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Swansea planning board declines to recommend Base Hill Road rezoning after residents cite wetlands and safety concerns
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Summary
After a public hearing, Swansea Planning Board voted to withhold its recommendation on a petition to rezone parcels on Base Hill Road to residential, citing spot‑zoning concerns; the petition will remain on the ballot with a planning‑board non‑endorsement.
The Town of Swansea Planning Board voted to not recommend a petition to rezone parcels along Base Hill Road, following a lengthy public hearing in which residents warned that commercial development would harm wetlands, increase truck traffic and endanger pedestrians.
Sherry Howard, identifying herself as a lead resident for the Base Hill Road neighborhood, told the board the area contains significant wetlands and an aquifer and urged the change to residential zoning. “A primary goal is to stop further commercial development that would harm the road, the environment, and the people here on Swansea,” she said, citing a Moosewood Ecological wetlands evaluation that she said places the area among the town’s most critical wetlands.
Board members heard a range of public comments including accounts of large trucks using the road as a shortcut, concerns about property values, and disagreement over whether rezoning is the right remedy. Several residents said the majority of homeowners on the Swansea side oppose large‑scale commercial projects; business owners warned rezoning could devalue their properties.
During deliberations some members characterized the petition as spot zoning. One board member cited precedent on spot zoning in New Hampshire, noting legal risk under case law; the board did not endorse the proposal. The motion to record a planning‑board non‑recommendation passed, with the vote recorded as four members in favor of non‑endorsement and two opposed (Mark Scalera and Victoria Ames).
The planning board’s non‑recommendation does not remove the proposal from the warrant. The petition will appear on the upcoming warrant with a notation that the planning board does not recommend it; town voters will decide the measure at the ballot.
The board also discussed procedural matters including whether expansions by existing grandfathered businesses would require variances and the role of state review for site plans should development be proposed in the future. The public hearing was closed after board members agreed the planning board’s role was to advise voters rather than to substitute for them.
