Planning Board approves 9,000‑sq‑ft emergency veterinary clinic at 250 South River Road
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Summary
The board approved a site plan and a waiver to reduce the rear landscape strip to 5 feet for a proposed 9,000-square-foot emergency, trauma and specialty veterinary clinic; conditions include standard precedent items and pedestrian connectivity.
The Bedford Planning Board on Jan. 27 approved a site plan for a proposed approximately 9,000-square-foot veterinary hospital at 250 South River Road (Lot 23-98-4). The approval includes a waiver to allow a five-foot rear landscape strip where 14 feet is required, precedent conditions listed in the staff report and several technical permits to be completed before construction.
Applicant teams said the facility will provide 24‑hour specialty and emergency care, surgical and trauma services, and will employ roughly 25 to 30 staff with up to 10 doctors on site over shifts. Tom Burns of TF Moran, the civil engineer on the project, described the site as a 1.25‑acre parcel subdivided from the adjacent Country Inn & Suites property, accessed via a shared driveway and served by municipal water and sewer. “We did submit application to DOT for an updated driveway permit… and we did receive the permit,” Burns said, noting the driveway permit was issued without conditions.
The applicant also said sewer‑discharge calculations were developed in consultation with the state subsurface systems bureau, using clinic design flows tied to the number of doctors and kennels; based on that approach the estimated sewer flow is about 3,000 gallons per day. Stormwater will be managed in a closed drainage network with underground storm‑tech chambers to provide pretreatment and detention before discharge to the existing outfall; the project does not trigger New Hampshire Alteration of Terrain thresholds but will comply with the town stormwater permit.
Architectural drawings shown to the board depict a primary public frontage facing South River Road with a mix of brick, board-and-batten siding, and accent elements, and a partially second‑story administrative area. The plan includes interior animal-holding and treatment space, surgical suites, radiology and a provisioned space for a mobile MRI trailer that would be parked on-site and powered via an underground electrical connection; the trailer will be sited at the rear corner near the retaining wall and screened by the wall from the adjacent hotel.
Board members discussed potential sightlines from the Country Inn & Suites suites above the site. The applicant said the mechanical units will be located and screened to minimize visibility; Dr. Brett Kasner, the clinic applicant, said initial security would likely use a buzzer system after hours and that controlled drugs would be stored in locked, compliant spaces. Medical hazardous wastes, sharps and similar regulated wastes will be collected and removed by a licensed medical-waste disposal service rather than disposed of in the site dumpster, the applicant said.
The board granted the waiver to reduce the rear landscape strip to five feet because the elevation difference and a large retaining wall between the sites limit planting width; the applicant will provide a mix of evergreens and shrubs and noted the existing grade helps screen the clinic from the hotel. The site plan approval was moved by Priscilla Malcolm, seconded by the alternate voting member seated that night, and passed with the precedent conditions listed in the staff report (conditions 1–12) to be met prior to plan signature.
The applicant will submit revised plans addressing VHB and staff comments and the required permits for sewer discharge and town stormwater prior to plan signature.
