Joint Board Minutes

Meeting date: 
Tuesday, July 28, 2020

Joint Board Meeting

July 28, 2020

Final

 

Present:  Bruce Healey, Planning Board; Russell Smith, Selectboard; Michael Beaton, Planning Board; Ed Thorson, Selectboard; Alex Azodi, Zoning Board; Barbara Freeman, Public; David Blohm, Zoning Board; Judy Healey, Public; Gary Budd, Zoning Board; Darren Finneral, Planning Board; Joanne Dionne-Lord, Planning Board; Joy Nowell, Selectboard; Rudi Franklin, Public; Jen Franklin, Public; Reed Gelzer, Zoning Board; Ladd Kautz, Code Enforcement Officer; Chris Hernick, Planning Board; Tiffany Favreau, Land Use Coordinator; Scott Hill, Public; and Henry Thomas, Fire Chief.

 

Mr. Healey called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.

 

Administrative

 

Mr. Healey announced that everyone should fill out the COVID-19 form.

 

Mr. Healey said the goal is to finish the meeting by 9:00 p.m. He said they will need to keep topics moving so then can go over all 17 topics that need to be discussed.

 

Mr. Healey said he would like each board member or public to announce their name each time they speak. He said he would like everyone to be civil to each other at the meeting. If anyone is found to be argumentative, they will be asked to leave.

 

Everyone went around the room to introduce themselves.

 

Mr. Healey asked if people would help break the room down at the end of the meeting as well as wipe down all of the surfaces that have been used.

 

Selectboard:

 

1.  15.2  Non-conforming Building

 

Mr. Thorson discussed the topic of non-conforming building. Mr. Thorson said the Selectboard has a hard time with non-conforming buildings. Mr. Rudy Franklin said he would like to change the complex wording that is interpreted differently by different people. He asked if he could read a proposal for an amended 15.2. Mr. Healey asked if he could make copies of Mr. Franklin’s proposal.

 

Copies were made and distributed to everyone. Mr. Healey mentioned that the suggestion will be reviewed at a later time.

 

2.  Status of plans to address Master Plan Action Item concerning zoning regulations to encourage development of a variety of housings types beyond single-family residential units.

 

Mr. Healey brought up the status of plans to address the Master Plan Action item concerning zoning regulations to encourage development of a variety of housing types beyond single-family residential units.

 

Ms. Freeman said that people who work in the area should be able to live here and have affordable living available to them. She recommends that the public be involved with this process. She thinks the town should offer some affordable housing. She would like to have a community meeting regarding this topic. Mr. David Blohm agreed with this. Mr. Gelzer said he agrees with this as some of the younger people in the area cannot afford to live in Newbury. He said there are a lot of models out there that we could look at as how other communities have addressed this. Mr. Franklin said that where he is from in Europe that is very expensive and a lot of people need to rent and cannot not purchase. He said he thinks that the town should buy and renovate a couple of buildings that have been vacant. The town could put in apartments to rent in these vacate buildings. He would like to see the town buy them, renovate them and make a profit from the rent.

 

Ms. Katheryn Holmes said she is confused between the topic of lowering the acreage and offering affordable housing. She agrees with Ms. Freeman that there should be some community meetings regarding this topic.

 

Mr. Darren Finneral said he is in favor of affordable housing but he does not want to see the town spend money.

 

Mr. Russell Smith said the town does not want to be a landlord and would not consider purchasing buildings and renting them.

 

Mr. Scott Hill said the town regulations in Newbury are too tough.

 

Zoning Board of Adjustment

 

  1. Tree Houses

 

Mr. Gelzer said that the Zoning Board would like to discuss different housing types. One type they want clarification on is tree houses. Mr. Gelzer said they would like it named in the regulations and called out in the regulations to simplify things for the ZBA.

 

Mr. Beaton asked if there were building codes to build a tree house. Mr. Gelzer said there is an engineering resource for tree houses that the past code enforcement officer used.

 

Mr. Healey asked if they really thought this was a growing issue. Ms. Holmes said she believes it is.

