Vassalboro Planning Board
Minutes of December 4, 2007
Present:
Planning Board: Virginia Bracket, George Gould, Jay North, Sally Butler
CEO: Paul Mitnik,
Public: Olin Charette, Greg O Halloran, Mary Grow
The meeting opened at 7:00 PM.
Review of November 13 Minutes: George motioned to accept the November 13 Minutes. Sally seconded. All in favor.
Discussion of Shoreland Zoning Ordinance Revision Schedule
A discussion ensued concerning the required amendment process for Vassalboro’s Shoreland Zoning Ordinance. DEP is requiring Towns to update their Ordinances to be at least as stringent as state guidelines by July 1, 2008. Paul indicated that he thought that the Ordinance draft revisions should be ready by May 1 so that the required hearing could occur 30 days prior to the Town meeting to be held in June. DEP recommends a preliminary review to them before a Town votes on accepting the Ordinance. Otherwise the Towns could be voting on Ordinance revisions that DEP rejects and a second Town vote would be necessary.
There was general agreement that ½ hour allotted at the beginning of each regularly scheduled Planning Board Meeting would be inadequate. Ginny suggested a separate meeting each month from January to April that would be allocated solely to Shoreland Zoning. It was decided that the third Tuesday would be allocated to Shoreland Zoning from 7:00 to 8:30 PM.
Paul mentioned that the map needs to be updated. He suggested pursuing the services of the Kennebec Soil and Conservation District. The Planning Board recommended asking the Selectman to authorize the services of the SWCD to do the map in GIS format by motion of Jay, and seconded by Sally. All in favor. The current map was adopted in 1991 when GIS technology was not available and is a quad map with color coding. The updated map will need to incorporate the freshwater wetlands of moderate and high value as indicated by the May 2006 DEP updates that are greater than 10 acres as Resource Protection Districts. There may be some areas along the Kennebec River that have a slope greater than 20% that will also have to be updated to Resource Protection Districts.
The first meeting of the Planning Board for Shoreland Zoning revision will be on January 15.
Olin Charette
Major Site Review
Auto Repair and Sales
Tax Map 2, Lot 86
The hearing for Olin Charette is a continuation of last month’s Planning Board hearing in which a decision on licensing his business was tabled due to an incomplete application and the need for a site visit by the Planning Board. Olin Charette has been operating a business at the former Lucas Junkyard site off Route 201 without authorization from the Planning Board. The current business involves doing automotive state safety inspections and minor repairs needed to pass the inspections. Olin is also applying for a recycling license and a dealership license from the state which will expand his current business.
Olin didn’t have a narrative to the performance standard criteria as required by the Ordinance the last Planning Board meeting which made the application incomplete. He now has this information. He also prepared a map indicating where the stormwater flows.
Ginny went through the Ordinance criteria for determining completeness of the site plan.
The site plan was determined to be complete by motion of George, and seconded by Sally. All in favor.
A general discussion of the Planning Board ensued over the issues involved with licensing Olin’s business. It was noted by recalling the site visit on November 20 that the site in general is an “amazing mess.” There is clutter and piles of junk everywhere within the yard and inside the main building. George stated that the yard should be cleaned up before a business is permitted. However Ginny and Jay noted that Olin is in a “catch 22”, since he can not clean up the yard without a permit from the Planning Board. State law now requires that local licensing for automobile graveyards be a business connected to automotive. The Town’s Automobile graveyard permit is conditional to obtaining a Site review Permit from the Planning Board.
The issues noted with licensing the junkyard include providing adequate screening in the back of the lot near a mobile home in Leo Barnett’s subdivision, adequate handling of vehicles remaining on the property, and evidence that progress was being made on cleanup of the yard. Not all of the cars can be removed for crushing, since some have no title Olin inherited this problem when acquiring the junkyard. There is also no money available from DEP currently to help with the cost of cleaning up the yard. The cost of treating the soil that has been sifted is prohibitive and probably could not be assumed by Olin.
Next , the Planning Board went through the Performance Criteria for Major Site Review.
1.Provisions for vehicle loading and unloading. - No significant issues. Motion for approval by Jay. Seconded by George. All in favor.
2.Location of height and location of proposed structures and uses not detrimental. No significant issues. Motion for approval by Jay. Seconded by George. All in favor.
