Planning Board Meeting

*This meeting is conducted partly in Council Chambers
and partly via Zoom remotely.
Please see sections on Public Input, Zoom Instructions,
and Other Information at the end of this agenda.

DURHAM PLANNING BOARD
Wednesday, January 13, 2021
Town Council Chambers, Durham Town Hall
7:00 p.m.
AGENDA
*Please see the notes at the end*

I.          Call to Order

II.         Roll Call and Seating of Alternates

III.       Approval of Agenda

IV.       Town Planner’s Report

V.        Reports from Board Members who serve on Other Committees

VI.       Public Comments

VII.      Review of Minutes (old):  October 28, 2020, November 18, 2020 & December 2, 2020 Site Walk

VIII.     Public Hearing - Downtown Zoning Amendments.   Zoning amendments regarding height, stories, uses, density, and building configuration in the Central Business District; drive-through facilities in various districts;  method for determining building height; and related changes.  New changes discussed by the board on October 28 are incorporated.  Recommended action:  Recommendation if ready.

IX.       Public Hearing - 56-62 Main Street – Condominium Conversion  Proposed conversion of 56-62 Main Street from four existing condominium units to five condominium units.  Doug Clark, applicant.  Mike Sievert, MJS Engineering, engineer.  Map 2, Lot 14-4A, B, C, and D.  Central Business Zone.  Recommended action:  Final action.

X.        Public Hearing - 190 Piscataqua Road Lot Line Adjustment.  Lot line adjustment between 190 Piscataqua Road, Map 12, Lot 7, owned by Thomas Daly c/o Daly Rev. Trust and 194 Piscataqua Road, Map 12, Lot 6-2, owned by John Leland.  Eric Buck, Terrain Planning and Design, agent. The purpose is to provide 190 Piscataqua Road with frontage on Route 4 to allow for direct access in place of an existing easement across other lots.  Residence Coastal District.  Recommended action:  Final action.

XI.       Public Hearing - Subdivision off Gerrish Drive.  Parcel at 91 Bagdad Road (address).  Formal application for conservation subdivision for single family and duplex houses (15 units total) on 16-acre lot off Gerrish Drive including conditional use for wetland crossings.  Marti and Michael Mulhern, property owners.  Mike Sievert, engineer.  Robbi Woodburn, Landscape Architect.  Map 10, Lot 8-6.  Residence B District.  Recommended action:  Discussion and continuation of review.

XII.      5 Glassford Lane – Bank Stabilization Plan.  Permitted Use B application to stabilize shore of Pettee Brook with boulder revetment for existing single family house.  Paul and Lucinda Rasmussen, property owner.  Mike Sievert, MJS Engineering, engineer.  Map 4, Lot 38-15.  Recommended action:  Final action.

XIII.     19-21 Main Street – Parking Lot.  Preliminary discussion about conditional use criteria related to the project and discussion with Steve Pernaw, traffic engineer who prepared traffic report.  Formal application for site plan and conditional use for parking lot on four lots and reconfiguration of the entrance.  Toomerfs, LLC c/o Pete Murphy and Tim Murphy, property owners.  Mike Sievert, engineer.  Robbi Woodburn, Landscape Architect.  Map 5, Lots 1-9, 1-10, 1-15, and 1-16.  Church Hill District.  Recommended action:  Discussion about conditional use criteria, traffic impacts, and extension for Planning Board action.

XIV.    Other Business

XV.     Review of Minutes (new): No new minutes

XVI.    Adjournment                                                                                                             

This meeting of the Planning Board is a hybrid meeting.  Several board members will be physically present in Council Chambers and the other board members will participate live via Zoom teleconference.  The public is welcome to attend in Council Chambers as long as proper protocols are followed.

*PUBLIC INPUT

Members of the public may provide input to the Planning Board in one of three ways:

1)   Email.  Send an email or letter to Michael Behrendt, Town Planner, at mbehrendt@ci.durham.nh.us.  See 2) Submission of Information under OTHER INFORMATION, below.

2)   Zoom.  Participate in the meeting via Zoom.  See the instructions below.

3)   Speaking at the meeting itself.   Members of the public are encouraged to send an email or participate via Zoom rather than attending in person, but at this time it is still acceptable to attend the meeting provided that all proper health precautions are taken.  There may be no more than 10 people in Council Chambers at any time and social distance must be maintained.

