City of Newport
Planning Commission
2008
Meeting Minutes
MEMBERS PRESENT: Charlie Elliott, Gerry Coulombe, Clark Curtis, Rosemary Rowe.
MEMBERS ABSENT: Paul Chandler.
OTHERS PRESENT: Chris Roy, Paul Monette, Frank Knoll.
7:08 p.m.: Chairman Charlie Elliott called the meeting to order. Gerry Coulombe made a motion to approve the minutes to the last meeting (Mar 18) as written. Seconded by Clark Curtis. APPROVED BY UNANIMOUS DECISION.
Discussion began on building height. It was felt that because the Fire Department can only reach up to 72 ft that they should change the building height maximum to 72 ft for appropriate districts. The measurement should be to the peak, not half way between the eave and the peak as it is now. They will ask the ZA to draft appropriate language to accomplish this change to review at their next meeting.
Discussion began on drafts for Junk Yard ordinances, what to do and what direction to go. It was decided that more research needs to be done on this in order to create an ordinance. They will ask the ZA to pass along Randolph and Cavendish Junk Yard ordinance for their review to the council.
Discussion began on Waivers, the language of what it is and what is needed. They will ask the ZA to revisit this issue on the listserve and get back to them with possible draft language.
Discussion began on Lot Coverage Ratio. The hospital was discussed and the Public Health /Office zone was the only district discussed that the Commission feel needs to be changed. This issue will be revisited. They will ask the ZA to listserve this to see what other communities have for Public Health lot coverage.
Other Business: Frank Knoll and Paul Monette questioned what the Commission has done on a design review district. The Commission state that nothing has been done as of yet. Discussion began on language that needs to be created to implement this for the downtown. Mr. Knoll and Mr. Monette will come back in two weeks with another report for the Commission.
Section 505.05 and 606.01 should be amended to include the requirement that 10 full size sets of maps, etc… needs to be submitted for applications requiring site plan review. Clark Curtis will draft an amendment to accomplish this for the Commission to review.
Clark Curtis reported that the Fire Chief had contacted him and told him that he had talked with Paul Ciroot from Labor and Industry and that he has no experience with the issue of gasoline stations and the distances to adjoining properties.
The Derby Planning Commission has been busy with their town plan and would like to wait until around July before having another joint meeting with Newport.
The following officers of the Commission were elected for this year.
Charlie Elliott as chair. Motion by Clark Curtis, seconded by Rosemary Rowe. APPROVED BY A UNANIMOUS DECISION.
Paul Chandler as vice chair. Motion by Clark Curtis, seconded by Rosemary Rowe. APPROVED BY A UNANIMOUS DECISION.
Clark Curtis as clerk. Motion by Rosemary Rowe, seconded by Gerry Coulombe. APPROVED BY A UNANIMOUS DECISION.
Next meeting will be April 15, 2008.
9:10 p.m.: Upon a motion by Rosemary Rowe, seconded by Gerry Coulombe, the meeting was adjourned. APPROVED BY A UNANIMOUS DECISION.
The minutes were taken by Clark Curtis and filed for the record on 4/11/08.
MEMBERS PRESENT: Charlie Elliott, Paul Chandler, Gerry Coulombe, Clark Curtis, Rosemary Rowe.
MEMBERS ABSENT: None.
OTHERS PRESENT: Paul Denton, Paul Monette, Bob Kelley.
7:05 p.m.: Chairman Charlie Elliott called the meeting to order. Clark Curtis made a motion to approve the minutes to the last meeting (Feb 26) as written. Seconded by Rosemary Rowe. APPROVED BY UNANIMOUS DECISION.
Clark Curtis had to leave to attend a deliberative session of the DRB.
Discussion began on Transitional/Community Housing. Paul Denton explained that here in Newport they have a homeless shelter for up to 5 people with the average stay of 2-3 weeks and a transitional house for the Department of Corrections for up to 5 people with a maximum stay of 6 months. Transitional/Community Housing includes Homeless Shelters, Transitional Housing for the Corrections Department, and Housing for Battered women. Mr. Denton felt that the Corrections Department is going to require more transitional housing in the future and it is something that needs to be dealt with. He would like to see the homeless shelter be permitted to have up to 8 people. Mr. Monette had concerns that these services should be spread out to all the area communities. He is concerned that more properties in Newport will become tax exempt. Charlie Elliott summarized the different transitional/community housing to be 1) homeless shelters, 2) corrections department transitional housing, and 3) shelters for battered women.
