Ms. Killam called the meeting to order at 7:45 p.m.

Attorney Sumner Kalman to Keach-Nordstrom Associates dated 11/29/04

re: Cogswell Farm Subdivision performance bond.

Mr. Keach was surprised to learn that the project was bonded by the former contractor and not directly by Lemery Development. He reported that he spoke to Attorney Kalman and they suspected there is another surety out there. Attorney Kalman was going to contact the town treasurer to track it down. Paul Pandolino's contract was to construct only certain portions of the work and that the surety instrument would not have been adequate. The Town Treasurer must have more information. Attorney Kalman is prepared to pursue this.

 

Citizen Petition submitted to Selectmen dated 12/7/04 for Proposed Article to Amend Section 620.

Keach-Nordstrom Associates dated 12/6/04 re: Estimate for review for Pappalardo/Buckley Lot Line Adjustment.

Selectmen minutes dated 11/1,8,15 and 22, 2004.

Keach-Nordstrom Associates dated 12/9/04 re: Jameson Ridge Subdivision bituminous paving.

Ms. Killam read this letter. Mr. Keach reported that he was not recommending release of the bond. Upon inspection it was noted that paving was done when frost was present on the pavement which is in violation of Section 450:1e of the Road Specs. The developer is aware of this infraction. The town is holding $224,000 and the town is in good shape financially. Mr. Keach noted that the road is well done but the developers ran out of time.

Mr. Keach did get a request for a bond release, which has been processed and recommends moving it to the Selectmen. He noted that most of the work done there has passed all inspections. He added that this was a big job that went very well.

Mr. Earley made a motion to recommend to Selectmen the bond in the amount of $440,314. Mr. Morse seconded the motion. Motion approved unanimously.

Board of Adjustment to Lewis Builders, 54 Sawyer Avenue, Map 8, Lot 3-1 letter dated 12/13/04 re: Approval for Expansion of office space.

Keach-Nordstrom Associates dated 12/14/04 re: Pappalardo/Buckley Lot Line Adjustment review.

Outgoing

Legal Notices for Public Hearing meeting of 12/15/04.

Minutes were tabled to the next meeting.

The Public Hearing was opened at 8:27 p.m.

Heard will be the following:

James M. Lavelle Associates submission of an Application for Formal Consideration and Approval of a Lot Line Adjustment Plan for property owned by Adam J. Pappalardo & Erin Murphy, 15 Coventry Road, Map 14, Lot 84-13 and James Buckley, 17 Coventry Road, Map 14, Lot 84-12 for an equal area exchange of land in TR2 Zone.

The abutter's list was read. Present: James Buckley; Adam Pappalardo; Francis Polito. Mr. Lavelle was not present.

Mr. Keach discussed his review letter. Both lots have odd lot geometry. The intent is to transfer .28 acres, presently part of Lot 12 to Lot 13 and take a reciprocal piece, Parcel B which is of an equal area and bring it into Lot 12. It does get rid of a zoning violation; one of the existing homes is too close to the lot line. This is a very simple application. The town did not have soil based lot sizing requirements in 1979.

The hearing was opened to the public.

The reason for this request was that the lots were odd shaped and the owners wanted to make the lots rectangular in shape. One of the owners has a pool in the back yard and this would give his neighbor more of a buffer. Mr. Polito agreed that this was a great idea.

The hearing was closed to the public.

The hearing was closed at 8:37 p.m.

The next hearing was opened at 8:39 p.m.

Mr. Morse stepped off the Board.

Proposed Amendments to Zoning Ordinance, Section 620. Golf and Sports Complex/Residential Sub-District ("SCR Subdistrict"), related sections and charts which would allow buildings within the SCR subdistrict to have more than four (4) units, but not more than forty (40) units in a building, so long as those buildings did not exceed fifty five (55) feet in height per the International Building Code and were set back four hundred (400) feet from the property line and/or town roads. These amendments to the zoning would not increase the allowable density and would correct omissions, typographical errors and recodification of the sections if necessary.

Ms. Killam stated that the document that has been posted is the one the Board worked on two weeks ago and is at hearing. After this discussion Ms. Killam will offer an amendment to this document. The document was reviewed in detail and some corrections were made.

Ms. Killam offered an amendment to the posted proposal and ordinance and this was also reviewed. Discussion followed on open space and a statement was added for clarification. Section 620 was read and discussed. Ms. Killam questioned how lots would be deeded out while keeping track of the open space requirements and Attorney Levine explained. Attorney Levine raised a question on how housing would be limited to the elderly in other sections of the property ie: single family units. It was determined that, in the writing of this document, the ability to have other forms of dwelling units restricted for occupancy for the elderly had been inadvertently stricken. Mr. Keach suggested that a part of this has to be in the SCR Zone and additional wording was added ie: a statement on 'alternative dwelling units'.

The hearing was opened to the public and Frank Polito, Chairman of the Board of Adjustment took the floor.

Mr. Polito agreed that Peter Lewis is a good builder and can be trusted but added that, if Peter Lewis was not around, this development could get started, the economy could change, someone can pick this up ten years from now and anything could happen. This could be turned over to a huge contractor who would not care anything about Atkinson. He suggested the Board think long and hard about putting in black and white everything the Board wants and to do so with the idea that it may not be Peter Lewis doing the building. Mr. Polito calculated that the real estate value of this would be over $100,000,000 and could attract some large out of town companies to finish it off should something happen to this company.

