Planning Board
Wednesday, May 13, 2026
Meeting Minutes

Members present: Ryan Stone Co-Chair; Courtney Cox Co-Chair; Jonathan Miner Secretary; Don Scott Alternate; Sarah Kendall Alternate; Andrew Maneval Select Board Representative and Lisa Anderson (by phone)
Attendees: John and Anne Cucchi
Recording Secretary: Mary Ann Noyer

Ryan Stone opened the meeting at 7:00 pm.

Agenda and voting members – The voting members were named as Ryan Stone, Courtney Cox, Jon Miner, Andrew Maneval and Don Scott.  Mr. Maneval moved to approve the agenda as drafted. Don Scott seconded. All voted in favor.

Minutes of previous meeting, 4/8 – Jon Miner moved to approve the minutes. Courtney Cox seconded. All voted in favor.

Application received – The board received an application from John and Anne Cucchi, on behalf of their son, owner of 14 Loyd Lane (Map 30 – Lot 32-3), for a Boundary Line Adjustment. Two PB members will review the submission for completeness and contact the applicants if more information is needed.  The PB noted it will issue a public notice for their June 10 meeting stating that, if the PB votes on June 10 that they find the application complete, the board will move immediately into a public hearing on the proposed boundary line adjustment.

Committees
—Transportation – Don Scott shared an update from the Transportation Committee (TC).  Committee members will observe the general store area for traffic flow, parking and any issues in anticipation of the official opening of the Village Community Center (formerly St. Denis Church) on 6/22.  Final paving and parking space striping in the area by post office is scheduled for the coming weeks and striping before then in the lot near the post office. The TC wants to see how the current layout is working or if changes should be made.  Mr. Maneval noted the Select Board would be interested in how town traffic flows relative to the line striping (straight vs. angled).  Separately, Don Scott noted that SWPRC is submitting an application to USDOT for funding for temporary road safety devices (such as temporary crosswalk, roundabout, traffic calming materials).

—Canal Fence – Don Scott shared that the Canal Fence committee, led by John Knight and consisting of property owners, Historic District Commission members and representatives from Historic Harrisville, appears to be leaning towards a recommendation of less fencing around the canal, with repairs to sections only needed for safety.  The Select Board has also made it clear that safety comes first and aesthetics second to that.

—Ordinance Review – Jon Miner noted that the ORC is considering a pocket neighborhood concept, and that the ORC needs to address Articles 9.1.6. and 5.1.3. regarding lakeside district and development of nonconforming structures parallel to the lakeshore. The PB discussed whether volume limitations in the lakeside district should be considered by the ORC this year as well (Chesterfield limits increases to 25% over existing volume), and/or whether ADUs in the lakeside district should have different size limitations than those in other districts where lots are larger.  The town’s current ordinances provide for a 1,000 square foot limit for ADUs. Ryan Stone is curious what other comparably sized towns have in place.

Following discussion, the PB members agreed on 3 agenda items for the ORC in 2026: Consideration of a pocket neighborhood concept and multi-family housing as proposed by the Housing Team; Possible revisions to Articles 9.1.6. and 5.1.3. as requested by the zoning board; and consideration of volume and height limitations in the lakeside district.  On a vote whether the ORC should address ADU size in all zones this year, members voted 3-2 against.

Separately, the board again discussed adding the requirement of as-built plans to application forms but took no definitive action.

Document review, Subdivision Regulations – Members reviewed the process for collaborating on revisions to the 2005 regulations.  Courtney Cox created a Google Doc so that members could individually review and add suggested comments.  Members agreed to review the first five sections and comment on their own. The whole board will discuss suggestions at next month’s meeting.

New business:
–Capital Improvement Program (CIP) – Ryan Stone will redistribute the document created by Charles Michal. Mr. Maneval noted that Steve LaMears also has a copy and has been asked to comment based on his department’s near and long-term plans. Mr. Maneval raised the recent discussions led by SWRPC on regional planning, and the need for small towns to share large expenditures and find commonalities. He will keep the PB updated and noted the issues ultimately are Town Meeting decisions.

Regional planning – Andrew concerned about Fire Dept expenses and the need for small towns to share large expenditures and find commonalities. Also, cybersecurity is an issue that could be approached. Next week Andrew is meeting with SWPRC executive director. Andrew will keep PB up to speed on discussions. Issues are ultimately Town Meeting decisions.

—Underutilized buildings committee – While currently on hiatus, Andrew Maneval, Jeff Cady, Paul Clark and Charlie Sorenson are serving on this to consider uses for the old fire station on Harrisville Pond and the old highway garage, which is currently serving multiple departments.

—Public use of property – To comply with RSAs, the SB is considering a municipal ordinance/permit process for use of public property for different events.

—Current PB membership – Mr. Stone asked for the website to be updated to reflect current membership term expirations and asked for confirmation that all have been sworn in.

—211 Breed Road LLC – To the request to the PB to confirm the status of the 1.4-acre lot on the east side of Breed Road, the PB discussed whether the lot remains non-buildable or whether any decision was made during approval of the subdivision across the road that rendered the non-buildable condition imposed in 1981 null and void. PB members noted they did not address that issue during the subdivision hearing relative to the 1.4-acre lot as nothing relative to that parcel was before the board other than the fact that the board considered it, and still considers it, a separate parcel.  Members believe an application for a specific project for development needs to be brought before the planning board or zoning board before it can address the buildability question.

The meeting adjourned at 9:20 pm.