORDER Vice Chair Charlie St. Clair called the meeting to order at 6:32 PM 2. ROLL CALL Members present: Amy Lovisek, Rob Mora, Rich MacNeill, Bruce Cheney, Stacy Soucy, Brett Beliveau, Louis Joseph, Scott McWilliam Absent: Mike DellaVecchia, Peter Brunette 3. RECORDING SECRETARY Kalena Graham 4. STAFF IN ATTENDANCE Kathy Menici, Interim Planning Director 5. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS 5.I. Acceptance of May 3 minutes Motion to accept the minutes from May 3 made by R. Mora, R. MacNeill. All voted in favor. 6. PRESENTATIONS 7. EXTENSIONS Note: The purpose of this agenda section is for the board to consider requests from applicants with previously approved projects to extend the deadline dates. The board may also deliberate the request, decide and conduct a final vote at this time. PUBLIC INPUT IS NOT TAKEN ON EXTENSION REQUESTS. 7.I. PL2020-0087SP, 0076CUP (alt parking); AND PL2020-0088SP, 0076CUP (alt parking); 340 Court Street AND 348 Court Street; Request to extend the approvals to either add 3,000 sq ft building or connecting driveway with associated parking improvements Applicant: Steve Weeks Sr addressed the board. He mentioned that he is still looking for a buyer and would like to keep the options open. Motion to approve the extension request for another year, expiring June 2024 made by B. Cheney, R. MacNeill seconded. All voted in favor. 8. CONTINUED PUBLIC HEARINGS, CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE VOTE Note: The purpose of this agenda section is for the Board to continue the Public Hearing for the applicant and the public to provide input. The Board may also deliberate the application, decide and conduct a final vote at this time. 8.I. PL2022-0114SP; 13 Summer Street; Creation of multifamily in existing structure Motion to continue the application to July 11 made by A. Lovisek, B. Beliveau seconded. All voted in favor.  8.I. PL2022-0114SP; 13 Summer Street; Creation of multifamily in existing structure Motion to continue the application to July 11 made by A. Lovisek, B. Beliveau seconded. All voted in favor. 8.II. PL2023-0043SP, 0044CUP (watercraft storage); Endicott North MBL 114-252-2; Proposal for outside storage for watercraft, trailers, campers, etc R. Mora asked Interim Director K. Menici if she felt the application was complete enough to be accepted. Interim Director K. Menici noted that without a survey or engineered plan, the scope of work, buffer impacts and area of disturbance are unknown. She questioned if the board has enough information to make an informed decision. Motion to continue the application until July 11, 2023 made by B. Cheney to allow the applicant to pull together all the necessary information. Property owner Richard Homsi addressed the board and explained the reasons. He noted that no building or excavating will be done as well as plant where there isn’t currently a buffer and feels there is no need for a landscape plan. Vice Chair C. St. Clair suggested all the details be worked out with the Director so at the next meeting a decision can be voted on. R. MacNeill seconded. All voted in favor. 9. PUBLIC HEARINGS, POSSIBLE CONSIDERATION AND VOTE Note: The purpose of this agenda section is for the Board to have a presentation from the applicant and open a Public Hearing for the public to provide input. The Board may also deliberate the application, decide and conduct a final vote at this time. 9.I. PL2023-0053SP amd1; 150-208 Lakeside Ave, NH Veteran's Assoc; Proposal to add six self contained RV sites to the existing campground Motion to accept the application as complete made by S. McWilliam, R. Mora seconded. All voted in favor. Applicant: Mike Young addressed the board. He noted that all of the people are members of the NHVA and the sites are all seasonal. Only members are able to rent any building on the site. Sites 22 and 23 wil need to be driven RVs and smaller motor homes. The site is the oldest in the country and they have worked to get the site in good shape. The addition would make the total amount of sites 27. The public hearing opened 7:03 PM No one spoke for or against the application. The public hearing closed at 7:04 PM Staff review: Interim Director K. Menici noted that there would be no impact fee for the amendment. Motion to approve the conditional use permit for campground made by S. McWilliam, R. Mora seconded. All voted in favor. Motion to approve the amendment to the site plan to add six more RV campsites made by R. Mora, with the findings that the proposed campground will be beneficial to the veterans and doesn’t change the use as it’s an expansion of a previously approved use. B. Cheney seconded. All voted in favor. 