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Keene committees back ordinance to allow cross-site parking lot access across property lines
Summary
The Planning Board and the Planning, Licenses and Development Committee recommended that ordinance O-2025-29, which would permit cross-site drive-aisle connections across property lines subject to standards and planning review, be sent to a public hearing and found consistent with the master plan.
At a joint workshop on July 28 the Planning Board and PLD considered ordinance O-2025-29, which would amend the Land Development Code to allow cross-site access where a parking lot drive aisle continues across a property line to provide vehicle movement between adjacent commercial parcels. Committees said the change is intended to improve access management, reduce short trips on public streets between adjacent plazas, and avoid the need for variances that developers currently seek for such connections.
Planner Evan Clements presented the proposal and said the amendment would create an exception to the parking-lot pavement setback requirements in section 9.4.2(a) to permit cross-site drive aisles. The ordinance text includes standards and conditions: driveway width standards (22 feet for two-way, 11 feet for one-way), planning review to address pedestrian and vehicular safety, and requirements for cross-access agreements where multiple owners are involved. Staff emphasized that the proposal would not automatically remove review; instead, planning review (including administrative review where appropriate) would evaluate location, design, and safety.
Councilors and staff asked about long-term durability of cross-access agreements if ownership changes. Clements and staff responded that the ordinance anticipates cross-access agreements when parcels have separate owners; if ownership changes, the new owner could choose to discontinue a connection unless private agreements or easements obligate continued access. Staff noted the ordinance requires planning review and encourages recorded access agreements when necessary.
The Planning Board voted that the proposed ordinance is consistent with the 2010 master plan. The PLD committee voted to recommend that the mayor set a public hearing on O-2025-29; both votes were recorded as unanimous at the workshop. Staff said the ordinance is largely a code cleanup to align the land development code with common site designs already present across Keene’s commercial corridors and to reduce the need for variances during site plan review.
No public speakers appeared on this item at the workshop. The PLD recommendation will send the ordinance to a noticed City Council public hearing; subsequent specific projects seeking cross-site access would still require planning review and any necessary cross-access agreements.
