Washington Planning Board
Washington Planning Board
Working Meeting Minutes
November 14, 2017
0.0 Assembly: 6:00PM
0.1 Members and Alternates present: Hatch, Kluk, Williams and Schwartz
Hatch opened the meeting at 6:00PM at the Town Hall trailer. He put Kluk in for Crandall. He stated we are here to work on open issues including the RV and Business Permit sections of the LUO and asked that we take up the business issues before we take up the LUO items.
1.0 Business Permit – Blackwell
Schwartz found out from the Blackwell’s that the shop will be in the 40’X20’ carriage house. We discussed the parking needs for an 800 sq ft retail space and determined they would need 4-5 spaces. Schwartz said we need to ask how much of the space will be retail space and how much would be office or storage and inventory. The parking area is 48’X48’ and we determined that 4 cars would fit but you could park 2 deep. Hatch said their estimate was for 2 to 3 cars at a time. Williams feels we should send them to the ZBA because they don’t meet the 50’ set back requirement. We looked at the Site Plan Review regs. Hatch said they will be 90% internet sales. Williams said that because they will have a retail space open to the public it bumps them to the home business level. Williams suggested sending them to the ZBA and then deal with it. Hatch suggested we conduct a site visit and then deal with ZBA. We decided on a site visit for Friday morning 11/17, at 9am. Schwartz will check the Blackwell availability and notice the visit. We will bring the Site Plan Review Application to the visit.
2.0 Business Permit – Mingary Yoga Retreat
Hatch thinks that this was a single event that took place in September as a yoga retreat in their barn, not an ongoing business. We previously discussed the home rental and decided it was not a business. We decided to send a letter saying we have become aware of the event and home rentals and ask if they intend to continue with events they will need a business permit. Schwartz will draft something.
3.0 Lot Line Adjustments – Barkie
Schwartz sent out the reply from NHMA to our question about the proposed lot line adjustment stating that we can’t approve a plan to make a non-conforming lot less conforming. Hatch asked about the variance that would be needed. He stated that we should send Barkie to meet with the ZBA at their meeting on November 29th at 7pm at Camp Morgan Lodge. All agreed, Schwartz will let Barkie know our decision.
4.0 CIP document
Schwartz sent out the CIP document with the updates we made at our meeting. One comment was made to raise the TH windows and doors to $80K. Schwartz will make that change. Hatch made a motion to accept the CIP with that one change, Kluk seconded the motion and 3 voted in favor. Williams abstained. Schwartz will pass the document to the BoS.
5.0 RV section of LUO
Schwartz had sent out 2 drafts of changes on the RV section of the LUO and the present LUO language. Kluk had sent an email out with her thoughts. Hatch asked if the restrictions have been enforced. Kluk said that there is no awareness in the community that people need a permit, it doesn’t appear on the town website. Williams thinks Kluk is right but even if the information was there people would do what they are doing anyway, it is not something people think about. Hatch thinks the health issue (septic) is important. He asked what is the vision for Washington? He said that taxes are levied on land and buildings separately. Williams said that tax on land is the smaller valuation, buildings are usually the higher valuation but waterfront is more expensive. Kluk said that they use town services and an RV permit is cheap. Hatch asked if there has been an uptick in RV use on unimproved lots. Williams thinks it has gone up slightly. Hatch wants to deal with the issue and bring it to Town Meeting. Kluk said that some want this tightened up, should we go back to 30 days and 180 days with visible signs of construction, keep removal if no building is erected. Hatch asked where this all started, he said the BoS preference is for 120 days on temporary dwellings. Williams said it is hard to enforce when the LUO is made tougher. He thinks people want to protect things but other people own property and want to use it. This is a small town with “Live Free or Die” types, we should let them do their own thing if they aren’t bothering anyone. Hatch said that the issue is giving them a free ride and dealing with waste is a problem. We need to know how they are dealing with it. The town should increase the fees and put something in the permit about dealing with waste, as well as posting the application online. Kluk pointed to LUO 303.1 Household waste regulation. Williams said that most are coming up weekends not staying for the whole summer. Kluk said that the BoS had issues with consistency. Williams said removal or not is inconsistent, one has to remove and the other doesn’t. Kluk proposed we leave temporary dwelling at 60 days and allow a renewal during the same year; using the language from the early 2017 draft. The issue with permits for days rather than months was also raised. After further discussion it was agreed to proceed with 2 months for temporary dwelling, renewable once per year and 6 months for building permits, also renewable once. Hatch made a motion we move forward with this as agreed and proceed to a public hearing. Kluk seconded his motion and 3 voted in favor with Williams voting no. Williams said that the BoS could move an LUO change of their own, according to RSAs, if they decide to.
6.0 Building Permit revisions
We discussed the Building Permit section 501 of the LUO and the “Structurally Alter” definition. Kluk said we need a definition for temporary structures, she called Jack Sheehy about temporary structures and he wasn’t sure when that was added and what might be included as a temporary structure. We decided a definition was needed and agreed on “Any structure that is erected for less than 180 days”. It was decided previously to rearrange the first paragraph of 501 was to make it clearer. We took up the definition for “Structurally Alter” and made a few edits to it. Hatch asked how the list for when a building permit is needed and wanted to know how it should be used. It was agreed to use it as a FAQ on the website but we need to state that the list is to be used for informational purposes only and if people have questions they should speak with the BoS (we need a disclaimer).
7.0 Adjournment: Time: 8:20 pm
Respectfully Submitted,
Nan Schwartz