The running public hearing for construction at Shawmut Associates LLC of Cranberry Highway in Rochester continued on Tuesday evening, with Planning Board members estimating that it would take upward of another three meetings to get everything approved by the town’s various boards.
Green Seal engineers recently submitted a site plan review to the town, and they expect the Planning Board to approve it, barring any setbacks.
Town Planner John Charbonneau said that the Conservation Commission will also be issuing an Order for Conditions at the site at some point this month, and unless members take issue with the construction, they would also be ready to approve the changes when they meet on May 7.
According to Gary James, an engineer for Green Seal, there has been a lot of work including topography and controlled grading on the access road that is currently being built. He said that they also installed two drop-inlets to control water flow near the road. The drainage is one area of particular significance to the Conservation Commission.
“We’ll have public hearing one more time,” Planning Board Chairman Arnold Johnson said. “Once [approval from other boards] comes through, we’ll be able to approve everything.”
He added that things could be complete by the second meeting if all goes according to plan.
“Depending on how things work, maybe we could vote that night, and that would be it,” he said.
The public hearing is continued to May 15 at 7:00 pm.
In other news, Charbonneau said that he and others were going to get to work on zoning bylaws for the sale of medical marijuana. He said that it would fit into bylaws for the adult use district in most towns, and they would follow suit in Rochester.
He also said that towns are responsible for giving permits after applicants receive state approval.
“They have to apply for a license from the state, but they still need local approval,” he said.
He added that the final regulations from the Department of Health have not yet come out, but that they should emerge within a few weeks.
Finally, Johnson said that the town wants to form a subcommittee with the Zoning Board of Appeals and Planning Board to go over and rewrite the town’s zoning bylaws. He said that they want to see if there’s repetition in zoning bylaws and, if so, necessary changes could be made.
“We want to get that going,” Johnson said. “It’s a lot easier with a couple of members from each one. You can easily get together.”
Johnson said that they’d be looking for at least two members from each board.
By Nick Walecka
