Grafton Planning Board Action – October 2010

by Bea Peterson
The Grafton Planning Board session on Monday, October 18, began at 6 pm with Public Hearings on an Ed Chilson/Clear Brook LLC four lot subdivision, a Jennifer Contessa two lot subdivision and a Site Plan Review of a meteorological tower to be installed by Gamesa Energy. The Contessa subdivision on Fox Hollow Road sailed through the public hearing, noting only that a small piece of the property, about half an acre that is in Petersburgh, cannot be subdivided.
Fire Tower Road
Code Enforcement Officer and Planning Board Chairman Tom Withcuskey noted that the Chilson/Clear Brook property on Fire Tower Road was advertised as a minor subdivision and should have been advertised as a major subdivision. “There is a potential for five or six houses per lot,” he said. Fire Tower Road residents were concerned about large animals being housed on these properties. The Board responded that since there is no zoning in Grafton, that is a possibility. The aquifer was another concern expressed by residents. They next pointed out that the road is not in a very good state now and wondered what will happen when a lot of cars and construction vehicles are traveling the road, especially in winter. Currently there is no power to that property. Highway Superintendent Herb Hasbrouck responded that the road would have to be widened to get power in and to solve traffic bottlenecks that may occur. The residents also expressed concerns about increased traffic on the road now that the Fire Tower is being rehabilitated and has become an historic site. Withcuskey said, “It is a beautiful area, and we want to make sure it’s right for everybody. This is a five lot major subdivision. It [a major subdivision] is a longer process and will be under a lot of scrutiny, not that it can’t all be worked out.”
Wind Tower
Representatives of Gamesa Energy were not on hand to discuss the Site Plan Review for a meteorological tower on the Gundrum property off Stuffle St. The information Gamesa needed regarding site location maps was not complete. Town Attorney Sal Ferlazzo suggested the Board leave the subject open until the November meeting.
Open Until November
The Public Hearing closed with both the Fire Tower Road major subdivision and the meteorological tower matters being left open until November.
Regular Business
It was a half hour before the regular Planning Board Meeting began. When it did, the Board went over the impact statement for the Contessa property and found no issues. The subdivision was approved.
Under new business Cathy Tracey appeared before the Board with some modifications to Lot 17 of Sylvan Way. Town engineer Russ Reeves said the change presented “a substantial improvement to the lot.” The change moves the house 30 to 50 feet further from Dyken Pond, eliminates a longer driveway and requires far less clearing. The request was approved.
On the subject of the Stonybrook development on Sylvan Way, Hasbrouck said, with all the recent rain the retention ponds had worked well. He said he was happy with the pole setting done by National Grid. A set of plans for transformer pods and underground lines in the loop area are still needed. “Basically the project is down to just a few items,” said Hasbrouck.
The next Grafton Planning Board meeting will be Monday, November 15.