*ZOOM – INSTRUCTIONS FOR ZOOM VIDEO CALL-IN AND PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

Everybody will need to register in order to participate via Zoom.  Project applicants should present in person or via video (and make sure that they are visible).

To Participate by Audio

AUDIO ONLY CALL-IN INSTRUCTIONS: In order to access any live Zoom Public Meeting by telephone, you MUST be preregistered.  Then call: 1-929-436-2866, enter the Meeting ID and Password.  Zoom Meeting ID's and Passwords are only available to preregistered participants.  You can preregister at:  https://www.ci.durham.nh.us/boc_dcatgovernance/zoom-video-conference-mee....

To Participate by Video

VIDEO INSTRUCTIONS:  In order to access any LIVE Zoom Public Meeting, you must be Preregistered. Preregistering for any Zoom Public Meetings can be done by clicking: https://www.ci.durham.nh.us/boc_dcatgovernance/zoom-video-conference-mee....

IMPORTANT!

Please be sure your full name is viewable, and you are identifiable when using Zoom.
Your video will be turned off and audio muted until the Public portion of the meeting opens.
If watching on Channel 22 or DCAT LiveStream be sure your computer/TV audio is muted when using Zoom.​

These are LIVE Public meetings and we ask that your audio and video be muted.  If not, the host will mute them for you.  You will not be able to communicate directly with anyone in the Zoom meeting at this time.  Participants will have the opportunity to comment during Public Comments, or when a Public Hearing is opened.  We ask that you mute your audio and video after you've commented, if not, the host will mute them for you.  If you wish to submit comments for public input, please submit them via email by 5:00 PM on the day of the meeting.

If you should have difficulty, please send DCAT an email: dcat@ci.durham.nh.us  or by calling 603-590-1383.                                                                                                                  

PUBLIC INPUT INSTRUCTIONS: Due to the ongoing situation with COVID-19, the Town of Durham will be taking extra steps to allow for public input during public meetings while still ensuring participant safety and social distancing. Per Executive Order by Governor Sununu, scheduled gatherings of 10 or more people will be prohibited. Therefore, those wishing to share comments are required to do so via email by 5:00 PM on the day of the meeting.

*OTHER INFORMATION

1)      Public hearings and public comments.  The public is welcome to speak at all public hearings and during the Public Comments time.  Comments on all matters, except those for which a public hearing is on the agenda, should be made during the Public Comments time.  The public may speak and submit written or emailed comments on any subject except for active matters where the public hearing has been closed.                                                                                                                                                                                                  

2)         Submission of information.  Emails and letters should be sent to Michael Behrendt, Town Planner, at mbehrendt@ci.durham.nh.us or at the address above. Correspondence that pertains to current Planning Board matters, except where the public hearing has been closed, will be: a) emailed to the Planning Board; b) mailed to the board members if received by the Thursday prior to the meeting; and c) posted on the Town’s website.        

Any email, letter, document, or other information that is pertinent to a decision which the Planning Board is expected to make at the upcoming Wednesday meeting, must be received in the Planning Office by the prior Monday at 5:00 p.m. or the board will consider the submitted material only at its discretion (This limitation does not apply to comments made at the actual public hearing).

3)      Other information.  Files on the agenda items above are available for review on the Town website http://www.ci.durham.nh.us/.  Agendas marked as “Preliminary Agenda,” are subject to change.  The final agenda will be posted on the Town’s website on the Friday prior to the meeting at. To see background documents related to specific agenda items, see the agenda on the website and click on any green highlighted items.

4)      Contacting us.  Contact the Planning Department with questions or comments about any planning-related matters.  Call (603) 868-8064 or email Michael Behrendt, above, or Karen Edwards, Administrative Assistant, at kedwards@ci.durham.nh.us

5)      Recommended actions.   Actions recommended by the staff are shown at the end of most items.  The Planning Board may or may not take these actions and may take other actions not stated.

6)      New items of business.  Unless approved by a 2/3 vote of the members present, no new item of business shown on the agenda will be taken up after 10:00 p.m.

7)      Communication aids.  Please provide the Town 48-hours notice if communication aids are needed.

8)         Next meeting.  The next regular Planning Board meeting will be on January 27, 2021.