Dayton Planning Board

May 3, 2011

Members Present: Remi Caron (Chair), Dan Plourde, Dick Hall, Rand Clark, Valerie Cole (Alt.)

Town Employees Present: Jim Roberts (CEO)

Public: Rick Ahern

Administrative:

Dick Hall moved to approve the minutes from April 5, 2011. Dan Plourde seconded. All voted in favor.

Old Business: None discussed.

New Business:

RICK AHERN, GRAVEL PIT (Map 1 Lot 2) Mr. Ahern presented a map and application for a CUP for a gravel pit on CC Road, off Route 5. He owns most of the land around the proposed gravel pit. One of the abutters is the Massabesic Experimental Forest, owned by the USDA Forest Service. Mr. Ahern explained that he chose the spot because it was a commercial site at one time, but he would like to save most of it for future development. The access to the pit would be through CC Road, and the stream that the road crosses already has a culvert over it. He has been told by his engineer that the pit would be internally drained so there should be no drainage issues. The pit would cover approximately 4.9 acres.

The map shows a proposed setback of 50 feet from the Massabesic Forest property line, which Mr. Ahern based on DEP standards. Jim Roberts noted that in the Zoning Ordinance setbacks are not specified for this piece of property, as setbacks in commercial zones are not clarified. This needs a setback, but no one is sure what to require. Dick Hall noted the smallest setback in the Zoning Ordinance is 100 feet in the Forest district. With a 100 foot setback, it appears that it would still be possible to achieve 4.9 acres for the pit by lengthening the site. The wetlands setback appears to be sufficient.

Dick Hall indicated he would be comfortable with the 50 foot setback if the abutter (USDA) agrees. This could be a condition on the permit. Jim Roberts thought a letter agreeing to a 50 foot setback would be sufficient. Mr. Ahern said he would approach the USDA on this matter.

Remi Caron asked how much material would be expected to be removed in a month. Mr. Ahern did not give a figure, noting that it would be just one person removing the material with one truck as needed on a per job basis. In terms of truck traffic, this is considered low impact.

 Remi Caron noted that there are many considerations in the Zoning Ordinance for gravel pits, such as amount of material removed, maximum allowed slope, and the need for a reclamation plan. He supplied Mr. Ahern with a copy of Section 7.6 of the Zoning Ordinance, “Earth Material Removal.” Mr. Ahern was also provided with a copy of the Review Procedure checklist for issuing CUPs to gravel pits. It was suggested that he could show this to his engineer to see if there are other issues to address.

Rand Clark asked how far the pit would go down; Mr. Ahern answered that it would be approximately10 feet. He indicated that his reclamation plans would consist of reseeding after finishing with the pit.

The Planning Board asked Mr. Ahern to get a letter from USDA agreeing to the 50 foot setback, and to present something in writing to the Board for a reclamation plan.

Members scheduled a site walk for Tuesday, May 24, at 6:00 PM. All interested will meet on Route 5 by the coyote sign. A public hearing will follow at 7:00 PM at Dayton Town Hall. Mr. Ahern asked if his engineer should be there; Dick Hall advised that it could help to expedite the process.

NEXT MEETING: The next meeting will be held on May 17th to review gravel pit criteria. Dick Hall motioned to adjourn the meeting at 7:55 PM; all voted in favor.

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Valerie J. Cole, Secretary

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Remi Caron, Chair

COPIES TO: Jim Roberts, Code Enforcement Officer; Selectmen; and Tax Assessor

THESE MINUTES MAY NOT BE TRANSCRIBED VERBATIM. SECTIONS MAY BE PARAPHRASED FOR CLARITY.