 

  1. Tiny Houses

 

Ms. Favreau discussed the topic of tiny houses. Right now a resident cannot add more than one tiny house on a property. Ms. Favreau said she thinks Newbury should get ahead of this issue, because legislation is looking into making tiny houses more accessible due to COVID-19.

 

Ms. Nowell said they need to get more clarification on what a tiny house would be.

 

  1. Affordable Housing

 

This topic was previously discussed under the Selectboard topics.

 

  1. Shoreland District (Article 7) anomalies arising from partially conflicting definitions for “Building Footprint”, “Impervious Area”, and “Structure”.

 

Mr. Gelzer talked about pervious vs. impervious surfaces. He explained that the ZBA has found itself approving substantial expansions of actual “built-out footprint” for Buffer/Setback non-conforming structures due to these problematic definitions, mainly due to walkways, patios, and decks defined as non-structures. He said he believes that a study be done. He said the ZBA is really seeing the impact where they keep getting boxed in. Mr. Healey said that he is also troubled with how the point came to be. He said it does see that this is an important topic to appending. He suggested an appointment be set up with some members of the ZBA with the Planning Board to discuss the issues.

 

Mr. Gelzer said he would be agreeable to come into a future Planning Board Meeting.

 

  1. “Fortress walls” in Buffer/Setback

 

Mr. Blohm explained there was an owner that received a variance and they were told to put in a fortress wall. Mr. Blohm said there is no follow-up as to what these homeowners are doing.

 

Mr. Thorson said he appears to him that if a homeowner is told to do something, there should be a date in which these things should be done. Mr. Blohm asked who would be checking on doing this work. Mr. Gelzer asked if the Code Enforcement Officer would be responsible for this. Mr. Thorson said the home owners should have to send information and/or pictures to prove the work has been done. Mr. Azodi asked if this is a Zoning Board issue to keep policing this and Mr. Thorson said yes. Ms. Favreau said she could calendar this and see if the homeowners have done what they are supposed to do. She said that if she hasn’t heard from the homeowner, she can contact them when it shows up on her calendar.

 

Mr. Healey said there is always the option for the applicant to request more time in writing for an extension. He suggested the Zoning Board to do the same.

 

Mr. Blohm asked Ms. Favreau who would do the check. She said she could reach out to the applicant and get the feedback. She could then turn it over to Mr. Kautz if there needs to be enforcement.

 

Mr. Healey said that approvals should be contingent on the conditions being met.

 

  1. Follow Through by Owner and Subsequent Oversight by Town Re: Plan

 

Mr. Blohm asked if there is a mechanism on dealing with stormwater systems. He said a lot of systems need to be maintained and the ZBA needs to know that there will be follow-up and oversight of these new systems.

 

Ms. Holmes said she agrees that the homeowners need to maintain these systems. She said she would like the stormwater management plans included in their files with their tax cards.

 

Ms. Favreau said they need to take a look at article 21. She said there is no enforcement in there other than they will inspect the system when it is complete and the Board of Selectmen may enforce.

 

Mr. Blohm said it should be the homeowner’s responsibility and not all put on the Code Enforcement Officer.

 

Ms. Nowell said it would behoove them to maintain these systems. There should be self-interest. She said the town cannot hold their hands throughout this process.  Mr. Thorson said there has to be a calendar of maintenance.

 

Mr. Gary Budd said there should be follow-up. He said these homeowners go to the ZBA for a variance, and agree to do anything to get these approvals to go through but they do not follow through.

 

Mr. Chris Hernick said there should be records kept for about five years to make sure these homeowners are following through with their maintenance.

 

  1. Meaningful fines for unlawful, nonpermitted shoreland tree cutting and trimming.

 

Mr. Gelzer explained fines should be sufficient to cover the town cost for periodic inspections during the three year monitoring period already stipulated by 7.14 Shoreland Restoration, section 7.14.4.7 Should also be proportional, high enough to deter violations.

