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Planning Board asked to weigh in on Habitat for Humanity easement amendment request
Summary
Town staff told the Planning Board that Habitat for Humanity, via counsel, asked to amend a conservation easement on the Spear Memorial/Boulder Point parcel to allow a road for a proposed subdivision. The select board asked planning and conservation commissions for input before its April 13 meeting; staff will provide maps and deed information at the April 2 work session.
Town staff reported a written request from Habitat for Humanity’s counsel asking the town to consider amending a conservation easement that currently restricts road construction across a parcel at the top of Boulder Point Drive (the Spear Memorial parcel). "They would like the town ... to consider approving an amendment to that conservation easement, removing a portion of the area from the easement and allowing Habitat to build a road across that to access their potential subdivision," Joseph told the board.
Staff said the conservation easement is held by the town (through the conservation commission) and that the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) is a party to the easement and must be notified and would have enforcement authority. The select board has asked the planning board and the conservation commission to provide input ahead of the select board’s April 13 meeting.
Board members asked for background materials and targeted questions to guide the April 2 work session: maps of the easement, acreage, the original mitigation context (staff said the easement was likely mitigation for wetland impacts from a Walmart development), and clarification whether proposed access would be permanent vehicular access or emergency-only egress. Several members said they want the conservation commission involved given wetlands and habitat considerations.
Staff committed to assembling the deed, surveyed plan, conceptual maps and to reach out to Habitat for Humanity contact(s) for any updates before the work session. The board agreed to place the item on the April 2 work-session agenda for a focused review and to provide staff and chair with specific questions for the select board.
