Grafton Planning Board Action – User Roads

by Kieron Kramer
The main issue at the Grafton Planning Board meeting on Monday. February 27, was the Patrick Halloran and Linda Andriano 2-lot subdivision on Clickner Road. A number of Halloran’s neighbors attended the public hearing which began at 6:45 pm. They seemed to have two concerns. One was the actual number of lots that would result from the Halloran subdivision, since the property has already been sub-divided. The other was the clarification of Halloran’s responsibility and the responsibility of all the land owners there for the upgrading and maintenance of Clickner Road.
[private]First to speak in the public hearing was Halloran’s neighbor Chris Judd who asked if the lot was previously approved for a subdivision and if the new subdivision superseded the earlier one. Usually lots produced by a subdivision are not divided again because a developer could avoid the major subdivision process by doing minor subdivisions over and over, splitting lots like amoebae. In Halloran’s case, the issue would be that the original 3-lot subdivision and the current 2-lot subdivision might have to be considered as creating 5 lots, which would move the process into the complicated realm of a major subdivision.
Planning Board Chairman Tom Withcuskey said that he had the same question. After some research he had found that the original parcel had been “legitimately subdivided into three lots in 1985.” Then Withcuskey had conferred with the Town Attorney Sal Ferlazzo. At this point in the hearing Withcuskey read a memo from Ferlazzo expressing his opinion. Ferlazzo suggested that this be considered as a 2-lot subdivision for two reasons. The first was that the earlier subdivision was done over 20 years ago. The second reason was that the subdivision would create two larger parcels. From the survey map posted on the wall at the meeting it appeared that Halloran will be keeping a 25.81 acre parcel for himself and conveying a 5.2 acre parcel.
Rod Michaels, Halloran’s surveyor who represented him at this meeting, said, “Pat [Halloran] will put deed restrictions on both these parcels so that there will be no more subdivisions after this.” He added, “It’s only reasonable; there is lots of rock on the property, and he considered the terrain.” (In my last story about the Grafton Planning Board I referred to Michaels as an attorney – my apologies.)
Withcuskey said that he thought Halloran’s decision to put in the deed restrictions was “commendable.” Grafton Highway Superintendent Herb Hasbrouck was at this hearing and weighed in in favor of the subdivision. “My concern is the safety of people on the road [Clickner] and actually reducing 3 lots to 2 lots reduces the usage impact on the road,” he said. “I look at it as a plus,” he added.
Michaels said that the larger lot already has a septic system plan that has been approved by the County Health Department. Withcuskey added that the five acre lot would need a health department permit for a septic system. Then he closed the public hearing and began the regular meeting at 7 pm.
During the hearing and the regular meeting only three Planning Board members were seated on the dais. Planning Board Member Arthur Surprise was absent, and Planning Board Member Scott Newell was present but preferred to sit in the audience, presumably because his application for a subdivision was going to be addressed under new business.
At the regular meeting the Halloran/Andriano subdivision was the first topic and took up the bulk of the eleven minute meeting. It was during this time that the responsibility for the upgrading and maintenance of Clickner Road was discussed.
Rod Michaels had been asked by Hasbrouck and Ferlazzo to review the deeds of the property owners on Clickner Road to see who had exceptions or easements in their deeds that would provide access for the Highway Department to make repairs on the road. The issue is the safety of everyone who would use the road and its accessibility by emergency vehicles. All but four landowners on the road have easements or exceptions in place. Some of these owners were in attendance. Michaels will write letters to all the landowners explaining the Town’s desire to have easements, preferably out to 25 feet on each side of the midline of the road, which is standard practice, along the entire length of the road. Michaels described this as a “user road” where the property owners have, to a certain extent, the responsibility to maintain the road.
In Grafton the Highway Department would probably do the maintenance. Since Grafton has a law that requires developers, that is people who subdivide, to deposit money in an escrow account to be used to defray the expenses of the road upgrading or maintenance that their subdivision would entail, most of the landowners on the road who purchased parcels that resulted from subdivisions have had money put aside by the developer and have given the Town what was described as “defined easements.” According to Michaels, Halloran will negotiate “a dollar amount” with Hasbrouck and Ferlazzo that he will put into an escrow account to be used when or if the Highway Department needs to work on the road. The idea is to keep taxpayers who have nothing to do with this user road from sharing the financial burden of keeping the road safe and usable.
Now the Town has to persuade the remaining four property owners to give “defined easements” to the Highway Department so it can work on the road when needed. Withcuskey and Hasbrouck said they would meet with any landowner on Clickner Road to discuss how the easement would work and to record the landowners concerns, like preserving a stone wall or keeping a beloved tree, so the Highway Department access, and tree clearing, can work around them. “The easements are for the good of everyone on the road,” Withcuskey said, “We just want to be fair.”
Tabled
Withcuskey made the motion to table the Halloran/Andriano subdivision application until the March meeting so that he and Hasbrouck can meet with the landowners first and so that he can “fine tune” Halloran’s financial commitment with Halloran and Michaels. He also said that the easement by Halloran must be completed before the subdivision can be approved. The Board voted 3-0 to table the application.
Wagar Subdivision
In new business the 2-lot subdivision application by Jim Wagar was accepted by a 3-0 vote. Wagar wants to subdivide his property that straddles Owen Road into a parcel of approximately 1.25 acres and one of approximately 15 acres. The small parcel is a triangular piece lying between Owen Road and Simon Road. Wager had lived on this parcel in his house that was damaged by fire. He now wants to sell the parcel with the damaged structure and build a new house on the 15 acre parcel. A Public Hearing on this subdivision was set for 6:30 pm before the next regular Planning Board meeting on March 19.
Newell Adjustment
The Board also accepted a 2-lot subdivision application from Board Member Scott Newell by a 3-0 vote. “This is technically a lot line adjustment,” Withcuskey said. Newell had already subdivided his property on Pondview Road in 2010. Now he wants to extend one of the lot lines so that the lot will include a garage that already exists there. A Public Hearing was scheduled for 6:45 before the next regular Planning Board meeting on March 19.
With that, Monday’s meeting adjourned at 7:11 pm.[/private]