Discussion: Ms. Killam stated that she has offered an amendment that she has spent hours trying to put together because the zoning on the table is awful. She reminded the Board that if they are going to enact a piece of zoning it should be the best that we can come up with. It was felt that this piece of zoning was not far off and could be worked on. It was suggested that, if the Board were provided with a 'clean' copy, it would be easier to understand and to work with. Mr. DiMaggio suggested another meeting to get this clarified. The Board felt that they were out of time. Mr. DiMaggio requested a copy of the text, the way it will read, in its entirety.

Mr. Keach felt that the proposed development is a great idea, which is why he volunteered his time to work on this. He agreed with Mr. Polito that this must be well thought out. He admitted that the concept troubles him and went on to explain. Mr. DiMaggio admitted to being overwhelmed and asked for time to digest it. Mr. Earley stated that the meaning of this amendment has not been substantially changed and asked why some were against this. Ms. Killam felt that the amendment as written is not ready for zoning. Ms. Killam stated that she was willing to work on this amendment even though she didn't believe in it because the Board wanted it. Ms. Killam agreed to get a clean copy to the Board.

The Board continued to discuss the amendment and determined that the problem is with Section 620:5 and density. The Board agreed to continue to work on this.

Mr. Earley left the room in protest.

At this time Mr. Polito addressed the Board and discussed his concerns.

Mr. Polito expressed surprise and frustration at the way the Board has handled this piece of zoning. He referred to the 'wetland zoning ordinance' recently passed and reminded the Board that they did not want to rush this and put it off for a year. This was Mr. Polito's concern. He added, that the Board is about to entertain the largest change in zoning in twenty years. He was pleased at first that this would reduce the tax rate, but after reviewing the ordinance further, he started thinking about the time it should take to get this ready. He asked how many towns there are with volunteer fire departments that have buildings that size. He could not see how these volunteers could rescue the elderly out of the proposed buildings. He noted that sprinklers are not effective if not functioning properly. He felt that the town has a lot of thinking to do, a) to decide if the town wants this and, b) once you decide that it is wanted how are we going to put things in place to assure the developer will take care of the associated expenses.

Step 1) The RSA's indicate 'Master Plan Purpose and Description'. He referred to the section on 'housing' and this was read. He stated that the Board has not done what is required in this section and that an attorney has not been consulted. The Master Plan should be updated with professional help. Mr. DiMaggio disagreed and felt that there were sections in the Master Plan that do allow for this kind of development. Mr. Polito did not feel it was anyone's contention to have anything this large in the town.

Mr. Polito noted that he has heard the statement that it is the job of the Board to work with the developer. He disagreed with this and read the section of the ordinance this refers to. Several members of the Board objected to Mr. Polito's accusations. Mr. Morse did not feel the Board should be told what their job is and Mr. DiMaggio reminded Mr. Morse that he is off the Board for this hearing.

Ms. Killam agreed that there has been a very rushed attempt to bring this Zoning Proposal to Public Hearing. She stated that Mr. Polito has a right to state his feelings at this hearing. Mr. Polito stated that he is not out to attack anyone but is stating a fact. He added that Mr. Lewis has a right as a landowner to petition the town, ask the town to consider his zoning and vote on it, which he has done. He reminded the Board that, as Chairman of the Zoning Board, he's the one that will have to go to court to decide if his Board ruled properly.

His suggestions were to spend a year on this, get professional help from Rockingham Planning, consult an attorney and asked 'what is the rush'. He referred to the RSA's 'Growth Management and Timing of Development' and suggested some Timing Ordinances be added. He did not believe this was a bad idea but felt it was a major change in our zoning and does not represent what the town wants nor is it clear enough. He reminded the Board that once this is passed it can't be changed. He asked the Board, if it weren't Mr. Lewis developing this would they be for it in the present form.

Mr. DiMaggio tried to alleviate some of Mr. Polito's concerns. He stated that the Police and Fire Chiefs have been consulted and they do not have major problems with this. He agreed that the town could hire professional help but did not feel it was necessary. He felt that the majority of the Board was comfortable with this zoning change regardless of the builder. He noted that it is a positive thing for the town. Mr. Polito asked how the police and fire chiefs determined what is needed to service this development. He felt that an assessment of the police and fire departments should be done noting the amount of emergency calls the town has. Mr. DiMaggio thanked Mr. Polito for his input and observed that there is no one else present from the town to express a concern. He then invited the public to come forward and get involved.

Mr. Miller reminded the Board about the Petition put forward to the voters noting that the Board was attempting to work on this zoning to make it better before something gets passed that the Board would not want. This was the reason for the 'rush'. There is a plan to work on the Master Plan.

The Board determined what corrections were needed. Ms. Killam, Attorney Levine and Mr. Keach will work on obtaining a 'clean' document for review. It was decided to continue this hearing to December 22, 2004. Mr. Keach suggested that the Warrant Article be cleaner and to delete Section 620 in its entirety and replace it with another Article much like the Wetland Zoning was done.

Mr. Earley made a motion to adjourn. Mr. DiMaggio seconded the motion. Motion approved unanimously.

The meeting was adjourned at 10:35 p.m.

Next scheduled Planning Board meeting December 22, 2004.

APPROVED_________________________Respectfully submitted,

Carol Kater