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Sunapee Area Watershed Coalition
Meeting Minutes-January 10, 2008
In attendance: Aimee Ayers, Town of Sunapee; Terry Dancy, Town of New London; Edythe Anderson, Town of NL; Carol Foss, Town of New London, LLS; Charlie Hirshberg, Town of Sunapee; Ken Lawson, Town of Springfield and Lake Kolelemook Protective Association; Suzanne Levine, Town of Newbury, Con.Com; Robert Wood, Assoc. Dir. Lake Sunapee Protective Association; Cynthia Hayes, Town of Springfield and Baptist Pond Protective Assoc.; June Fichter, Town of Newbury and LSPA
Fichter opened the meeting at 6:00PM.
Charlie Hirshberg gave a presentation on the Stormwater ordinance and guide that was developed for the town of Newbury. This work came out of the Chalk Pond stormwater concerns and was funded by a grant to develop an ordinance. In the process, the cost of repairing roads and infrastructure was instrumental in leading to the desire to eliminate the stormwater problems. The work was done under direction of the Newbury Planning Board and was approved by the Selectboard of Newbury. The ordinance will be on the Town Warrant for a vote in March.
The ordinance focuses on individual lots on slopes of 15% or greater with the goal of protecting surface waters. It includes a definition of steep slope that allows for measurement method. The ordinance defines the landowner as the responsible entity, and the stormwater ordinance becomes active at the building permit stage. A topographic map of the lot will be required, along with an erosion plan both for temporary and permanent control. The code enforce will inspect temporary and permanent controls. The ordinance follows the DES design standards. It was noted that NH has very few permit requirement when compared to the rest of the country. It was also noted that the DES design standards need updating from 1992 as is the storm data that is used statewide.
The question of maintenance of the permanent controls was discussed. In some instances, towns have required that such maintenance features be put into the property’s deed. It was also noted that some logging would not come under this ordinance for erosion control and is another subject.
The ordinance and the guide are very well done. The guide can be distributed to homeowners, realtors, and be available in town offices, libraries, etc. SAWC and LSPA representatives were happy to help. They were distributed to the SAWC members, who will bring them to their towns for discussions.
The next meeting is February 14, 2008 at CSC, Ivey Room 201
The Watershed Plan update is expected to be on the calendar.
Respectfully submitted by June Fichter
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