Planning Board

The meeting convened at the Town House at 7:00 PM. Regular members present were Alan Williams, Ed Lawless and Creston Gaither; also present were contractor Neal Schultz and landowners Kim and Betty Kennedy. Alan was elected Acting Chairman in Waine Whittier's absence. Minutes of the July 22 meeting were read and approved, the Board having voted to postpone this at its August meeting.

The Kennedys presented a sketch of a proposal to construct a garage on their Kimball Pond property (depicted as Lot 30 on tax map 3); the Board had discussed this lot with them at its August meeting. Board Chairman Waine Whittier subsequently discussed the situation with attorney Bill Livengood at MMA, and was advised that the lot created when the Kennedys sold their contiguous New Sharon land is probably not "grandfathered" and is thus, because it is non- conforming, probably not buildable (See Waine's e-mail to the Board in this regard dated Sept. 14). The Board advised the Kennedys of this and said it therefore could not approve a permit for the proposed garage. Creston was authorized to write them a letter outlining this decision and the reasons for it.

Alan noted that if the Kennedys or a subsequent owner were to obtain additional land a variance might be possible for the lot.

Neal Schultz presented a sketch of a revised proposal for a bunkhouse on the Kirchner property on Flying Pond depicted on tax map 10 as lot 00- VA (see also August minutes) -- he has been unable to obtain the easement from the abutter which would have allowed him to proceed with the proposal he presented in August.

Based on Neal's sketch and verbal representations, The Board determined that the project as outlined above:

1. Will maintain safe and healthful conditions;
2. Will not result in water pollution, erosion, or sedimentation to surface waters;
3. Will adequately provide for the disposal of all wastewater;
4. Will not have an adverse impact on spawning grounds, fish, aquatic life, bird or other wildlife habitat;
5. Will conserve shore cover and visual, as well as actual, points of access to inland waters;
6. Will protect archaeological and historic resources as designated in the comprehensive plan;
7. Will avoid problems associated with floodplain development and use; and
8. Is in conformance with the provisions of Section 15, Land Use Standards.

 It was voted 3 - 0 to authorize Creston to issue the usual permit by letter for this

The meeting adjourned at 7:30 PM.

 Creston Gaither, secretary

The meeting convened at the Town House at 7:00 PM. Regular members present were Waine Whittier, Alan Williams, Ed Lawless and Creston Gaither; also present was Paul Gurney, Jr. Minutes of the August 26 & September 23 meetings were read and approved.  

The Board reviewed Code Enforcement Officer John Archard’s letter of Sept. 21 outlining his enforcement action on the Craig lot.   

Paul Gurney Jr. advised the Board that he inherited Paul Gurney Sr.’s house lot (depicted on tax map 10 as lot 2 – B) in February 2013; he has placed it on the market and an appraiser has noted that the lot includes a bunkhouse for which no permit was ever issued, it having been built in late 2012. Paul Jr. has found no evidence of a permit and believes the bunkhouse is about 90 feet from the house and less than 100 feet from the pond. A water line runs to the bunkhouse. He said the lot comprises 1.6 acres +/-; the house has a septic system; the bunkhouse rests on concrete pads and has no heat or insulation. It measures about 12’ x 48’ +/-. Paul would like to rectify its non-conformance issues.   

The Board advised him that he would have to remove the incoming water line and remove enough of the structure to get the required 100 foot setback from the pond in order to get a Shoreland Zoning Ordinance permit. The Board agreed to visit the site and discuss it further with Paul on October 31. He was advised that any new permit would likely treat the structure as a shed and not a “bunkhouse;” the next owner could perhaps convert it to a bunkhouse with the proper permits.  

The meeting adjourned at 7:45 PM.

The meeting convened at the Town House at 7:05 PM. Regular members present were Waine Whittier, Alan Williams, Ed Lawless, and Creston Gaither. Also present were John and Marianne Archard.

The Board considered the Kellys’ proposal to remove all the pine from the area near the pond on their Flying Pond parcel depicted on tax map 10 as lot 35 and to replant the disturbed area with hemlock. Alan presented this proposal and is involved with the project and thus recused himself from the Board’s deliberations. The Board had visited the site on January 23, with licensed forester Harold Burnett present. The pines are concentrated in the center portion of the area The timber harvest section of the Shoreland Zoning Ordinance (SZO) was reviewed. The area in question lies within the Limited Residential District of the Shoreland Zone. The Board voted 3 – 0 that this proposal should be reviewed under SZO Section O(2) and not Section P. Alan presented data from Harold Burnett indicating that 27% of the trees in the center portion of the area would be harvested. Less than 30% of the trees in the other portions would be harvested. It was agreed that the SZO’s 40% limit applies to the entire area and not just to one portion. It thus appears that the 40% threshold would not be reached under the present proposal. The Board understands that the area to be most intensely harvested is to be replanted. A review of Table 1 in the SZO indicated that no permit is required for this project.

The Board moved on to a discussion of the proposed Building Ordinance, with John and Marianne representing the Ordinance Review Committee, which drafted the ordinance. Proposed amendments to Draft 1 were discussed vigorously. It was agreed that a public hearing for the proposed ordinance should be held prior to its adoption; and that the ordinance should indicate that Planning Board approval as required by the SZO must be obtained prior to the issuance of a Building Ordinance permit for any project within the Shoreland Zone.

The meeting adjourned at 8:30 PM.

Creston Gaither, secretary

The Board did not hold a formal meeting in February as no quorum was available. Regular members Creston Gaither and Ed Lawless met with Jim Meader informally at the Town House on February 24 but took no formal action on the Board’s behalf.

On February 28 Creston, Ed and Waine Whittier met with Jim at his Flying Pond property (tax map 10 lot 104) to consider his proposal to construct a frost wall under the existing camp on the parcel (see permit subsequently issued for details).

The March meeting convened at 7:00 PM at the Town House. Regular members present were Creston Gaither, Ed Lawless, Waine Whittier, and Alan Williams.

Minutes of the January 27 meeting were read and accepted.

Waine has responded to an email from Russ Burtt regarding a Code Enforcement action in progress regarding Mr. Burtt’s property depicted on tax map 7 as lot 27; Waine advised Mr. Burtt to come to the Board’s March meeting; however, he did not appear.

Code Enforcement Officer John Archard’s email regarding the former Austin property on Flying Pond shown on tax map 11 as lot 13 – H was briefly discussed.

The Board having received no permit application for this lot no formal action was taken.

Recently issued permits were briefly reviewed and discussed.

The meeting adjourned at 7:30 PM.

Creston Gaither, secretary