Planning board to hold public hearing on Route 32 rezoning proposal

The Swansea Planning Board voted Nov. 20 to send a developer’s rezoning request for parcels along New Hampshire Route 32 to a public hearing on Dec. 18. The board’s action formalizes a conceptual request from civil engineer Chad Brannon, who said his client, 234 Old Homestead Highway Realty LLC, seeks to change several parcels from Rural Agricultural to Residence to create contiguous residential zoning and allow smaller lot sizes where municipal sewer and water are available.

Brannon told the board he represents the owner of several parcels totaling about 113 acres and reviewed the exhibit in the staff memo naming parcels 21012, 21941, 21942 and 21946. "For the record, my name is Chad Brannon. I'm a civil engineer and principal owner with Fieldstone Lake Consultants," he said while outlining the request and describing the property as "primarily high and dry" with only limited wetlands routed to drainage channels.

Board members debated the planning merits and infrastructure implications. Brannon and staff argued the rezoning would create zoning continuity from Route 32 to Seymour Hill Road and could support future extensions of municipal sewer and water. He described the distinction between zones: rural agricultural requires roughly 3-acre lots with 225-foot frontage, while the Residence district permits roughly 1-acre lots with 150-foot frontage, which would materially change potential subdivision density.

Several members emphasized that rezoning at this stage is conceptual and that any subdivision or site plan would require separate review. Victoria Ames said the town’s housing numbers warrant caution: "We have exceeded what the town plan recommends," she told the board, arguing that encouraging greater density now may be premature. Other members raised capacity concerns for police, fire and water services and urged careful evaluation at the site-plan stage.

Despite those cautions, the board voted to place amendment number 9 (rezoning the listed parcels to Residence) on the warrant for a public hearing. Michael York made the motion to move the rezoning forward; Brandon Self seconded. The board also approved including five additional lots that had been shown as business on the preliminary map. Notices and final amendment language will be finalized before the hearing.

The Dec. 18 public hearing will give abutters and other owners an opportunity to comment. Brannon noted his client had not personally contacted every owner in the broader area but said that public hearings and the warrant process will provide notification and input opportunities. If the amendment passes a public hearing and later town procedures, detailed subdivision or site-plan proposals would return to the board for review and any necessary impact or service-capacity approvals.