Working With Planning Boards
Developing
a working relationship with the local Planning Board (PB) is valuable for both
the highway departments and PBs. In
Lempster, Richard Fairweather was a member of the PB before he became Road
Agent. He is the PB’s agent for driveway permits. As part of the PB, he says
that he “has the opportunity to provide practical input into the impacts of
growth.”
As a department head, Pete Lavoie, Director of Community Services in Dover, is a member of the PB. He reviews plans and sends his opinions to the board. Pete has worked for Dover for many years and has seen a lot of changes. His longevity with the city and his expertise contribute strongly to the PB’s reliance on him.
Dave Lent of Merrimack says that two years ago there were weekly meetings to review sub-division and site plans. Public works, the conservation commission, deputy fire chief, the waste water inspector, and planning staff attended the meeting. They addressed issues of concern to PW and safety, such as turning and cul-de-sac radii, both effecting emergency response and snow removal.
Currently, the developers and their engineers attend meetings to review conceptual plans for developments before making formal presentations to the PB. This allows all parties to assess the impact of a proposal. From the developer’s point of view, the expectations of town are presented before time and money are spent on proposed projects.
In
Goffstown, Town Engineer Meghan Theriault’s responsibilities include working
with the PB. Two weeks prior to a PB meeting there is a Technical Review
Committee (TRC) meeting. The TRC reviews all plans on the agenda of the next PB
meeting. Each member of the TRC submits written comments to the PB. Applicants
generally use the TRC comments to address some issues before the next PB
meeting. Meghan believes that it is important that she attends all PB meetings
and that there
is value to the TRC process because of departments are communicating.
A new process in Goffstown is driveway reviews. The National Fire Protection Association specifies rules for driveways. Previously, once a driveway permit was issued, no one checked to see how the driveway was laid out between the road to the house. There were times where the slope of the driveway was too steep for emergency vehicles. Now that doesn’t occur.
Meghan believes that citizens are happier with the new permit processes in town. They know what to expect. The PB has helped Meghan as there have been times where a developer didn’t do all that they promised. The PB stood behind their decisions, contacting the developer to ensure that all promises were kept.
Meghan suggests that towns would benefit from the technical review process where written comments are submitted to the PB. Towns with a smaller staff may want an outside party to review plans asking the developer to pay for the review.
http://www.nfpa.org/assets/files/PDF/ROP/299-02-rop.pdf, September 2, 2005
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