Planning Board Meeting

          The public is welcome to attend in Council Chambers or via Zoom remotely.
Please see sections on Public Input, Zoom Instructions,
and Other Information at the end of this agenda.

DURHAM PLANNING BOARD
WORKSHOP
Wednesday, May 24, 2023
Town Council Chambers, Durham Town Hall
7:00 p.m.

AGENDA

I.          Call to Order

II.        Roll Call and Seating of Alternates

III.       Approval of Agenda

IV.       ATO Fraternity – 18 Garrison Avenue.  Request for extension of timeframe for conditional use approvals – for use as fraternity, building height to exceed 30 feet, and activity within the wetland overlay district.

V.        Discussion with Newmarket Officials.  Discussion about planning issues of common concern with Bart McDonough, Newmarket Director of Planning and Community Development and Ellen Snyder, Chair of the Newmarket Conservation Commission.

1. Current planning issues in Newmarket
2. Potential for connectivity of trails between Durham and Newmarket
3. Possible zoning changes on Route 108 in Newmarket
4. Opportunity to ask any planning-related questions to the Newmarket Town Planner

VI.       Public Hearing - Climate Action Master Plan.  Review of a draft climate action plan.  This plan was prepared by Strafford Regional Planning Commission.  Presentation by Jen Czysz, Autumn Scott, and Kyle Pimental, SRPC.  The draft may be approved as a master plan chapter or an administrative plan.  Recommended action:  Review public comments.

VII.     Discussion of Town Council Goals

VIII.    Other Business

IX.       Adjournment                                                                                                                      

*PUBLIC INPUT

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

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

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

3)   Speaking at the meeting itself.                                                                                                      

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

Project applicants met participate via Zoom but are encouraged to present in person.

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-meeting-schedule

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-meeting-schedule

IMPORTANT!

1. Please be sure your full name is viewable, and you are identifiable when using Zoom.
2. Your video will be turned off and audio muted until the Public portion of the meeting opens.
3. 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. If you wish to submit comments, please submit them via email by 3:00 PM on the day of the meeting, but preferably earlier.

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

*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 (including comments on agenda items this evening).  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 comments in writing.  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 or distributed to members at the meeting if received later; 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 https://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 Andrea Novotney, Administrative Assistant, at anovotney@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 June 14, 2023