 

 

Mr. Healey said the ZBA makes a really good point in which the homeowners need to put in a stormwater management system. It must mean that the town should keep track and be aware of these instances in which these approvals were given with a commitment. He feels that the concept of using the property tax card is where this information should be tracked and it is always on the tax property card. Ms. Nowell said if the variance was given with a condition, we need to track to see if these conditions are being met.

 

Mr. Healey said is he is very intrigued by the concept that the assessor is required to go on a property every three years. He feels that the assessor has a tool right in their hands with the information in the tax card. Mr. Smith said it is not the assessor’s job to enforce these conditions. Mr. Thorson and Ms. Nowell said they agree that this could be a good flag that there is an issue.

 

  1. Stormwater Management PlanMaintenance Plans and Inspections

 

Ms. Holmes explained that the Newbury Conservation Commission is an advisory group and looks at all of the DES permits, PINs and shoreland applications. She said that Mr. Stewart asked her to read a follow-up as to what they are doing regarding stormwater management and the need to maintain these systems.

 

Ms. Holmes said the town should follow up on complaints. 

 

Ms. Holmes said the Commission is trying to move forward with dealing with violations that have happened.

 

  1. Code Enforcement Officer Coverage

 

Mr. Gelzer said the past Code Enforcement Officer was consistently working more than three days/week. He feels that there is a lot of discussion about adding more responsibilities and the ZBA thinks maybe the CEO should have more hours. Mr. Smith said that needs to be brought to the Selectboard and they could approve this if necessary. Mr. Thorson said they have already expanded the hours. Mr. Healey asked Mr. Kautz to discuss his efforts. Mr. Kautz said he lives and dies with this town. He said it is a tough job requiring more hours in the day than is needed. It is a never ending workload. Mr. Thorson asked how long did it take to file the paperwork. Mr. Kautz said it took an entire month to file what was needed, and he just found two more boxes. Mr. Thorson said they changed the position to 32 hours for Mr. Kautz. Mr. Azodi said most of the topics that were discussed tonight have to do with more responsibilities for the CEO. Mr. Azodi thinks it is essential to have the CEO work fulltime. Mr. Healey asked about the procedure about building permit submittals. Ms. Favreau gave an update on the new procedure that she and Mr. Kautz have been working on.

 

  1. Unique, special septic systems that, by design, require active management, annual or bi-annual maintenance to prevent failure.

Mr. Gelzer reported that a variance was recently permitted for a septic system that requires an annual inspection or there could be an epic fail. He explained that the ZBA recently approved a desperately needed septic solution for a property owner on Great Island. Uniquely, the system’s design firm highlights in their literature that the system will fail without annual inspection and upkeep provided by that firm. Recommend: To prevent sewage pollution, the approval of use of fast-fail designs must stipulate providing the town their maintenance receipt as evidence of annual upkeep. It was again discussed that this information be recorded and filed in the property tax cards.

 

Newbury Conservation Commission

 

  1. Do we need a regulation or follow up for the BP’s with Stormwater

Management plans and Erosion Control plans that require a maintenance plan? These BP’s need cleaning and if cleaning is not happening the pollution will go to the lake or pond. What should the town require?

 

Topics discussed during ZBA discussion of stormwater management plans.

 

  1. Restoration Article and How to Put it in Action

Ms. Holmes explained the restoration article has to be followed and enforced.

 

  1. Enforcement issues, what are we really doing to uphold the

Regulations?

            Discussed above.

 

  1. The Master Plan and how are we doing with our Action Plans?

This topic was discussed earlier

 

  1. Easement “Headwaters of the Warner River”

Ms. Holmes briefly discussed the easement on the Avery Property, now named “Headwaters of the Warner River”.

 

That being the end of all topics on the agenda, Mr. Healey asked if there were any additional questions.

 

Ms.. Nowell made a motion to adjourn.  Ms. Lord seconded the motion.  All in favor.

 

The meeting adjourned at 8:32 p.m.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

 

Donna S. Long

Recording Secretary