Ordinance Review Committee
Minutes
November 1, 2007
Present: Jack Goosetrey, Wayne Wood, Gary Foster, Wade Trudel, Richard Bibber, James Foster, Margaret Hutchins,
Others: Kinderly Hodgdon, Fire Chief Plummer, Mike Barter
Wade Trudel called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm
Wayne Wood moved, Gary Foster seconded to approve minutes of October 17, 2007 as amended by inserting “noted” after Councilor Hutchins in the third paragraph on the second page and inserting “status” in the fourth paragraph on the second page
The proposed fire suppression ordinance as amended by the Public Safety Committee was reviewed. Gary Foster noted the language in Section 5.0 additional requirements should be clearly stated in order to be enforceable. Mike Barter noted the rationale for the language was to give the fire department some option in special circumstances without having to go back and reinvent the wheel. Much of the proposed language is from other towns that have worked with this.
Wayne Wood questioned if the best option is to require each developer to put in a cistern or is it better to have an impact fee and then the Town is able to determine the best locations for a cistern. The concern is that most of the development is within specific sections of town, but not all over town.
Jack Goosetrey questioned if buildings within 100 feet would need to be sprinkled, noting most buildings in the Village District are within a 100 feet. Mike Barter noted the 100 feet is from the NFPA standards. Wayne Wood suggested looking at the difference between NFPA and BOCA standards. Under Section 5, Applicability, Mike Barter suggested changing the requirement from less than 100 feet to less than 50 feet. Councilor Hutchins noted sprinklers will be mandatory at some point down the road. Mike Barter noted another issue with sprinklers is they need to be properly installed and at some point we may need a sprinkler ordinance. Chief Plummer suggested taking out the language “may include sprinklers” and then move forward with cisterns. Sprinklers may be looked at as a separate ordinance and does not need
to be part of this ordinance. All agreed the additional requirements should be removed All agreed the last paragraph dealing with measuring of the 50 feet would go better in section 6.a. as it deals with measuring on how the fire department would get to a fire.
Wade Trudel questioned if the reference to sprinklers in 6.1 b. should be removed. Kinderly Hodgdon suggested this may be the place to leave the option for sprinklers. Wayne Wood noted it is good to leave the option if someone wishes to put in a sprinkler system and have an approved system installed.
Wayne Wood questioned if the requirement for cistern and fire pond is to be applied to commercial projects. Kinderly Hodgdon noted anything over 2,000 square feet would go to the Planning Board for site plan review and anything over 3,000 square feet would trigger NFPA.
Chief Plummer noted the requirement in 6.0 is for the fire pond as the fire pond has to replenish its own water, where a cistern is replenished by the fire department. Wayne Wood suggested reworking the language so the cistern size required is cleared. Mike Barter noted language was from another town and noted the potential is for fire to spread and the more houses the greater the potential. Gary Foster suggested the language be reworked to further clarify the first paragraph. Mike Barter also noted ISO suggested any requirement for a certain amount of water be determined by a certified hydrologist. Wayne Wood suggested looking at the normally accepted formula for ice in Maine or 50 year drought and making reference for the standards in the definitions.
Wayne Wood suggested the final definitions should go along with all of the ordinances and suggested the Planner review AHJ (“authority having jurisdiction”) to insure the definition fits with the rest of the ordinances. Gary Foster suggested the definitions contain only definitions and not performance standards,
Under Section 7 Mike Barter noted the requirement for 18 months was comparable to the surrounding communities and the Town would not want to accept any cistern that was not properly installed. Gary Foster noted a developer should not be penalized if a developer connected to the water supply and there was a failure of the water supply at no fault of the developer. All agreed that the language in Section 7 should be changed to say “rural” water supply.
In Section 9 Access, James Foster suggested taking out “right of way” and replace it with “public way”. All agreed.
Gary Foster suggested language be included that the ordinance that any major or minor subdivision approved prior to the date of the enactment of the ordinance would be exempt.. All agreed. Wayne Wood suggested the definition section should be combined with the definition section of the ordinances.
James Foster suggested the easiest way to answer the question on Section 4.3 think easiest way is to get together with the chief and review the material specifications. Gary Foster suggested the definitions should just define the dry hydrants and the specifications should be moved to the performance standards. All agreed.
The Business Transitional District discussion was tabled until the next meeting. James Foster reported the Water District is in the process of reviewing the study and the Trustees are working to get their recommendations to the Town Council.
Gary Foster noted there was a question on the hand drawn map for the Village Center District if it was the intent of the committee to remove resource protection. All agree it was the committee’s intention to go down to Copp’s and along the turnpike and it was not the intent to remove resource protection; It was reported the first reading is scheduled for December 4th and the Town Council would like someone from ORC present to answer questions and the Town Council would like ORC to review the Village Center District at its meeting on December 6th.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 p.m.
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