Former Harris Furniture site cleared for vehicle display after drainage waiver; board approves site plan

The Laconia Planning Board approved a commercial site plan to convert the former Harris Furniture building at 460 Union Avenue into a vehicle display and parking area for an adjacent dealership, after granting a waiver to skip a full drainage analysis because the project does not increase impervious area.

Applicants from DuBois & King and Irving Motors described plans to demolish the existing structure and use the existing footprint for vehicle display and customer parking; the parcel abuts a City of Laconia public‑works yard that currently uses an access easement through the property. The applicant said existing driveway cuts on Union Avenue would be maintained and the plan keeps most existing vegetation along the parcel boundary; staff recommended conditions to preserve screening where the neighboring parcel is residential.

Planning staff reviewed the project with the Technical Review Committee and said TRC comments were incorporated into recommended conditions. The board voted unanimously to grant the drainage waiver after the applicant told the board the proposed work would not materially change runoff patterns because the existing roofed footprint largely matches the proposed display area and no additional impervious area would be added. The board then accepted the application as complete and approved the site plan with the staff’s standard conditions: required municipal water and fire specifications for demolition and site work, preservation or installation of a residential buffer if adjacent property is residential, delineation of parking spaces, removal of snow from the lot so drainage remains functional and payment of impact fees. The staff report sets a completion deadline of Oct. 7, 2030, and requires the applicant to produce final Mylar plans and all permits before the planning department signs them.

Planning staff noted an existing 20‑foot easement used by Public Works to access its sand lot behind the property; board members discussed adding a temporary gate, a chain or other minimal physical measure to discourage public cut‑throughs while preserving emergency or delivery access. The applicant indicated they were open to adding a chain or other deterrent and said the display vehicles themselves would reduce through‑traffic.

The waiver and the site plan approval were both unanimous. Quotes in this article come from the applicants’ presentation and the planning board record.