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Residents, conservation commission press for site walk and stricter review of 19‑lot Valley View subdivision
Summary
Residents and the commission raised wetlands, stormwater and well‑water concerns about a proposed 19‑lot subdivision off Corvo Drive; developer says design limits wetland impacts to about 8,680 sq ft and has revised crossings after Fish & Game comments. The commission voted to send comments to the planning board and request a joint site walk.
Chair Joe Carroll opened public comment for the meeting, and multiple residents urged the commission to scrutinize the Valley View subdivision proposal, a planned 19‑lot development off Corvo Drive that would extend Valley View Drive.
Attorney Courtney Herz, representing a group of neighbors, told the commission the parcel contains “so many wetlands” that the project raises “significant concerns,” especially about added impervious surface, removal and disruption of wetlands and where displaced water will flow. Jim Flynn and other nearby homeowners said wetlands and streams behind their lots would receive redirected runoff and flagged a June 2024 sighting of a Blanding’s turtle recorded in the developer’s stormwater materials.
Several residents described local well problems and possible connections to recent nearby development. One resident said static well levels at his home had fallen about 30 feet over the past two years following nearby subdivision construction, and asked how new private wells and additional water use would affect aquifer levels and water quality.
Developer consultant John Rokey of Rokey Consulting presented the subdivision plan and the changes made in response to agency review. He said the team is proposing to keep the central wetland area largely undisturbed and route roads and house lots around it. Rokey said the plan upsized several wetland crossings from round pipes to box culverts to maintain connectivity for wildlife and to meet the town’s design standard for a 100‑year storm event. He reported the project’s total wetland impact as 8,680 square feet, and estimated (informally) the total wetlands on the parcel are “probably like 15 acres or something like that.”
Rokey said he has submitted materials to New Hampshire Fish and Game and received a list of comments focused on connectivity for Blanding’s turtles and other passage concerns. He said the team has addressed many items on Fish and Game’s list (for example adjusting culvert/outlet details and catch basin design to reduce entrapment risk) and that Tom Sokolowski, the project wetland/soil scientist, is completing a functions‑and‑values wetlands report requested by agencies; Rokey expected that report “relatively soon.”
Residents asked for additional hydrologic study focused on wells. Rokey said a dedicated hydrology review could be done by a specialist but was not part of the current submission; he said the standard roadway drainage and stormwater analyses for the town and the state alteration‑of‑terrain permit are being prepared.
After discussion the commission moved to prepare written comments for the planning board and to request a joint site walk with other land‑use boards to review wetlands, drainage and potential impacts in person. The motion passed unanimously.
Ending: The commission asked staff to draft a comment letter to the planning board asking for a joint site walk with planning and zoning, and to circulate that letter and proposed site‑walk dates to commissioners and interested abutters. The developer indicated the outstanding functions‑and‑values report will be submitted in the coming weeks.
