February 8, 2014 Minutes

Pittsfield Planning Board
Town Hall, 85 Main Street
Pittsfield, NH 03263
Minutes of Public Meeting

DATE: Saturday, February 8, 2014

The meeting of the planning board convened at 9:00 A.M. in the cafeteria of the Pittsfield Elementary School on 34 Bow Street, Pittsfield, NH, in the audience of the meeting of the economic development committee (EDC). The meeting of the planning board was part of the EDC’s joint board/committee forum. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss means of communication between town boards.

EDC chair Ted Mitchell called the meeting to order at 9:15 A.M.

Planning board members present:
Clayton Wood, member and chair of the planning board;
Jim Pritchard, member and secretary of the planning board; and
Bill Miskoe, member of the planning board (arrived at 9:35 A.M.).

Planning board members absent:
Pat Heffernan, member and vice-chair of the planning board;
Eric Nilsson, selectmen’s ex officio member of the planning board;
Larry Konopka, selectmen’s ex officio alternate member of the planning board; and
Peter Dow, alternate member of the planning board.

Other town officials, employees, or contractors present:
Ted Mitchell, chair EDC;
Lyn Roberts, vice-chair EDC;
Ellen Barbasso, secretary EDC;
Linda Small, EDC/selectman;
Paul Sherwood, EDC/vice-chair zoning board of adjustment;
Ralph Odell, chair master plan committee;
Merrill Vaughan, master plan committee;
Louis Houle, budget committee;
Helen Schiff, housing standards and Suncook Valley Regional Development Corporation;
Jesse Pacheco, building inspector;
John Freeman, Pittsfield School District superintendent;
Matt Monahan, Central New Hampshire Regional Planning Commission;
Stuart Arnett, Arnett Development Group.

Members of the public appearing before the planning board: None.

“Members of the public appearing before the planning board” includes only members of the public who spoke to the board. It does not include members of the public who were present but who did not speak to the board.

Stuart Arnett referred to the recent visit of Governor Maggie Hassan in Pittsfield on January 17, 2014. The visit went well. The governor visited the Kentek facility, and Kentek gave good feedback about Pittsfield.

Matt Monahan summarized results of the joint board/committee forum on October 12, 2013:
A. Improving communication between boards and committees
B. Making rules, regulations and fees more business friendly
C. Leadership

Matt Monahan said that the focus of today’s meeting would be on
1. Flow charts/policies
2. Clarity/predictability
3. Point person
4. Boundaries/overlap of boards

Stuart Arnett emphasized that clarity and predictability did not mean reducing quality standards.

Matt Monahan said that today’s meeting would discuss three types of communications: (1) within boards, (2) between boards, and (3) between boards and the public.

The planning board has communication policies in the board’s rules of procedure.

The board of selectmen has no communication policy.

Judicial functions of land use boards may discourage communication between the planning board and the zoning board of adjustment.

The school district is not connected to the town government.

The conservation commission has no communication policy.

Louis Houle said that the budget committee has an informal policy of having a selectmen’s representative. The selectmen’s representative would communicate between the budget committee and the board of selectmen. This process does not happen so much any more. Volunteerism has declined, and people reach leadership positions without experience. The number of town boards is greater than it used to be.

Bill Miskoe said that the conservation commission has some current-use-conversion money but that the board of selectmen must approve any expenditures that the conservation commission wants to make.

Ted Mitchell discussed the importance of any board’s justifying its proposed actions.

Paul Sherwood said that the zoning board of adjustment has to work through the planning board to propose zoning amendments that the zoning board of adjustment wants.

Clayton Wood noted that everyone proposing a zoning amendment must work through the planning board. (RSA 675:3 and :4.)

Several meeting attendees discussed the importance of the master plan. The planning board adopts the master plan. The master plan gives legal standing to the various regulations of the zoning ordinance. Clayton Wood said that the joint board/committee forum can be used to develop the master plan.

Stuart Arnett said that, in some towns, the planning board delegates various master plan chapters to other town boards that specialize in the subject matters of the chapters.

Louis Houle said that the department heads present the needs of their departments to the budget committee. Town board chairs present the needs of their boards to the board of selectmen. The budget committee reviews the budget proposals of the board of selectmen. The budget committee’s proposed budget is the one sent to the town meeting for approval.

Linda Small said that the inexperience of new selectmen causes problems in budget creation and meeting presentation.

Stuart Arnett referred to the capital improvements program. (RSA 674:5 through :8.) The capital improvements program is an advisory document. The planning board and zoning board of adjustment have some documents for formal communication.

Louis Houle said that, in the past, the town administrator was a communication medium for communication between all town entities. This process does not work so well any more.

Stuart Arnett said that New Hampshire government is designed to make any action difficult in order to ensure that bad actions do not happen. Communication between government entities is deliberately fragmented at the local level because of this protective governmental feature.

Paul Sherwood said that people often serve on more than one board. One planning board member is on the zoning board of adjustment, and one selectman is on the zoning board of adjustment. If a quorum of any board assembles, then that board must write minutes.

Stuart Arnett said that New Hampshire is very dependent on volunteerism.

Matt Monahan suggested that people might rotate their memberships on various boards.

Clayton Wood said that the school board has good depth. Clayton Wood said that people do not care about the planning board unless they have a land use application. People do not know what the town boards do.

