The Bedford Planning Board on June 2 approved two separate one-year extensions for applications filed by the Gerard J. Dumas Family Trust and amended the previously approved Riddle Brook Acres site plan to reduce the share of required affordable units from 25% to 10%.

The board granted a one-year extension for a previously approved lot consolidation and lot-line adjustment and a second one-year extension for the site plan for Riddle Brook Acres, a 54-unit age-restricted (senior) townhouse development at 227 Wallace Road. Both extensions were approved with the condition that all original conditions in the decision letter dated 05/16/2024 remain in effect and be satisfied prior to plan signature.

The extensions and the amendment were presented by Andy Pearlman, attorney for the applicant and partner at Proner and Pearlman, who spoke alongside project engineer Bridal Cole and co-trustee Joanne Dumas. Pearlman said the applicant had filed within the permit-expiration period and was working through outstanding conditions. He also told the board the project could not be made financially viable at the previous 25% affordable requirement, saying, "at 25% affordable, it's 14 units. We just couldn't make the project work. We lose approximately $250,000 per unit of affordable." Pearlman said reducing the requirement to 10% (five units under the applicant's calculations) made the pro forma feasible.

Becky Hebert, Planning Director, told the board the amendment aligns the project with a recently adopted zoning amendment and with findings from a year-long housing study the town contracted. "Bedford is located in the Manchester HUD region," Hebert said. She explained the planning board's consultant and an outside financial reviewer concluded 25% affordable units were not producing economically viable projects in the region and that the board settled on 10% as a balance between feasibility and the town's affordable-housing goals. Hebert cautioned that even 10% can be challenging without grants or other subsidies.

During public comment, resident Joan Clemens asked what prompted the town to lower the affordable-housing requirement. Hebert pointed the public to the town's planning department website and the housing-opportunity planning grant landing page for the study materials and data.

The board also noted one written comment from abutters Susan Follenweider and Thomas Curry concerning a proposed sewer easement. The abutters asked that the easement width be increased from 10 feet to 20 feet; the applicant said the change would be addressed and that the team had opened discussions with the neighbor. The board made clear the site plan will return for final plan-signature review, during which easement width and other technical items will be finalized.

Actions recorded on the record require the applicant to meet all precedent conditions in the 05/16/2024 decision letter and the staff report dated 06/02/2025 before plan signature. The board incorporated meeting minutes for each application into the decisions. Motions to grant the two one-year extensions and to approve the site-plan amendment were moved by Planning Board member Priscilla Malcolm and carried by the board; the staff report listed three conditions for the site-plan amendment.

The applicant team said no other changes were proposed to the plans. The board closed public comment on the applications and approved the extensions and amendment; the approvals were subject to the outstanding conditions and technical reviews identified in staff materials.

The planning director and applicant team will return with final plan documents and the revised easement details for signature and recordation.