Board approves amended Eastpointe Drive plan for BDD Realty with waivers, landscaping changes and impact fees

The Hooksett Planning Board approved an amended commercial site plan for two contractor‑unit buildings at 6 Eastpointe Drive (also listed as 59 Londonderry Turnpike). The applicant, BDD Realty LLC, revised the layout to accommodate updated stormwater and Department of Environmental Services (DES) requirements; the revised plan relocates and redesigns detention with a gravel‑wetland treatment area.

The proposal calls for two single‑story contractor buildings totaling 13 units (6 in Building 1; 7 in Building 2) with associated parking, access from the shared drive off Londonderry Turnpike and a new gravel‑wetland stormwater treatment area near the site fronting the bypass. The applicant said the previously permitted detention area had become functionally like a wetland in DES’s view; DES required the project to avoid direct disturbance to the jurisdictional area, so the applicant redesigned the stormwater approach into a gravel wetland and adjusted building orientations and grading to minimize wetland disturbance.

During the hearing the applicant’s engineer explained the revised drainage and treatment plan, that the site will be served by public water and natural gas, and that a proposed septic (pump) system will be permitted after local approvals. The plan shows proposed landscaping, a wildflower slope at the frontage in lieu of rip‑rap, and 14 new shade trees. Board members asked for additional winter screening and recommended adding some evergreen plantings to provide a year‑round visual buffer; the board required three additional evergreen trees and a swap of five proposed deciduous shrubs for evergreen shrubs in interior landscape pockets.

The board granted three waivers requested by the applicant: (1) site‑plan sheet consolidation requirement, (2) permit signage renderings to be provided at a later date, and (3) a waiver related to prior wetland fill restrictions where DES and the project engineer developed a mitigation approach. The board also approved the findings of fact.

The board voted to apply impact fees for public safety and recreation; during the meeting staff and legal counsel discussed removal of a Zone‑3 traffic fee that the town currently cannot apply. The meeting record shows an initial recorded impact fee total of $11,404.60 and the final approval motion documented a package of impact fees and conditions with an adjusted total reflected at $25,602.98 after the board and staff reconciled which fee categories applied and which traffic fees were not charged because of current town fee zone rules. The motion approving the final plan included the additional landscaping conditions (three evergreens and five evergreen shrubs in replacement), standard subsequent conditions, and a list of items to be completed prior to issuing certificates of occupancy.

The applicant and engineer said they expect the buildings may be constructed in a single phase but left phasing open in the approval. Board members also reviewed snow‑storage locations and septic tank siting; the applicant said snow would be piled in several designated areas and that the stormwater design (gravel wetland) will accept and treat snowmelt. The town planner and applicant agreed to coordinate final signage and landscape details before permit issuance.