A Relatively Easy Planning Board Meeting
By Doug La Rocque
To waive or not to waive – is it a major or a minor subdivision – those were the only questions before the Thursday, February 20 meeting of the Brunswick Planning Board. With the Verizon cell tower proposal and the 26-unit Brunswick Acres housing project both requesting an adjournment from the night’s agenda, that meant the planners were dealing with just two pieces of new business.
The first was a request by Anthony Grab to trim three acres from land owned by Mickle Hill Properties off Lockrow Road. Surveyor Brian Holbritter represented Mr. Grab at the meeting, and requested a waiver of subdivision, meaning a public hearing would not be required, and the Board could act on the request in a shorter time frame. The problem here is that the land has been previously subdivided within seven years, and the Board’s past practice on such is to require a full minor subdivision application. They did so last year when a resident ended up withdrawing her application because of the additional expense. Board member Emil Krieger said he understood Mr. Holbritter’s argument, but could not justify granting a waiver in this case, when they chose not to do so previously. The planners discussed looking into reducing the seven-year look back time frame to five or even three, indicating the seven years might be a bit excessive, but for now, it stands. Mr. Holbritter ended up withdrawing the waiver application, and said he would consult with his client as to how to proceed.
Mr. Holbritter was also representing Sean Gallivan, who was looking to subdivide a lot he owns on Deep Kill Road, into a total of four lots. This was presented as a minor subdivision, however, once again recent action by Mr. Gallivan, who had already subdivided the property in 2015, came into play. Planners wanted to make sure the seven year lookback was in effect here, and if it was, would the previous subdivision have to be counted with the new application, turning it from a minor to a major subdivision, complete with the requirement for a full Environmental Assessment form. Attorney John Tingley, filling in for his partner Andy Gilchrist, scanned the town’s code book, and said it appeared to him, it was at the Board’s discretion what to do. He also said he was not completely familiar with the intricacies of the town’s codes as his partner, who is the planning board’s attorney. The consensus of the Board was to move the application back to its March 5 meeting, giving attorney Gilchrist time to review the matter.
The Board’s next meeting is on March 5, with a public hearing and several major applications already on the agenda.