9.II. PL2023-0069SU; 11 Addison St; Proposal to subdivide one lot into two. Waiver requested for topographic lines and sidewalk Motion to accept the application as complete made by A. Lovisek, R. Mora seconded. All voted in favor. Applicant: Dean Clark addressed the board. The new owners would like to separate the existing house and business which each have street frontage. There is a water hookup in the road and the newly created lot will hook to that. There are sidewalks on Addison and the walkway to the garage will be discontinued. The public hearing opened 7:17 PM  and business which each have street frontage. There is a water hookup in the road and the newly created lot will hook to that. There are sidewalks on Addison and the walkway to the garage will be discontinued. The public hearing opened 7:17 PM No one spoke for or against the application. The public hearing closed at 7:18 PM Staff review: Interim Director K. Menici noted that this is a straightforward subdivision. Motion to approve the waiver request for sidewalks made by R. Mora, B. Beliveau seconded. All voted in favor. Motion to approve the subdivision application with the dates and conditions as stated in the staff review, made by B. Beliveau, finding that since there is no change to the property, both existing uses will still be within the zoning regulations and no new development on the lot the proposal meets the regulations. S. McWilliam seconded the motion. All voted in favor. 9.III. PL2023-0029SP, 0030SU; White Oaks Rd; Proposal for residential site plan for 6 multifamily buildings for total of 29 units in on private road Applicant: Peter Grenier, Atty John Cronin of Cronin, Bisson & Zalinsky Law, Nate Chamberlain from Fieldstone were present. J. Cronin noted the applicant received relief for density from the ZBA. The condo docs have been submitted. An AOT permit with the state will be required. He asked if a third party could be as a condition of approval instead of continuing to another meeting. The applicant will not be clear cutting anything, just cutting where the work will be. The tallest structure height will be 32 ft. S. McWilliam asked if third party would be necessary if they are getting state approval. The public hearing opened 9:03 PM No one spoke for or against the application. The public hearing closed at 9:04 PM Staff review: Interim Director K. Menici has never seen a third party done as a condition of approval in her time. C. St. Clair noted that the board doesn’t sound like they are against the project and would be just waiting for the third party information. He clarified that it didn’t mean they were approving it just noting there was no objections. Motion to approve the waiver for Subdivision Regulations Section 6.5., requirement for Sidewalks made by B. Cheney, S. McWilliam seconded. All voted in favor. S. Soucy asked if the applicant would waive the right for planning board to take action within the 65 day time period and consented to an extension and was approved by the applicant. Motion to continue the site plan and subdivision applications to July 11 made by R. Mora, A. Lovisek seconded. All voted in favor. 9.IV. PL2023-0062, 0063CUP(wetland); Lexington Dr MBL 375-324-4; Proposal to construct two warehouses 5,000 sf and 3,000 sf in the wetland Motion to accept the conditional use application made by S. McWilliam, B. Beliveau seconded. All voted in favor. Motion to accept the site plan application made by S. McWilliam, R. Mora seconded. All voted in favor. Applicant: Peter Howard from Dubois & King and Bob Gallagher were present. P. Howard addressed the board and went over the plan. The plan has been before the Conservation Commission and they support the proposal. The wetland permit has been submitted to the state. There will be drip edge for any additional runoff. The site will house small manufacturing, storage and/or a place to work on vehicles. There could be a potential to rent out some of the building in the front in the future. The building in the rear would only be cold storage. C. St. Clair suggested not using a lot of salt or chemicals so it won’t run into the wetland. After some discussion on the grade of the parking area in  Applicant: Peter Howard from Dubois & King and Bob Gallagher were present. P. Howard addressed the board and went over the plan. The plan has been before the Conservation Commission and they support the proposal. The wetland permit has been submitted to the state. There will be drip edge for any additional runoff. The site will house small manufacturing, storage and/or a place to work on vehicles. There could be a potential to rent out some of the building in the front in the future. The building in the rear would only be cold storage. C. St. Clair suggested not using a lot of salt or chemicals so it won’t run into the wetland. After some discussion on the grade of the parking area in the rear, P. Howard will look into possible grade change. The public hearing opened 7:50 PM No one spoke for or against the application. The public hearing closed at 7:50.25 PM Staff review: Interim Director K. Menici noted the conditions on both applications. Motion to approve the conditional use permit and site plan applications with the dates and conditions as stated in the staff review and changing the completion date to June 2025 made by R. Mora, finding the applicant has worked diligently to preserve the wetland as delineated on the plan and the proposal is in line with the City’s Master Plan by allowing the use in the industrial area. A. Lovisek seconded the motion. All voted in favor. 