Concerns that need to be taken into account in regulating these types of uses include; limit on the size of the house (number of occupants); cap on the number allowed in the City; specific distance between houses; the need to encourage other communities to also supply these services; recognition that transportation may be an issue if located in other communities; and the effect on Newport’s tax base if these properties become tax exempt. No action was taken.
Waiver provisions were discussed and no action was taken.
Junk yards were discussed. It was felt that a City Ordinance would be the best route to go from an enforcement point of view. The commission would create a draft to pass on to the City Council. No action was taken.
Next meeting will be on April 1st and items to be discussed will be Building Heights, Draft for Junk Yards, Waivers, and Coverage Ratio.
9:15 p.m.: Upon a motion by Paul Chandler, seconded by Gerry Coulombe, the meeting was adjourned. APPROVED BY A UNANIMOUS DECISION.
The minutes were taken by Bob Kelley and filed for the record on 3/24/08.
MEMBERS PRESENT: Charlie Elliott, Gerry Coulombe, Clark Curtis, Rosemary Rowe.
MEMBERS ABSENT: Paul Chandler.
OTHERS PRESENT: Chris Roy, Bob Kelley.
7:05 p.m.: Chairman Charlie Elliott called the meeting to order. Clark Curtis made a motion to approve the minutes to the last meeting (Feb 12) amended to include communications discussion with the Fire Chief in which the Chief stated that communications for the Fire Department are excellent. Seconded by Rosemary Rowe. APPROVED BY UNANIMOUS DECISION.
The commission discussed junk vehicles/yards and decided that a municipal ordinance would be the best way to address this issue. Charlie Elliott will bring this up with the City Council. The commission will wait to hear from the Council on what direction to take.
It was felt that amending the bylaw to include waiver provisions should be a priority item for the commission, it will be on their agenda for their next meeting which will be March 18th. Other items requested to be on the agenda are junkyards and community/transitional housing (Paul Denton).
8:45 p.m.: Upon a motion by Rosemary Rowe, seconded by Gerry Coulombe, the meeting was adjourned. APPROVED BY A UNANIMOUS DECISION.
The minutes were taken by Bob Kelley and filed for the record on3/5/08.
MEMBERS PRESENT: Charlie Elliott, Gerry Coulombe, Clark Curtis, Rosemary Rowe.
MEMBERS ABSENT: Paul Chandler.
OTHERS PRESENT: Fire Chief Eric Degre, Paul Curtis, ZA Bob Kelley.
7:05 p.m.: Chairman Charlie Elliott called the meeting to order. Clark Curtis made a motion to approve the minutes to the last meeting (Jan 29) with a minor grammatical correction. Seconded by Rosemary Rowe. APPROVED BY UNANIMOUS DECISION.
The Commission discussed bylaw issues with Fire Chief Eric Degre.
Building height – The ladder truck can reach a maximum of 72 feet to safely get a fireman on the roof of a building in the event that it is necessary to cut a hole in the roof to vent a fire during an emergency. The Chief feels that should be the maximum building height. The formula for measuring building height should be reviewed.
Gas Stations – The bylaw requires a 300 ft separation between gas stations and schools, churches or libraries. The Chief does not have the expertise to advise the Commission on this issue and suggested that the State Fire Marshall be contacted. The Chief’s offer to contact the Fire Marshall was accepted and he will pass along whatever information that he gets.
Fire Lanes – The State has regulations on fire lanes that the Fire Marshall is responsible for. It was felt that this issue is best left to the State and not our local bylaw.
Electrical Service - Charlie Elliott asked if it would be beneficial to the Fire Department if all new construction were required to have underground electrical service. The Chief said it would be very beneficial as overhead wires are one of their biggest obstacles when fighting a fire.
Communications – The Chief stated that communications for the Fire Department are excellent.
The Commission thanked the Chief for meeting with them and then moved on to other bylaw issues.
Because the City does not have the capability of coping large site plans it was suggested that the number of copies the applicant has to submit should be amended.
It was questioned if Paul Denton NEKCA was going to be at a meeting to discuss homeless shelters and transitional housing. Bob Kelley will check into it.
The Commission reiterated that there is an open invitation to Great Auk Wireless to come in and talk to the Commission about wireless internet regulations. Bob Kelley has emailed Greg Noble of Great Auk and is awaiting a reply on when he would like to come talk to the Commission.
