Plymouth State Holds NH Planning and Zoning Conference

SETH CREIGHTON – Staff WriterOn Saturday October 25, 125 planning and zoning board mem-bers, representing 64 New Hamp-shire communities conjoined to partake in the NH Planning and Zoning Conference. The purpose of the conference, sponsored by Plymouth State University and the New Hampshire Office of Energy and Planning, was, according to Dr. Mark Okrant, to ?bring members of community planning and zoning boards up to speed on the latest methods and pertinent laws.?The conference began early with all of the participants gathered in Boyd Hall?s Lecture Room 144. Plymouth State University rep-resentatives Retha Fielding, Vice President of Institutional Advance-ment, and Dr. Mark Okrant, Faculty Fellow, began by welcoming the participants to Plymouth State?s community. Dr. Okrant extended his appreciation, expressing that the University was an excellent location for the conference to be held, given that Plymouth State is a growing member of the planning community. Okrant pointed out that the University ?currently has twenty-five Environmental Plan-ning majors,? a number that con-tinues to grow each year. Following –Okrant, Mary Ann Manoogian, Director of the New Hampshire Office of Energy and Planning (OEP), outlined how the day would proceed. She also reminded participants that Technical Bulletins and New Hampshire state handbooks were available near the registration booth in the main lobby.Planning and zoning board members then separated into their respective disciplines. Plan-ning board members stayed in Boyd?s Lecture Hall 144 and zoning board members shuffled down the hall to Lecture Hall 001. The two groups would be covering similar topics, but each topic would be specialized to either zoning or planning. Participants would become the audience to a hand-ful of guest speakers throughout the events three sessions. Each speaker would offer their expertise on varying disciplines, including: legal liability, relevant work place responsibilities, and daily tasks as either planning or zoning board members. Audience questions were encouraged throughout each session.Starting things off, zoning board members sat back and listened to Tim Bates, Esq.- Mitchell & Bates. Bates offered tips on how to keep zoning board affairs under control and on track, the legalities accom-panying meetings and hearings, and the process of rehearing meet-ings and implementing final deci-sions. Meanwhile, planning board members adhered to the words of Michael Donovan, Attorney and Planning Consultant and Mayor of Concord. Donovan spoke of legali-ties that have arisen from planning boards conflict of interest, right-to-know, and procedural matters. Many participants scribbled notes, indulging themselves in issues in which they could closely relate to. Each group shot off a slew of ques-tions and Bates and Donovan an-swered each as best as they could.Next, the groups went over ?Roles and Responsibilities.? H. Bernard Waugh, Jr., Esq- Gardner and Fulton, simplified the three ma-jor responsibilities of zoning boards. He used real life scenarios and er-roneous situations to illustrate vari-ous administrative appeals, special exceptions, and variances that zon-ing board members are expected to effectively deal with. In the other room, planning members followed along with the energetic and ?evan-gelistic? (as one participant titled him) Clay Mitchell, Town Planner of Newmarket. Mitchell drove home the importance of implementing and abiding by a master plan. Ben Frost, AICP of NH OEP, followed Mitchell and explained how site plan reviews, zoning, and subdivi-sion intertwine. Both Mitchell and Clay referred to current case studies whose decisions have come to affect all planning boards. Participants involvement grew as each minute passed. Again, each group had more questions then time allowed, and the questions became more specific as zoning and planning members recalled actual decisions that they were now unsure of.Once the second session had commenced, all participants were shuttled to the Common Man Inn, in Plymouth, to dine at Fosters Stake House. Common Man owner, Alex Ray, described to the group how this restaurant/inn was once a mill. The point of bringing the participants to the Common Man was to have them think of alterna-tive ways of dealing with the same old issues. The old mill was once an eyesore that the Plymouth Plan-ning Board feared would stay. But, with a little creative thinking from the developer and planning board, and a slight change in zoning, it?s now an attraction that draws people to town.Following lunch, participants returned to Boyd Hall for the last session. The zoning board members became involved in a role-play, led by Chris Northrop, AICP of NH OEP. The activity was based around a recent Supreme Court case. Northrop and his assistants even utilized props to make the scenario more realistic. The planning board group trailed June Hammond Rowan, Plymouth Town Planner, as she reviewed the components of a site plan. Rowan then had participants thumbing though the various counterparts of the ?Common Man Inn? site plan. This two and a half hour session was cut short halfway through after the fire alarm sounded.Participants and speakers alike filed outside and grouped near Highland Street. Instead of waiting around for the firemen to deem it safe, the participants called it a day and headed home. By the time Plymouth firemen ruled it harmless, the only people left were a few New Hampshire Office of Energy and Planning representatives and a couple of University employees. Even with an unanticipated early ending, the day was a success. Furthermore, the growth of New Hampshire?s towns and cities will become more focused as informed planning and zoning board members utilize their updated