3.Provisions for on-site landscaping, screening, and buffering from adjoining neighborhood. - The back of the yard needs to be screened from view of a mobile home in Leo Barnett’s subdivision. Olin indicated it would be difficult and expensive to erect a fence, due to the shallow depth of bedrock. The Board indicated that Olin’s request for piling up soil in a berm with plantings on top of the berm would be acceptable for screening. Motion for approval with the condition for screening the back of the property by George. Seconded by Jay. All in favor.
4.The proposed use will not impact public facilities and storage of material will be adequate. – The proper handling of vehicle remaining on the property as part of the automobile graveyard was identified as an issue. Ginny recommended that this criterion could be approved with condition of removal of vehicular fluids, mercury switches, and batteries from all vehicles on site incapable of being driven. Motion for approval by George. Seconded by Jay. All in favor.
5.Adequate provisions for stormwater – A stormwater collection and treatment system already is on the front of the site. Motion for approval by Sally. Seconded by Doug. All in favor.
6.Adequate provisions to prevent soil erosion and impacts to ground and surface water. - No significant issues. Motion for approval by Jay. Seconded by George. All in favor.
7.Adequate provisions that exterior lighting to not provide hazards to motorists. - No significant issues. Motion for approval by George. Seconded by Jay. All in favor.
8.Evidence for financial capacity. - No significant issues. Motion for approval by George. Seconded by Jay. All in favor.
9.The proposed development will not create safety hazards and provide adequate access for emergency vehicles. - No significant issues. Motion for approval by Jay. Seconded by George. All in favor.
10.Adequate provisions to insure noise, vibrations, fumes, odor, dust, and glare are not detrimental to neighborhood. - No significant issues. Motion for approval by George. Seconded by Jay. All in favor.
Ginny asked if a motion could be made to approve the application as a whole with the two conditions. George still had concerns on the slow progress of the cleanup as a whole. Five years have passed and the site still isn’t cleaned up. Sally suggested to revisit the site in a year to check that progress is being made on the cleanup. Paul asked how you would determine that progress is being made. It was proposed that Olin could show the waste receipt slips from the recycled metal of the sifting operation. The Planning Board is also expecting a reduction in the number of vehicles on site. A motion was made by Jay to accept the application as a whole with the following three conditions. Seconded by George. All in favor. Mary Grow inquired which businesses were approved. Approval is for the automobile repair shop and inspection, an automobile dealership, and a recycling operation for the scrap metal recovery operation of materials on site only.
Conditions of Site Review Permit for Olin Charette
1.Adequate screening be installed and maintained to the back of the yard prior to conducting any business on the site.
2.The removal of fluids, batteries, and mercury switches from vehicles on site incapable of being driven prior to conducting any business on the site.
3.The Board will check progress of the cleanup in one year by a site visit and determine whether or not the business can continue.
Peter Bragdon Subdivision
Greg OHalloran
Tax Map 9, Lot 31
Greg O’Halloran presented the information for the proposed 11 lot subdivision on the intersection of the Stone Rd and Mudgett Hill Rd. Soil profiles and a sample subsurface design for a three bedroom home on the most restrictive lot was presented. There was also a letter from a well driller familiar with the area indicating adequate water supply. The letters have already been received from the required state agencies indicating that there are no concerns from them, This included the Maine Natural Areas Program, Maine Inland Fish and Wildlife, and the National Register of Historic Places. A Stormwater Management Plan and Erosion Control Plan had been prepared by A.E. Hodsdon Engineers.
The Board determined that the Preliminary Plan was complete by motion of George, and seconded by Sally. All in Favor. Significant issues to be addressed in the Final Plan submittal are the method of disposing of the large barn on the site, and addressing the required site distance of 350 feet in each direction as required in Vassalboro’s Road Ordinance for posted speed limit of 35 mph on the Stone Rd.
Subdivision Road Inspection Procedure
Paul indicated that Vassalboro’s Road Commissioner, Gene Field, had a chance to review the Road inspection form and found it to be satisfactory. Paul asked if the Board wanted this presented at the next Board of Selectman’s meeting. The Board indicated to do so. It was also decided that a road should be built to an adequate sub base before any of the lots on the property are sold.
The meeting adjourned at 8:40 PM.