Ted Mitchell said that the school should emphasize the importance of volunteerism in public affairs.

Paul Sherwood said that the school is supporting volunteerism.

Stuart Arnett said that some committees are elected—board of selectmen and planning board—and other committees are appointed.

The meeting took a break from 10:25 A.M. to 10:50 A.M.

Matt Monahan said that, in the absence of formal communication channels, the town has adopted informal channels that work. The joint board/committee forum is an informal communication channel that works.

Ted Mitchell said that the joint board/committee forum of October 12, 2013, created an all-chairs meeting. Two such all-chairs meetings have happened. The all-chairs meeting works well.

Stuart Arnett said that building inspector Jesse Pacheco is a portal for land use applicants.

Jesse Pacheco said that applicants may contact him by telephone and that the town hall staff know to direct applicants to him. Forms are available in the town hall, and applicants can work on the forms in the town hall. Jesse Pacheco said that boards send their notices of decision to him.

Bill Miskoe said that the conservation commission should do more to tell people that the conservation commission simply exists.

Clayton Wood said that the planning board uses reports from department heads for all applications. The zoning board of adjustment does not use such reports but maybe should. The planning board would notify the conservation commission if an application had wetlands or common area in a cluster development.

Jesse Pacheco said that any surveyor needing approval for a septic system will have to get approval from the state department of environmental services first.

Jim Pritchard said that the town hall staff know how to direct people who come in to the town hall.

Clayton Wood said that the planning board is working more closely with the building inspector to avoid application errors. The certificate of zoning compliance avoids many initial errors. Jesse Pacheco does a good job vetting applications. The initial review by the building inspector (Jesse Pacheco) and the circuit-rider planner (Matt Monahan) of the land use application lets the planning board chair avoid involvement in the initial phases of a submission. Applicants tend to submit information late.

Matt Monahan said that the land use boards communicate with the building inspector via the board chairs.

Clayton Wood said that the applicants’ experts try to exploit the inexperience of board members.

Matt Monahan said that the circuit-rider planner review process helps to insulate boards from experts trying to exploit inexperience.

Jesse Pacheco said that problems happen when an applicant asks a board member informally whether the applicant can do something and the board member says “yes.”

Stuart Arnett said that asking board members about something informally may be used to circumvent regulations.

Clayton Wood said that an example of such circumvention happens in home occupations. People will start a home occupation without seeking approval because the home occupation is at a dead end if the applicant seeks approval and if the board denies approval.

Marilyn Roberts said that people circumvent laws because begging forgiveness is easier than asking for permission.

Stuart Arnett said that regulations must be reasonable in order to avoid people’s ignoring them.

Louis Houle asked who helps applicants find a way to succeed within the regulations without disclosing information that may be confidential.

Jim Pritchard said that the land use boards and the building inspector must help people comply with the regulations but, by law, cannot maintain confidential information. Process requirements are constitutional in origin.

Clayton Wood said that the town takes too long to do anything.

Clayton Wood mentioned zoning amendment no. 6 (ballot article 7) as eliminating an unnecessary regulation. (Zoning amendment no. 6 waives parking requirements for nonresidential uses in the Commercial District.)

Stuart Arnett said that government should go beyond stopping bad things and should encourage good things.

Paul Sherwood said that the planning board and the zoning board of adjustment should periodically review (1) the character of neighborhoods, (2) the consistency of neighborhood characters with the zoning ordinance, and (3) the effect of variances on neighborhoods.

Helen Schiff asked how does the town hall staff know when to direct people to the EDC.

Ted Mitchell said that the EDC needs to work on this issue.

Clayton Wood said that news of Pittsfield is getting out somehow. Clayton Wood said that he had recently heard from two realtors.

Stuart Arnett said that the town administrator should be able to direct anyone asking for information to the right person.

Helen Schiff said that the Family Dollar went directly to the EDC.

Clayton Wood said that applicants are looking for someone to talk to directly; they do not want an automated telephone menu.

Matt Monahan said that towns should allow for several different communication-type preferences.

Stuart Arnett said that social networking web sites are also important communication channels.

Jesse Pacheco said that applicants want at least some general information quickly.

Stuart Arnett said that the town has to be honest about lengthy time requirements (such as advanced notice to the public) if law requires those time periods.

Jesse Pacheco said that small businesses are important to adding to the town’s commerce.

Stuart Arnett said that zoning ordinances should be designed to accommodate new technologies.

Matt Monahan summarized:
1. Formal channels of communication: some boards have them, but many do not.
2. The town meeting/budget/capital improvements program forces communication
3. Regulation/master plan/RSA guide and shape communications

Clayton Wood said that telephone contact should have a simple solution. Clayton Wood will consider web site options.

Ted Mitchell said that the web site can post his personal telephone number. The all-chairs meeting on March 5, 2014, can address these issues.

Stuart Arnett and Matt Monahan will draft specific recommendations arising from today’s meeting.

The meeting adjourned at 12:01 P.M.

Minutes approved: March 6, 2014

______________________________ _____________________
Clayton Wood, Chairman Date

I transcribed these minutes (not verbatim) on February 8, 2014, from notes that I took during the meeting.

____________________________________________
Jim Pritchard, planning board recorder and secretary