After more than two hours of public comment and technical questions, the Hooksett Planning Board on Jan. 23 continued the public hearing for a proposed 19‑lot subdivision that would extend Valley View Drive into land behind Corvo Drive.

The project, proposed for Map 22 Lot 4617 and Map 27 Lot 45, would extend Valley View Drive, add three detention basins and build 19 new house lots. The applicant and engineer told the board they had provided additional materials to neighboring towns as part of a previously declared regional‑impact review and that Southern New Hampshire Regional Planning and neighboring towns had no objections, although Southern New Hampshire RPC flagged drainage into wetlands shared with adjacent towns.

Attorney Courtney Herz, representing multiple abutters, told the board the application is “premature and incomplete” because it requires a wetlands special exception (conservation commission review) that had not been filed. She also urged the board to apply the town’s prohibition on creating a dead‑end street off another dead‑end street and to consider public‑safety consequences of adding 19 homes onto a road system with only one existing through route. “This proposal is to add 19 additional homes into a road that already has access issues,” she said, and noted a prior incident when a downed tree blocked Corvo for about 15 hours.

Multiple neighbors described flooding and groundwater concerns, noting private wells in the area and urging pump tests and hydrologic study before approval. One resident said PFAS had been measured in his well at low nanogram per liter concentrations and warned that lowering water tables could increase contaminant concentrations. Neighbors also criticized the proposal to build a new loop road off of an existing long dead‑end system and said it could compound past piecemeal development mistakes.

Planning board members pressed the applicant on several technical points — stormwater maintenance, required homeowner association governance and whether the town would maintain any ponds or drainage structures — and engineering representatives said they were prepared to upsized culverts if Fish and Game or other agencies required it. Town engineering and planning staff also warned that state Alteration of Terrain (AOT) rules may require additional permitting if lot construction triggers thresholds.

Given the outstanding conservation and zoning steps and the number of substantial public concerns, the board asked the applicant to seek the wetlands special exception and conservation commission review before the board makes final decisions. The applicant agreed to request a date‑certain continuance and the board continued the public hearing to April 7, 2025, to allow time for the applicant to obtain those reviews and return with responses to technical comments.

The board also discussed the need for an HOA to ensure long‑term maintenance of stormwater features; staff recommended conditions that require a legal HOA with maintenance responsibilities to be recorded before any road acceptance or lot build‑outs occur.

No final approvals or waivers were granted at the Jan. 23 meeting; the board framed the decision as procedural, intended to secure missing agency reviews and to allow staff, conservation and legal counsel time to evaluate the environmental and safety concerns raised by residents.