Kingston ZBA finds Marshall Road 55+ proposal has regional impact over aquifer; hearing continued

The Kingston Zoning Board of Adjustment found that a proposed 55+ residential development on Marshall Road constitutes a project of regional impact because of its proximity to an aquifer and surface waters shared with neighboring communities.

Board members reviewed the Rockingham Planning Commission’s criteria and the project’s submission. The plan submitted to the board proposes 32 dwelling units (eight four‑unit buildings, as shown on the site plan) and sits on a parcel reported by the applicant to be under 20 acres (minutes indicate about 17.93 acres), which previously received a variance in 2017 that lapsed.

The board voted that the proposal met criterion 5 — proximity to aquifers or surface waters which transcend municipal boundaries — and directed staff to notify Brentwood and East Kingston for comment, as well as the RPC. The board then continued the application to the May 8 meeting and said updated materials and any intermunicipal comments will be circulated to the ZBA before that date.

Mark Kennedy, Brentwood’s land use administrator, attended and told the board Brentwood had no formal comment at this time but suggested the board concentrate on the established DRI (development of regional impact) criteria. The board noted that traffic and shared infrastructure issues were also discussed in RPC comments for other recent applications, but the deciding concern for Marshall Road was the aquifer link.

The ZBA took no final substantive land‑use action on the Marshall Road proposal beyond the regional‑impact finding and scheduling the continued hearing.