The Manchester Planning & Zoning Board on July 17 approved a one-year extension and added a staff-coordination condition for PDSP-2024-002, the proposed three-level, 312-space steel-frame parking deck at Orange Street and Pearl Street (the “Pearl Street lot”). The structure is part of a larger NeighborWorks Southern New Hampshire development that includes a four-story, 125-unit apartment building and 12 three-story townhouses.

The board’s chair, Bryce Kawu, opened the continuation public hearing and invited the applicant to present. An applicant representative from TF Moran Incorporated told the board, “it’s very important that NeighborWorks get this extension because, actually, after this meeting, they would be out of time.” The applicant said it had incorporated the board’s prior recommendations, including delineated accessible paths from accessible parking spaces to a vestibule and out to the street and an added crosswalk at the northern entrance.

Why it matters: the parking deck sits in the Central Business District and is tied to a major affordable-housing project by NeighborWorks. The board’s approval preserves the project schedule while adding a design condition to address visual and safety concerns raised during review.

Board and staff discussion focused on exterior materials and headlight screening. The applicant presented elevations showing a red brick cladding intended to match the adjacent NeighborWorks building and said the darker panels at upper levels would serve as headlight screening. Member comments suggested the screening’s transparency varied by elevation; one board member asked whether the opaque portion of screening could be made continuous to block light more effectively and produce a more uniform exterior appearance. The applicant said that option had technical ramifications, including potential impacts on fire protection and ventilation, and offered to coordinate further with staff.

Deputy Director Nick Strong advised the board that the Department of Public Works had submitted additional comments about screening durability and appearance, noting those material concerns relate to the board’s aesthetic review. Board members agreed to add a condition directing the applicant to work with staff to determine the feasibility of “implementing opaque screening to obscure headlights and reverting the exterior cladding to the originally proposed transparency,” and to consider widening openings so that non-accessible parkers need not walk to the vestibule.

Vice Chair Brian Beaupre moved to approve PDSP-2024-002 with the findings of fact and staff recommendations, including the new third condition to coordinate on opaque screening and cladding; Bob Gagne seconded. One board member, Andy Boyle, recused from the application because of a business relationship with the applicant; the motion carried with the board voting in favor and Boyle recorded as recused.

The board closed the public hearing and will require the applicant to finalize technical details with city staff before issuance of a final approval.

Provenance (transcript excerpts): The public-hearing introduction and scope appear in the transcript beginning where the chair describes PDSP-2024-002 as a continuation for the Pearl Street lot and the applicant begins presenting (transcript block around s=210.165). The presentation, staff comments and the motion/approval are recorded through the board’s final vote and the closing of the item (transcript blocks spanning approximately s=210.165 to s=1231.255).