Q – When is the Planning Board office open to the public?
A – The office is open to the public on Tuesday and Wednesday from 9 AM – 3 PM
Q – When does the Planning Board meet?
A – The Planning Board conducts public hearings on the second Tuesday of each month and a work session on the fourth Tuesday of each month. They occasionally conduct other meetings if there is a need.
Q – Where would I find the meetings posted?
A – The meetings are posted in three town locations:
» Newton Town Hall
» Newton Post Office
» Newton Junction Post Office
Q – What does the Planning Board do?
A – Per TITLE LXIV, PLANNING AND ZONING, RSA 674, Section 674:1 the duties of the Planning Board are as follow:
I. It shall be the duty of every planning board established under RSA 673:1 to prepare and amend from time to time a master plan to guide the development of the municipality. A master plan may include consideration of any areas outside the boundaries of the municipality which in the judgment of the planning board bear a relation to or have an impact on the planning of the municipality. Every planning board shall from time to time update and amend the adopted master plan with funds appropriated for that purpose by the local legislative body. In preparing, amending, and updating the master plan:
(a) The planning board shall have responsibility for promoting interest in, and understanding of, the master plan of the municipality. In order to promote this interest and understanding, the planning board may publish and distribute copies of the master plan, or copies of any report relating to the master plan, and may employ such other means of publicity and education as it may deem advisable.
(b) The planning board shall also have authority to make any investigations, maps and reports, and recommendations which relate to the planning and development of the municipality.
II. The planning board may from time to time report and recommend to the appropriate public officials and public agencies programs for the development of the municipality, programs for the erection of public structures, and programs for municipal improvements. Each program shall include recommendations for its financing. It shall be part of the planning board's duties to consult with and advise public officials and agencies, public utility companies, civic, educational, professional, research and other organizations, and to consult with citizens, for the purposes of protecting or carrying out of the master plan as well as for making recommendations relating to the development of the municipality.
III. Members of the planning board, when duly authorized by the board as a whole, may attend municipal planning conferences or meetings, or hearings upon pending municipal planning legislation. The planning board may by majority vote authorize the payment of reasonable expenses incident to such attendance.
IV. The planning board, and its members, officers, and employees, in the performance of their functions may, by ordinance, be authorized to enter upon any land and make such examinations and surveys as are reasonably necessary and place and maintain necessary monuments and marks and, in the event consent for such entry is denied or not reasonably obtainable, to obtain an administrative inspection warrant under RSA 595-B.
V. The planning board may, from time to time, recommend to the local legislative body amendments of the zoning ordinance or zoning map or additions thereto.
VI. In general, the planning board may be given such powers by the municipality as may be necessary to enable it to fulfill its functions, promote municipal planning, or carry out the purposes of this title.
Source. 1983, 447:1. 1991, 231:12, eff. Aug. 9, 1991.
Q – How do I apply to the Planning Board?
A – You can contact the Planning Board office at (603) 382-3419 during regular office hours and speak to the board’s administrative assistant. It is her function to guide you through the application process and provide you with the appropriate paperwork.
Q – How are records of the meeting done and am I permitted to have a copy?
A – Minutes of the meeting are taken by the board’s administrative assistant and per RSA 91-A: 4 Minutes and Records Available for Public Inspection. –
I. Every citizen during the regular or business hours of all such bodies or agencies, and on the regular business premises of such bodies or agencies, has the right to inspect all public records, including minutes of meetings of the bodies or agencies, and to make memoranda, abstracts, and photographic or photostatic copies of the records or minutes so inspected, except as otherwise prohibited by statute or RSA 91-A: 5.
I-a. Records of any payment made to an employee of any public body or agency listed in RSA 91-A: 1-a, I (a)-(d), or to the employee's agent or designee, upon the resignation, discharge, or retirement of the employee, paid in addition to regular salary and accrued vacation, sick, or other leave, shall immediately be made available without alteration for public inspection. All records of payments shall be available for public inspection notwithstanding that the matter may have been considered or acted upon in nonpublic session pursuant to RSA 91-A:3.
II. After the completion of a meeting of such bodies or agencies, every citizen, during the regular or business hours of all such bodies or agencies, and on the regular business premises of such bodies or agencies, has the right to inspect all notes, materials, tapes or other sources used for compiling the minutes of such meetings, and to make memoranda, abstracts, photographic or photostatic copies, or tape record such notes, materials, tapes or sources inspected, except as otherwise prohibited by statute or RSA 91-A:5.
III. Each body or agency shall keep and maintain all public records in its custody at its regular office or place of business in an accessible place and, if there is no such office or place of business, the public records pertaining to such body or agency shall be kept in an office of the political subdivision in which such body or agency is located or, in the case of a state agency, in an office designated by the secretary of state.
IV. Each public body or agency shall, upon request for any public record reasonably described, make available for inspection and copying any such public record within its files when such records are immediately available for such release. If a public body or agency is unable to make a public record available for immediate inspection and copying, it shall, within 5 business days of request, make such record available, deny the request in writing with reasons, or furnish written acknowledgment of the receipt of the request and a statement of the time reasonably necessary to determine whether the request shall be granted or denied. If a photocopying machine or other device maintained for use by a body or agency is used by the body or agency to copy the public record or document requested, the person requesting the copy may be charged the actual
cost of providing the copy, which cost may be collected by the body or agency. Nothing in this section shall exempt any person from paying fees otherwise established by law for obtaining copies of public records or documents, but if such fee is established for the copy, no additional costs or fees shall be charged.
V. In the same manner as set forth in RSA 91-A: 4, IV, any body or agency which maintains its records in a computer storage system may, in lieu of providing original documents, provide a printout of any record reasonably described and which the agency has the capacity to produce in a manner that does not reveal information which is confidential under this chapter or any other law. Access to work papers, personnel data and other confidential information under RSA 91-A: 5, IV shall not be provided.
VI. Every agreement to settle a lawsuit against a governmental unit, threatened lawsuit, or other claim, entered into by any political subdivision or its insurer, shall be kept on file at the municipal clerk's office and made available for public inspection for a period of no less than 10 years from the date of settlement.
Source. 1967, 251:1. 1983, 279:2. 1986, 83:5. 1997, 90:2, eff. Aug. 2, 1997. 2001, 223:2, eff. Jan. 1, 2002. 2004, 246:2, eff. Aug. 14, 2004.
Q – I am interested in becoming a member of the Planning Board. How do I do this?
A – In Newton, NH, the planning board members are elected under the terms of RSA 673:2, II. Alternates are appointed by the elected board.
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