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Concord ZBA clears Unitil to upgrade West Concord substation; grants bluff and grading variances
Summary
After deciding the application did not meet the criteria for a Development of Regional Impact, the Concord Zoning Board of Adjustment unanimously granted Unitil variances to build a control enclosure in a bluff buffer and to recontour a small ravine area for stormwater management at its West Concord Substation.
The Concord Zoning Board of Adjustment voted unanimously to grant two variances to Unitil for work at its West Concord Substation and pole storage yard at 1-7 McGuire (TaxMap Lot 49/494 Z-44).
Before hearing testimony, the board considered whether the project should be declared a Development of Regional Impact (DRI) under RSA 36:55. Planning staff flagged the issue; the board reviewed the six criteria in the staff report and voted that the application did not meet the threshold for a DRI, allowing the hearing to proceed.
Nicholas Golan, a licensed engineer and principal of TF Marriott, said the existing substation, sited in the 1940s, has reached the end of its useful life and that the project is intended to improve redundancy and reliability. "We have reached the point that our 1940 substation has reached its use of life and it's time to upgrade," Golan said. He described a proposed control building, changes to the pole storage yard and a 22,000-square-foot substation yard (the existing yard is roughly 4,000 square feet).
Nate Sherwood, a principal engineer for Unitil, said the work is electrical infrastructure, not generation: "It's a control building... just electrical infrastructure." Applicants told the board they will not clear bluff vegetation within the buffer, will remove some impervious surface returning it to grass, and will implement stormwater-management features; they also said the work will require state Alteration of Terrain (AOT) permits and agency review, including US Fish & Wildlife and New Hampshire Fish & Game, as applicable.
Abutters from the Smokestack Center raised questions about notice, the amount of power routed through existing easements, fencing and access. Unitil representatives said the company has an old easement across the abutter's property for existing lines and that the project does not change transmission voltage. "There is no change in voltage," a Unitil representative said when asked about powerflow; applicants added modern protection systems should reduce risk.
After public comment and staff clarification, a board member moved to grant a variance from Article 28-4 (buffers to bluff) to permit the construction and location of an electrical control enclosure; the motion adopted the applicant's proposed findings under RSA 674:33 and carried unanimously. The board then voted unanimously to grant the separate variance allowing regrading/recontouring for stormwater management tied to the project. The chair noted the project will next proceed to planning-level review for site plan details such as fencing and access that are outside the board's purview.
What happens next: With zoning variances granted, Unitil will pursue required state permits (including AOT) and city planning board/site-plan review for final site design and access arrangements.