9.V. PL2023-0064SP; 354 Union Ave; Proposal to convert an existing garage with living space to another full unit to result in multifamily Motion to accept the site plan application made by S. McWilliam, R. Mora seconded. All voted in favor. Applicant: Maritza and William Mahoney addressed the board. The applicant’s are looking to maximize the use of the existing unit in the garage by water and sewer. The area is being used by them part time and eventually would like it to be used long term. The public hearing opened 8:03 PM No one spoke for or against the application. The public hearing closed at 8:03.25 PM Staff review: Interim Director K. Menici asked for clarification on the parking in the rear of the lot. B. Cheney brought up the impact waiver reduction and that Council questioned why the board is always giving the maximum amount. Each additional unit added will eventually be extra demands on the city, even using existing structures. Motion to approve the waiver request with a 50% reduction made by B. Cheney, R. Mora seconded. All voted in favor with L. Joseph abstaining. Motion to approve the site plan application with the dates and conditions as stated in the staff review made by A. Lovisek, finding that the applicant tis using infill and adding another unit to the housing crisis and within the zoning regulations for the zone. B. Cheney seconded the motion. All voted in favor. L. Joseph recused himself for the next application. 9.VI. PL2023-0066SP; 395 Main Street; Proposal to create four unit in existing structure to result in multifamily Motion to accept the site plan application made by A. Lovisek, B. Cheney seconded. All voted in favor. Applicant: Tom Cochran from Laconia Housing, Sonya Misiaszek and Archie Keltz from Misiaszek & Turpin Architects. The proposal will turn current offices into four efficiency units using the existing footprint. A variance from the ZBA was obtained for density. The existing sign will be kept. The city toters will be used instead of dumpsters, near the A/C units on the ground. All parking will be on site but most of the clients walk to the amenities in the area. The public hearing opened 8:26 PM No one spoke for or against the application. The public hearing closed at 8:26.50 PM  toters will be used instead of dumpsters, near the A/C units on the ground. All parking will be on site but most of the clients walk to the amenities in the area. The public hearing opened 8:26 PM No one spoke for or against the application. The public hearing closed at 8:26.50 PM Staff review: Interim Director K. Menici noted the waiver request for impact fees. B. Cheney brought up the demand on city services even though they are efficiency. S. McWilliam would like to see the 80% be waived as they are low income units. B. Cheney would like to see only 50% as there are other breaks. Motion to approve the waiver request with a 50% reduction made by B. Cheney, R. Mora seconded. S. The motion passed with McWilliam opposing. Motion to approve the site plan application with the dates and conditions as stated in the staff review made by S. Soucy, finding the applicant is using infill and adding another unit to the housing crisis and within the zoning regulations for the zone. R. Mora seconded the motion. All voted in favor. 9.VII. PL2023-0065CUP (wetland) 48 Lucerne Ave Proposal to construct a 3 story cottage in the wetland buffer Motion to accept the site plan application made by B. Beliveau, R. MacNeill seconded. All voted in favor. Applicant: Joe Gifford of and Greg Bolton. The applicant will be using the existing water and sewer. The drive is private and named Alpenrose Ave. The proposal is to remove the existing structures including the garage. The application has been before the Conservation Commission and the Shoreland application has been submitted. The house will be a 2-story with walkout basement and no more than 30 ft tall. The public hearing opened 9:16 PM No one spoke for or against the application. The public hearing closed at 9:17 PM Staff review: Interim Director K. Menici noted the Concom changes have been reflected in the plan. Motion to approve the condition use application with the dates and conditions as stated in the staff review made by S. McWilliam, finding the house project will not impose on the wetland buffer any more than the existing footprint and not any change in the use. L. Joseph seconded the motion. All voted in favor. 9.VIII. PL2023-0048SP, 0049CUP(campgrnd); Endicott North MBL 114-252-3; Proposal to construct an RV campground with associated ground work, bathhouse and pool Motion to accept the site plan application made by B. Cheney, S. McWilliam seconded. All voted in favor. Applicant: Nick Sceggell of Dubois & King, Jonathan Boutin of Boutin Lowman PLLC, were present. The proposal is to put RV campground near the Meredith town line. The applicant is asking for conditional use permits for steep slope and the use. N. Sceggell went over the plan. The water will need to be extended offsite. The RVs will be owner occupied and short term lodging will not be permitted. The road will be 22 ft wide with 2 way traffic through the site and entrance. The amenity proposed to be a pool with bath house. The sites will be terraced with small retaining walls, 30 inches or less. On the south end of the lot there is a vegetative buffer. A master meter will be on site for water. The site is proposed to be seasonal from May 15 to Oct 15. The RVs will be allowed to stay but shut down. The water will be drained and shut off because the line will be less than the depth of the frost line. The applicant anticipates some ledge removal. An AOT permit will be needed from the state. There will be vegetated rain gardens and detention ponds with underground drains and treatment. N. Sceggell went over the waiver for overhead utilities. There is a long lead time on materials. There will be poles along the drive to a sub pole then underground.  