PLANNING
COMMISSION
P.O. BOX 308
Thursday, March 3,
2005
7:00 p.m. Town
Hall
I.
CALL TO ORDER
Vice Chairman
Cliff Bordeaux called the special meeting to order at 7:05p.m. Members Cliff Bordeaux, Michael Collins,
Michelle Hayward, Brad Pellissier, and Alternates Greg Genlot, Georgeanne Kuzman
and Joe Iadarola were present and constituted a quorum. Town Planner Patrice Carson was also
present.
II.
PUBLIC HEARING
a.
Continuation of Subdivision Application #382: 11-Lots, Isabella Drive Extension,
Leno
The public
hearing reconvened at 7:06p.m. presided by Vice Chairman Cliff Bordeaux. Town Planner Patrice Carson read the
legal notice.
Mrs. Carson
stated that since the last hearing, a request was sent to Fire Chief William
Meier for his review of cul-de-sacs and through streets with respect to fire
rescue and medical calls. His
letter of February 27, 2005 in response stated that he is in favor of through
streets when trying to cut down on response time. A through street provides better
efficiency of operation and a short cul-de-sac is much preferable to a longer
cul-de-sac in terms of tactics and movement of equipment and manpower. Another issue to take into consideration
is the location and accessibility of a fire hydrant. He added that the response time for an
ambulance is not particularly effected either way and regardless of the type of
road, they do have the ability to adequately handle emergency fire and safety
issues that may arise within the town.
Mrs. Carson
added that she wrote to Assessor Doug Kidd on February 25, 2005 asking if the
recent revaluation recognizes a difference in assessed values of homes situated
on cul-de-sacs as compared to the same type of home located on a through
street. She read Mr. Kidd’s
response dated February 28, 2005 stating that there was no difference in
assessed values on cul-de-sacs compared to through streets. He included examples of homes of similar
style, where the land prices were higher on a through street than on a
cul-de-sac.
She also
received a report from Town Engineer Merv Strauss dated March 1, 2005 listing
his outstanding issues which were mainly housekeeping.
At this time the
hearing was opened to comments from the audience.
Steve Lewis,
8 Isabella Drive,
introduced Mike from Ray’s Appraisals.
Mike stated that he reviews individual properties and does not consider
them in terms of mass assessments the way the towns do for tax purposes. He stated that it was his finding that
properties situated in quiet locations with less traffic have a higher value and
sell for a higher price than those in less quiet areas. A cul-de-sac usually results in a
quieter area than a through street.
He added that there are other areas aside from cul-de-sacs that provide
quiet settings and increased value such as those located deeper inside of
developments. As a rule, those
homes are built later than those at the front of a cul-de-sac, which also
enhances their value. Also, as a
development moves into newer phases of construction, the values increase. Proximity to a corner can present a
decrease in value regardless of the sequence of
development.
Joe Iadarola
asked that in a situation where a cul-de-sac was being extended to a through
street and no significant impact was being made on the flow of traffic, would
home values see a difference. The
appraiser replied that he could not positively say, but wanted to stress that
assessment doesn’t necessarily mean resale value, and traffic volume definitely
has a large impact on the value of a home.
Mr. Lewis added
that should the Commission decide in favor of making Isabella a through street,
there will be no way to resolve any changes made.
Denise
McIntyre, 21 Isabella Drive, asked to see a letter noted in the
minutes from about 4 weeks ago from Scott and Sharon Kinney. It was determined that this letter was
submitted at the public hearing on January 27, 2005, and the letter was given to
Mrs. McIntyre to review. Mrs.
McIntyre added “We are not asking to add a new cul-de-sac, just asking to keep
one that has already been built.”
Bert
Guerette, 24 Isabella Drive, stated that making a comparison for
assessment values by talking about streets like Whispering Woods and Bobolink
Lane does not work. They are too
different from Isabella. There is a
pretty reasonable amount of traffic on those roads. He added that connecting Isabella with
Stebbins Road at first it might not be so bad, but if the intersection of
Stebbins and Battle is eliminated in the future, then things could be much
worse.
Terry Lewis,
8 Isabella Drive,
presented a copy of the downloaded photo she had referred to at the previous
session of the hearing. This was
received as part of the record.
When no other
audience members came forward to make comments, a motion was made by Brad
Pellissier, seconded by Michelle Hayward, and unanimously voted to close the
public hearing at 7:43p.m.
III.
ADJOURNMENT
A motion was
made by Brad Pellissier, seconded by Michelle Hayward and unanimously voted to
adjourn the Planning Commission Special meeting on March 3, 2005 at
7:45p.m.
Respectfully
submitted,
Brad Pellissier,
Secretary
Robin Timmons, Recording Secretary
MINUTES ARE NOT OFFICIAL UNTIL APPROVAL
AT A SUBSEQUENT MEETING.