Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Wetlands Variance Olmstead topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board approves second industrial lot wetland‑crossing variance; applicant to secure DES permits and return for site‑plan
Summary
The zoning board granted a variance for a 20‑foot access road that will cross wetland to reach roughly 6 acres of buildable land on a larger lot, with the board noting DES and planning review are required and that the lot lies within the town’s industrial/TIF/ERZ districts.
The zoning board granted a second variance at the same meeting (ZBA25‑004) to allow a wetland crossing on Tax Map 209, Block 1 (a larger property along Safford Drive) after the applicant argued that roughly 6 acres of the lot are otherwise inaccessible without a crossing.
Civil engineer Chad Branson (Fieldstone Land Consultants) explained the parcel is approximately 15.17 acres with about 5.93 acres of upland north of a jurisdictional wetland; the proposed access would be a 20‑foot‑wide road requiring an estimated 4,000 square feet of wetland impact. Branson said the team selected the narrowest crossing location to minimize impacts and that the crossing design and mitigation would follow NH DES criteria, including watershed analysis and, where required, fish & game considerations. He told the board that utilities (water, sewer, electric) would also cross in the same corridor, thereby consolidating impacts.
Board members reviewed the variance criteria and said the lot’s size, location in the Industrial Park, and the existence of municipal utilities in the district supported a finding of unnecessary hardship if access were denied. Several members reiterated that state permitting (DES and Army Corps if invoked) governs technical design, culvert sizing and mitigation requirements.
The board voted to approve the variance; the motion passed on a recorded voice vote with no dissent. The decision is conditioned on procurement of all required state and federal permits and the applicant’s return to the planning board for site‑plan approval before construction or utility work.
What’s next: Applicant to apply to NH DES for a wetlands permit and file a planning‑board site‑plan amendment that shows final crossing geometry, utility crossings, and stormwater controls.
