Farmington planning board approves five‑lot Bay Road subdivision after stormwater waiver fails

FARMINGTON, N.H. — The Farmington Planning Board voted Feb. 18 to approve a five‑lot subdivision of a 7.52‑acre parcel on Bay Road, requiring the applicants to submit a stormwater management and erosion control plan before the plans may be signed.

The decision resolves three waiver requests made by the applicants, Jason Lauze and Nick Johnson, represented by Ashley Rowe of Norway Plains Associates. The board granted waivers for a two‑test‑pit requirement and for a local well‑radius containment rule, but rejected a waiver that would have removed the subdivision‑level stormwater and erosion control plan requirement.

Board members said the subdivision—creating four lots of about 1.5 acres and one lot of 1.52 acres with individual driveway access and on‑site wells and septic systems—did not propose road construction or other major infrastructure, which shaped differing views on the stormwater requirement. Member Charlie King argued the cumulative conversion of woodland to lawns, driveways and houses across five lots would likely increase runoff and warranted a subdivision‑level stormwater review. Proponents, including the applicants’ representative, said a meaningful site‑wide stormwater plan cannot be prepared without specific house footprints, drives and grading plans and suggested imposing the requirement at the building‑permit stage.

That disagreement produced a split vote on the stormwater waiver; after discussion the waiver failed on a re‑vote (2 in favor, 3 opposed, 1 abstention). The board therefore required submission and staff review of a stormwater management and erosion control plan prior to plan signing, delegating technical review to staff unless outside engineering review is deemed necessary.

Abutters voiced concerns about soil and groundwater conditions. Jim Landis and John White described historical springs and standing water on nearby properties during wet seasons; neighbor David Ostrada said he encountered groundwater at four feet when replacing a septic and installed a raised bed. "I maintain an active dug well, a pond, and an original spring," Landis said, expressing skepticism that the site is uniformly well‑drained. Ashley Rowe responded that test pits, stamped and signed on the plan, showed no redoximorphic features and that Natural Resources Conservation Service mapping classifies the parcel as Acton fine sandy loam. She noted that specific septic design would require new test pits at the time of septic permitting.

The board unanimously approved waivers for the two‑pit requirement (motion by Chairman Rick Pelkey, seconded by Vice Chairman Stephen Henry) and for the well radius overlap (motion by Charlie King, seconded by Stephen Henry). The well radius waiver allows a roughly two‑ to three‑foot overlap of the 75‑foot well radius on Lot 75‑5 with an adjacent lot; the board cited state guidance and existing 10‑foot septic setbacks as providing protection.

The board set several conditions of approval to be satisfied before plans are signed, including: submission of a stamped plan set for recording at the Strafford County Registry of Deeds; NHDES subdivision approval and septic construction/operational approvals where required; submission of the required stormwater management and erosion control plan for staff review; a certificate of monumentation; and monumentation and recording fees. The plan may be revised to reflect a 15‑foot side setback on Lot R49‑75‑1 where the applicant has no access rights to the private Blue Hills View road; applicants had voluntarily shown a 25‑foot setback on the submitted plans.

Chairman Pelkey moved to approve Case #SUB26_001 with the stated conditions; the motion passed 6‑0.

The board recorded that it would not impose a deed restriction to preserve an existing stone wall along Bay Road, noting enforcement and long‑term management would be challenging once lots are held by separate owners. The board also noted the potential to revisit local regulations that are more restrictive than state standards.

The board's approval requires subsequent state and local permits before building can proceed; staff will review the stormwater plan as a condition of prior to signing the subdivision plans.