Charlie Elliott asked that junk yards be on their next agenda.
9:00 p.m.: Upon a motion by Rosemary Rowe, seconded by Gerry Coulombe, the meeting was adjourned. APPROVED BY A UNANIMOUS DECISION.
The minutes were taken by Bob Kelley and filed for the record on 2/14/08.
NEWPORT CITY PLANNING COMMISSION ***MINUTES*** January 29, 2008 as amended
MEMBERS PRESENT: Charles Elliott, Gerry Coulombe, Rosemary Rowe, Clark Curtis.
MEMBERS ABSENT: Paul Chandler.
OTHERS PRESENT: Paul Monette, Ellwood Guyette, Robin Smith, Frank Knoll, Olivia Beleau.
7:05 p.m. Chairman Charles Elliott called the meeting to order. Gerry Coulombe made a motion to approve the minutes to the last meeting of January 15, 2008 as written, seconded by Clark Curtis. The minutes were approved by a unanimous decision by the members present.
Discussion began on the pros and cons of developing a Design Review District. Mr. Monette, Mr. Guyette, and Mr. Knoll were representing the Downtown Renaissance Corp. They said that the City now has the distinction of being a Designated Downtown. There are benefits to owners of the buildings in the Downtown area such as tax credits, grants for elevators, grants for sprinkler systems etc. The Renaissance Corp. is considering if a Design Review District is necessary. Items of concern were that if this district were created such things like facades, streetscape, color schemes, historic architecture etc. would or could be incorporated into the Bylaw so that all buildings in this district would have to follow the same criteria. It was decided that if a Design Review District was created an applicant for a Zoning permit would not have an additional step to go through such as Design Review Board; they would only need to go in front of the Newport City Development Review Board. The Renaissance Corp. will be applying to the American Institute of Architects sometime in February that would have the City studied to come up with a master plan of the area. Only four communities a year are picked nationwide for this award. Cities across the country compete to be studied, there is no charge for the study if awarded, but the City would be responsible for the expenses that could total $30,000.00. It was agreed that the Design Committee should work very closely with the Planning Commission to come up with standards for a Design Review District. The Design Committee will stay in contact with the Planning Commission.
Olivia Beleau representing Gilman Housing explained that because of the Designated Downtown status, they recently received a grant of $200,000.00 for the proposed addition of another floor on top of the existing Passumpsic Bank building on Main Street. The new upper level will be for elderly housing which the Commission feels is an asset to have in the downtown area. Gilman Housing will soon be applying for the local permits for this project.
It was felt by all members of the Commission that a Design Review District could benefit the City as a whole, we will wait for more input from those present tonight before proceeding with this issue. The only negative brought up was that the area of a Design Review District would be regulated more heavily than other areas.
The next meeting of The Commission will be on Tuesday February 12, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. The Newport City Fire Chief will be present and on the agenda as well as possible Bylaw amendments. The following meeting will be on February 26, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. The Commission will discuss on the 12th items that need to be on the agenda for the 26th.
8:55 p.m.: Upon a motion by Gerry Coulombe and seconded by Rosemary Rowe, the meeting was adjourned. Approved by a unanimous decision among the members present.
The minutes were taken by Clark Curtis and filed
for the record on 2/6/08 2/13/08.
MEMBERS PRESENT: Charlie Elliott, Paul Chandler, Gerry Coulombe, Clark Curtis.
MEMBERS ABSENT: Rosemary Rowe.
OTHERS PRESENT: None.
7:00 p.m.: Chairman Charlie Elliott called the meeting to order. Gerry Coulombe made a motion to approve the minutes to the last meeting (Dec 18) as written. Seconded by Paul Chandler. APPROVED BY UNANIMOUS DECISION.
Discussion began about designated downtown and the future planning needs for the waterfront plaza area. Possible bylaw amendments were discussed and prioritized. The number one priority is to meet with the Downtown Design Review group. Other priority items include; Building height max in all zones; the need for the fire chief to visit the commission; the Newport-Derby areas of common development; and the need for two or three meetings a year with the Derby Planning Commission.
9:05 p.m.: Upon a motion by Paul Chandler, seconded by Gerry Coulombe, the meeting was adjourned. APPROVED BY A UNANIMOUS DECISION.
The minutes were taken by Clark Curtis and filed
for the record on 1/17/08.
2007 Planning Commission Minutes