Board accepts revised, deer‑tolerant buffer for NH Scott site plan amendment

The Planning Board approved a requested amendment to a previously authorized NH Scott major site plan that revises required landscaping within a buffer area.

Novas Group representatives explained that the original board condition required a dense, prescriptive planting plan that, once costed and examined in the field, would be unlikely to survive local deer browsing and the existing site conditions. Applicant's landscape consultant proposed a scaled-back alternative: install 24 Green Giant arborvitae (evergreen, deer‑tolerant), sited to provide a long‑lived visual screen and acoustic buffer in the areas closest to an abutter’s property, in lieu of hundreds of small shrubs and replacement plantings that would be highly vulnerable to browsing.

Abutter Leon Lefrenier said the revised plan better addresses his privacy concerns; he and other nearby residents expressed support at the meeting. Staff advised treating the request as a plan amendment rather than a waiver-driven change; the applicant formally rescinded waiver requests and the board approved the amendment subject to typical precedent and subsequent plan conditions. Staff also recommended language to clarify plan sheets and record the approvals and variances on the cover sheet.

The board’s action allows NH Scott to move forward with revised plantings, which staff described as a more cost-effective and durable approach to achieving the board’s original screening intent.

Next steps: Applicant to update plan set and cover sheet language per staff recommendations and to record the amendment and associated conditions prior to final endorsement.