Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Subdivision topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Planning board grants conditional approval for 2‑lot Lawrence Road subdivision after granting waiver
Summary
The Merrimack Planning Board unanimously accepted and then granted a waiver and conditional final approval for a 2‑lot subdivision at 54 Lawrence Road, after staff and the applicant agreed to monumentation in lieu of breaking an existing stone wall and the board addressed neighbor drainage concerns.
The Merrimack Planning Board voted unanimously Wednesday to accept as complete, grant a waiver and give conditional final approval to a proposed 2‑lot subdivision at 54 Lawrence Road.
Matt Peterson of Keach Nordstrom Associates told the board the parcel is 2.331 acres and is being divided into two lots of about 1.182 and 1.149 acres. Peterson said a small wetlands pocket sits in a corner of the proposed new lot and that the applicant is requesting a waiver to avoid breaking an existing stone wall to install the town’s usual granite bound markers.
“We are not proposing anything in the wetlands,” Peterson said, adding that the plans show required setbacks and that pre‑ and post‑conditions should be “not very different” for a single‑family house on the new lot.
Staff recommended the board require an offset iron rod at the property line to provide permanent monumentation instead of breaking the stone wall. The board found the waiver appropriate — noting strict conformity would pose an unnecessary hardship and that the waiver was not contrary to the spirit of the regulations — and voted 5‑0‑0 to grant it.
The board then voted 5‑0‑0 to grant conditional final approval subject to conditions listed in the staff memo dated March 13, 2026, including the monumentation requirement.
During public comment, Jackie Donovan of 53 Lawrence Road asked whether the project had a survey or analysis of how drainage would be handled and warned that changes could increase runoff to her driveway. “If there’s gonna be any area of that wetland built up, that’s gonna create more runoff for us,” Donovan said.
Peterson responded that the proposal does not encroach on the wetland or the setbacks and that much of the existing runoff issues are related to tree removal on neighboring properties; he said the applicant is not proposing changes within the wetland area.
The board accepted the application as complete (vote 5‑0‑0) before taking the waiver and conditional approval votes. The minutes record the motions and unanimous tallies; the application will return only to confirm outstanding conditions noted in staff recommendations.
