Hillsborough Planning Board accepts Harvey Farms plan for review, grants two waivers and continues hearing

The Hillsborough Planning Board on Feb. 18 accepted Avanru Development's application for the Harvey Farms subdivision and site plan on Harvey Way (Map 110 Lot 152) and took several votes on requested waivers and procedural steps, but left key technical questions for a later hearing.

Planning Director Robyn Payson told the board the application was sufficiently complete for review but that state and local approvals remain required and the project had not clarified what type of senior housing was proposed (independent living, assisted living or a nursing facility). Chad Brannon, the project engineer representing Avanru, described Phase 1 (two multi-family buildings and a coffee-shop lot) and Phase 2 (residential lots and a 62-and-over affordable senior housing building), noting lots would range from about a half-acre to roughly 2.5 acres and that the proposed road termination had been revised to a cul-de-sac.

The board voted to accept the subdivision and site-plan applications for review after a motion from James (Jim) Bailey and a second from Andrew Morris. At the same meeting the board considered three waiver requests from the developer: to allow a hammer-head turnaround instead of a cul-de-sac, to substitute asphalt curbing for granite curbing, and to install sidewalks without a four-foot landscape buffer.

The board granted the hammer-head waiver conditionally, subject to the Fire Chief's approval, on a motion by Kim Opperman that Andrew Morris seconded; James Bailey voted no. The board rejected a request to allow asphalt curbing, with a 4-3 vote against the waiver (Andrew Morris, Cathy Houle and Kim Opperman in favor; Jim Bailey, Bryant Wheeler, Chair Susanne White and Dana Clow opposed), after members raised durability and long-term maintenance concerns for a road that is planned to become a town-maintained street. The board granted the sidewalk buffer waiver unanimously.

Brannon told the board that traffic estimates showing about 380 daily trips were based on the Institute of Traffic Engineers manual. Conservation Commission Chair Richard Head urged the board to account for wetlands and driveways in the stormwater analysis and recommended conditions to avoid wetland impacts. Planning staff and commissioners pressed for more technical detail: test-pit soil data for septic approval, clearer building envelopes on the lot plans, and confirmation of required state permits, including NHDES Alteration of Terrain.

Developer Jack Franks said the senior housing would be an affordable, active-adult (62+) community, not an assisted-living facility, and that the septic design includes a backup generator for pump systems. Franks also warned that requiring the developer to repave an existing town-owned section of Harvey Way as a condition of approval would likely be a deal breaker, saying, "If they expect me to pave a road the town already owns, it is a deal killer." He and the project team said they would work with town departments on access and easement issues but noted margins on affordable housing projects are tight.

At the public hearing residents raised concerns about traffic and construction impacts to Harvey Way, which residents said is currently a limited-access residential road. Mark Murdough, who said he lives on Bible Hill, expressed concern about greater neighborhood traffic if Harvey Way becomes a through route. Michelle Dumont suggested gating the connecting section with emergency transponders; Highway staff and board members responded that gating a public way would be problematic.

Chair Susanne White moved for a peer review of technical materials; the motion failed 4-3 (White, Bailey and Clow in favor; Morris, Houle, Opperman and Wheeler opposed). The board then voted to continue the public hearing to March 4, 2026, at 6:00 p.m., and the meeting adjourned at 8:45 p.m.

What happens next: the developer will supply additional detail requested by staff and commissions (test pits, delineated building envelopes, water/sewer commission sign-offs and state permits). The board will reconvene March 4 to continue its review and any deliberations on outstanding conditions or technical peer review.