Planning Board votes to pursue sewer agreement with Portsmouth, outlines financing concerns

The Greenland Planning Board voted April 2 to proceed with an intermunicipal sewer agreement with the City of Portsmouth, endorsing the draft arrangement and directing it to the Board of Selectmen for sign-off.

Members discussed the agreement's purpose—to expand public sewage infrastructure and incentivize development—and reviewed proposed sewer district boundaries shaped to align with the town’s 2012 Master Plan. Board members noted the town currently has only two private sewer lines serving commercial parcels (Target/Lowe’s and the truck stop) and said the proposed public line would eventually replace or serve those connections. The town attorney reviewed the draft and provided minor comments, chiefly about district delineation.

Financing options and connection rules were a central part of the discussion. Board members considered mechanisms including betterment fees and bonding; the board emphasized that only properties with access to the sewer would pay betterment fees and that any legal requirements to compel property connections would be determined through a future public process and could vary by environmental need or board decision.

MOTION: Frank Catapano, a Planning Board member, moved to go forward with the intermunicipal agreement with the City of Portsmouth for the sewer extension; it was seconded by Morris Goodman and recorded as carried unanimously. The minutes record the vote as "all in favor" but do not provide a roll-call or individual vote tally. The Board intends to forward the agreement to the Board of Selectmen for their approval.