water will be drained and shut off because the line will be less than the depth of the frost line. The applicant anticipates some ledge removal. An AOT permit will be needed from the state. There will be vegetated rain gardens and detention ponds with underground drains and treatment. N. Sceggell went over the waiver for overhead utilities. There is a long lead time on materials. There will be poles along the drive to a sub pole then underground. There was discussion on the Concom memo and responses. R. Mora concerned with the density. Greenspace is around the 60% and Interim Director K. Menici asked for clarification on the use as it contracts in the site plan vs the cup with residential/non residential use. The proposal is to have low voltage ball landscape lighting only 4 ft high and the entrance will have a gate or security cameras for the winter. Dumpster pick up will be addressed by volume rather than days a week. The public hearing opened at 10:08 PM Vicki Viebrooks, of 58 Brecken Ridge Wy unit 31, HOA board President of Beaver Pond addressed the board. They are directly downslope in the rear of the proposed lot. Since last fall, the property has been seeing more water than ever. There are also more stand pools of water with gullies 12-14 inches deep. The trees were taken down right to the property line. The association has started their own mediation to prevent further damage. B. Beliveau thinks the work that will be done will help with any runoff problem. Kate Campbell of 820 Endicott N, had concern with the noise level. Bill Ryder clarified that the only size trees taken down with the intent to cut was 4 inches and smaller. The boarder line of vegetation had been cut before he owned the property and is planning to plant Arborvitae along the property line. The campground will have a quiet time similar to others. Shannon Casey addressed the board as a member of the public. She is a realtor that has been seeing a trend where campgrounds are being used as a second home. The public hearing closed at 10:33 PM The applicant has no objection to going to a third-party review but argued that the DES permitting process is as rigorous or more rigorous than a third party review is. S. Soucy noted that just last week she was at a workshop with DES and they were discussing their lack of staff and the issues with the times and would feel better with another set of eyes. N. Sceggell noted that is how long it would take to get the permit, not necessarily what they are reviewing and are very thorough in reviews. The applicant would like the third party review as a condition to not lose time in the process. J. Cronin noted that usually third party review is discussed during the TRC process, not after the application has been accepted. Interim Planning Director K. Menici noted that this is the first time the board is seeing this plan since there was no conceptual or design review done prior to the meeting. Staff’s role is advisory to the board and the board makes the decision. Motion to require the application for a third party review for steep slopes, drainage and blasting to ensure there will be protection to the city and the abutter to July 11 made by S. Soucy, B. Beliveau seconded. The motion passed with B. Cheney, R. MacNeill, S. Soucy, B. Beliveau, L. Joseph for; S. McWilliam against and R. Mora, A. Lovisek abstaining. Motion to continue the application to July 11 made by R. Mora, R. MacNeill seconded. All voted in favor. 10. APPLICATION ACCEPTANCE Note: The purpose of this agenda section is to publicize that a Planning Board application has been submitted AND for the Planning Board to determine if the application is complete enough to begin the review process. PUBLIC INPUT IS NOT TAKEN AT THIS TIME. If the  Motion to continue the application to July 11 made by R. Mora, R. MacNeill seconded. All voted in favor. 10. APPLICATION ACCEPTANCE Note: The purpose of this agenda section is to publicize that a Planning Board application has been submitted AND for the Planning Board to determine if the application is complete enough to begin the review process. PUBLIC INPUT IS NOT TAKEN AT THIS TIME. If the application is accepted the Planning Board will schedule a Public Hearing at which time the application will be heard and public comments will be accepted. Information about applications can be obtained on the city’s web site or by calling the Planning office. 11. NEW BUSINESS 11.I. LRPC representative to replace Stacy Soucy S. Soucy asked for someone to take her place as LRPC liaison. A vote will be taken at the next meeting. S. Soucy asked for someone to take her place on the Master Plan Steering committee as well. She noted that L. Joseph had shown interest and she suggested him. L. Joseph agreed. Motion to appoint L. Joesph to the Master Plan Steering Committee made by B. Beliveau, A. Lovisek seconded. All voted in favor. 12. OLD BUSINESS 13. PLANNING DEPT REPORT 14. LIAISON REPORTS LRPC: nothing to report Concom: nothing to report Council: nothing to report HDC: C. St. Clair noted that the Council Subcommittee is working on the revised draft HOD ordinance. 15. OTHER BUSINESS 16. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 10:53 PM Respectfully, K. Graham