Planning board approves Hancock Lumber special use permit and site plan with conditions after neighbors raise trash and drainage concerns

The Wolfeboro Planning Board on the meeting considered and approved a special use permit and a site plan for Hancock Lumber’s expansion and site improvements at 100 Pine Hill Road, including stormwater upgrades that impact the 25-foot wetland buffer and covered outdoor storage structures.

The approvals follow a public hearing in which nearby residents urged the company to address blowing trash, a deteriorated chain‑link fence and invasive Japanese knotweed along the property edge. Henry Hess of Sebago Technics, representing Hancock Lumber, told the board the project replaces a failing on‑site storm drain, adds a proprietary stormwater filter and detention system, and would outlet treated water back into the existing drainage channel. He said the proposed storm filter reduces total suspended solids by about 85%, phosphorus by about 75% and nitrogen by about 50%.

The board’s action included two formal steps. Members first voted to accept the special use permit application as complete and then approved the special use permit (Case 2025‑02) after hearing the project presentation and conservation‑commission review. The board then accepted the site‑plan application as complete and approved the site plan subject to conditions that planners…