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Planning board accepts PUD amendment and subdivision for 725 DW Highway but continues Heavenly Donuts site plan after resident safety and traffic concerns
Summary
The board accepted a PUD amendment and two‑lot subdivision at 725 Daniel Webster Highway and granted conditional approvals for the administrative steps, but continued the site‑plan public hearing for the proposed 1,800‑sq‑ft Heavenly Donuts with drive‑through to Dec. 2 after extensive resident concerns about traffic, lighting, bus stop safety and sewer ties.
The Merrimack Planning Board on Oct. 21 accepted a PUD amendment and a two‑lot subdivision application for 725 Daniel Webster Highway (DW Highway) that would create an outparcel proposed for a Heavenly Donuts coffee shop, and granted the administrative/conditional approvals recommended in the staff memo. The board, however, continued the detailed site‑plan public hearing for the proposed Heavenly Donuts — which would include an 1,800‑square‑foot building and a drive‑through — to Dec. 2, 2025, after residents raised traffic, lighting and safety concerns.
Matt Peterson, the project engineer, described the PUD amendment and subdivision as largely administrative steps to reinstate an older 1994 plan geometry and split the parcel into a 22,903‑sq‑ft lot and a 37,436‑sq‑ft lot. He presented a site‑plan concept showing a right‑turn slip lane, a 10‑space drive‑through stacking lane, circulation bypass, closed drainage with underground detention and internal landscaping. Peterson said the applicant is updating the traffic analysis to account for a new federal methodology that was released two days before the application submission and will coordinate with the town’s review engineer and the New Hampshire Department of Transportation on signal warrants and traffic operations.
Residents from the adjacent Society Hill complex urged more detail and protections. Peg Miller (Society Hill) described concerns about increased traffic at the signalized entrance serving a 245‑unit complex, asked whether Heavenly Donuts would operate late at night, and requested hooding and other light‑control measures to prevent light trespass into residences. Resident comments continued with questions about bus‑stop safety (the neighborhood’s school bus stop is nearby), possible noise from a drive‑through order speaker, dumpster location and rodent control, and how snow removal and private‑road maintenance would be handled if the lot ties into existing private infrastructure.
Owner/representative statements: Ronnie Ganham, representing Heavenly Donuts, said most stores operate roughly 5 a.m.–5 p.m., with some summer hours extending to 7 p.m., and confirmed the applicant is willing to limit hours or fine‑tune lighting if required by the board. Peterson said the applicant will provide a proposed retaining‑wall and screening plan, confirm dumpster enclosure details and submit the condominium/HOA or property‑rights documentation that shows access and sewer tie rights for review.
Next steps and conditions: The board voted 5‑0 to continue the site‑plan public hearing to Dec. 2, 2025 (6:30 p.m.) and set an internal schedule for revised materials: staff asked for submittal around Nov. 12 to permit peer review and comments by Nov. 28. The continuance requires the applicant to provide an updated traffic analysis using the current guidance, documentation of rights to tie into existing private sewer and utility easements, detailed lighting and landscaping/screening plans to mitigate resident concerns, and specifics about dumpster enclosure and noise mitigation measures.
The continuance preserves neighbors’ ability to raise issues at a subsequent hearing but does not prevent the administrative PUD amendment and subdivision from moving forward as town staff recommended. The board’s actions, required filings and the Dec. 2 hearing date are recorded in the meeting minutes and staff memo.
