Design review held for major subdivision application after owner seeks fourth lot from large parcel

The Planning Board on July 15 held a design-review session for case P25-20, in which agent Paul Zutto presented an application by the Lee Hillsgrove Revocable Trust to create another lot from a roughly 200‑plus acre parcel.

Zutto told the board the proposal would take one new vacant lot from the large parent parcel; because it is the fourth lot taken from the parent property the application qualifies as a major subdivision under town rules and therefore comes to the board for full design review. "He wants to take off another lot off his 200 plus acre lot, which now is the fourth lot, which kicks it into a major," Zutto said.

The applicant requested waivers for extensive studies on the remainder of the parent parcel (topography, wetlands and other major-subdivision submittals) on the grounds that the remaining acreage will remain in current use and the immediate proposal affects only the new lot. Board members asked procedural questions about timing, prior minor approvals and the practical differences between minor and major review; the agent described previous lot cuts in the same parcel (including lots for family members) and said the owner plans to sell the newly created vacant lot while keeping the remainder in current use.

The board treated the item as design review only; no vote to approve or deny the subdivision was taken at this meeting. No public commenters spoke on the item. The board confirmed it expects the applicant to meet major-subdivision requirements unless specific waivers are granted at a later stage.

The agent said there are no wetlands shown on the proposed new lot and that the proposed lot meets frontage requirements on the intersecting roads. The board and applicant discussed steep slopes near the proposed lot corner and the town's timing rules for minor-versus-major determinations; no final decision on waivers was recorded during the design-review session.