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February 1, 2012 Planning Board Work Session

Calendar Name: 
Feb 1, 12 Work Session
Date/Time of Meeting: 
02/01/2012 7:30pm
Location: 
Wilton Town Hall meeting room
Minutes for this Meeting:

                                                                     TOWN OF WILTON

PLANNING BOARD MEETING
DRAFT MINUTES
 
DATE:           February 1, 2012
TIME:            7:30 P.M.
PLACE:         Wilton Town Hall Courtroom
PRESENT:    Wilton Planning Board Members: Chairman Walter Zuber, Vice Chairman Alec MacMartin, Jeff Kandt, John Shepardson, Alternates Sue Egan and Steve Yurchak, Board of Selectmen Representative Steve McDonough, NRPC Representative Camille Pattison, and Recording Secretary Heather Loewy Nichols.
 
The agenda was amended as follows:
1.)                Other Business
2.)                Adjournment
 
Chairman Zuber opened the meeting at 7:30 and appointed Sue Egan to the Board as a voting member in place of Neil Faiman..
 
1.       Other Business
 
-           Discussion with Fire Chief Ray Dick regarding application review
Fire Chief Ray Dick appeared before the Board and explained that, due to recent discussions, he wanted to talk to the Board about streamlining the process of getting plans and applications to him for approval. He stated that there seems to be an issue with getting him the information as often the applicant says that the he has the documents but he does not. He suggested communicating directly with the Board Clerk and having her follow up to make sure he has the documents he needs.  
 
Mr. MacMartin questioned if a packet should be left at the Town Hall for Fire Chief when the application is submitted.
 
Mr. Kandt suggested that the Fire Chief include the plan revision information in his letter of review so that the Board can confirm that he has seen the latest revision.
 
Mr. MacMartin suggested that perhaps the revisions can be emailed to the Planning Board, the Town Engineer, the Road Agent, and the Fire Chief.
 
Ms. Pattison suggested that the Board Clerk send out the revisions to the appropriate parties.  
 
Mr. McDonough stated that he does not feel that that the applicant should have to go to the Fire Chief to deliver documents, rather that the Fire Chief should come to the Town Hall.
 
Chief Dick noted that he does not often come to the Town Hall as he usually has the applicants mail items to his house.
 
Ms. Nichols suggested that the Clerk mail the documents to the Chief’s house, if that was his preference.  
 
Mr. MacMartin noted that someone will need to make sure that all revisions go to the Chief.
 
Ms. Nichols stated that she is concerned about who will decide which revisions need to be forwarded to the Chief.
 
Ms. Pattison noted that the Board’s NRPC representative could decide which revisions the Chief needs.
 
Mr. Kandt stated that he would like to have a specific requirement that the applicant have a letter of approval of the last revision or gets a waiver from the Board to be approved without such letter.
 
Mr. MacMartin suggested the Board could also offer a conditional approval if they felt a letter approving the final plan was necessary.
 
After discussion, the Board agreed to the following procedure:
 
·         Plan and application will be mailed to the Fire Chief by the Board’s Clerk after NRPC gives their approval of the original application and an email will be sent to the Fire Chief with the applicant’s contact information.
·         The Fire Chief will send a confirmation of receipt to the Clerk and, when appropriate, a letter of approval with the plan revision information included.
·         Throughout the revision process revisions that need to be reviewed by the Fire Chief will be mailed to him. NRPC can send plans to chief at their discretion. The Board will decide/confirm at each meeting, if new revisions have been submitted, whether the revision needs to be sent to the Chief.
·         At the time of approval, the Board will decide to continue the application, offer a conditional approval subject to a final approval letter from the Chief, or waive the need for a letter approving the final revision.
·         The applicant is still responsible for meeting the Chief’s requirements.
·         The applicant still retains responsibility for getting the letter of approval.
-          Wilton Water Commissioners
 
Sue Egan stepped off the Board as a voting member and Steve Yurchak stepped on the Board for Neil Faiman.
 
Jim Quinn, owner of the pit under discussion, and Bob Duquette and Jim Tuttle, Water Commissioners, appeared before the Board.
 
Mr. Duquette explained that, since the summer, several entities have been working on a plan to begin the reclamation of this pit, noting that some issues occurred due to the water table being much higher than expected and the owners removing too much material and thereby making the water come too close to the surface.  He also noted that there is a concern that there will not be enough material to create the 2:1 slope in the end.
 
The Board, the Water Commissioners and Mr. Quinn entered into a discussion regarding how to go about amending the reclamation plan.
 
Mr. MacMartin stated that the Quinns could either send the Town Engineer to look at the whole site now or they could modify the plan and then send it to the Town Engineer for review.
 
Mr. Kandt suggested that the Town Engineer may be able to suggest a better process for creating the amended plan.
 
Mr. Quinn stated that he would discuss with Tom Quinn, the other owner, if he wants to put the new plan on the old plan and then send it for review of or if he wants to give the Town Engineer the original plan and the proposed plan and have him generate an opinion.
 
A MOTION was made by Mr. MacMartin and SECONDED by Mr. Kandt to continue the discussion to the March 7, 2012 meeting.
Voting: 7 ayes; motion carried unanimously.
 
-          Temple Wilton Conservation
Walter Zuber stepped off the Board as a voting member and Sue Egan stepped on in his place.

Ms. Pattison explained that an applicant came to her with a subdivision plan and asked that the Board find the plan to be “theoretically approvable” so that they are able to receive a grant which will be used to put the property into a conservation easement.
Mr. Fish noted that the Board should have a process for reviewing plans submitted for conservation easements grants.
After discussion, a MOTION was made by Mr. Shepardson and SECONDED by Mr. Kandt to find that the conceptional plan meets existing regulations assuming the following:
 
- The proposed lot line adjustment is feasible.
- There is an appropriate amount of upland on each lot.
- No existing easements or other encumbrances that would alter the acreage allocations exist.
 
Voting:  7 ayes; motion carried unanimously.
Mr. Zuber returned to the Board as a voting member and Ms. Egan stepped off.
 
-          Catholic Church
 
Mr. McDonough explained that the Church Committee would not be coming to speak to the Board about a proposal for the Catholic Church because the Budget Committee did not approve their proposal because of the cost of required improvements and operation of the building. The Budget Committee recommended appropriating money for utilities and asking if the Diocese will allow the town to use the church for a year and try to raise money.
 
2.       Adjournment
A MOTION was made by Mr. KANDT and SECONDED by Mr. Fish to adjourn the meeting.
Voting: 7 ayes; motion carried unanimously.

Chairman Zuber declared the meeting adjourned at 10:10 p.m.
 
Respectfully Submitted,
Heather Loewy Nichols
Recording Secretary
 
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