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Planning board reviews hydroelectric fish-ladder permit tweak; staff to confirm impervious-area and traffic conditions
Summary
Representatives for the hydroelectric fish-ladder project asked to shift a required 400 sq ft engineered permeable surface to a different driveway location to allow a concrete slab over critical penstocks. The board requested plan sheets, asked staff to verify prior approvals and impervious-area limits, and flagged safety/traffic concerns during park events.
An applicant representative for the local hydroelectric project explained a proposed adjustment to a previously approved element of the fish ladder project at the powerhouse during the June 24 South Berwick Planning Board meeting.
"This zoning permit is specific. It's not to the fish ladder itself. It relates to the fish ladder project that we did last year... we installed 400 square feet of permeable driving surface adjacent to the entrance of the powerhouse," the representative said, describing a plan to move that required 400 square feet north along the driveway so that a concrete slab could sit over the penstocks for infrastructure safety.
Board members pressed for clarity on whether moving the location of the engineered permeable surface would change the net impervious area counted against the site and requested plan sheets be shown on the meeting screen. Several members also raised concerns about truck traffic through a nearby park during events with large crowds; they asked staff to confirm historical truck counts during prior fish transfers and to verify whether the as-built work matches previously approved plans.
Planning staff agreed to review the earlier zoning application and supporting materials, check how the proposed swap affects impervious-area compliance, and return with findings. The applicant said building permits for concrete repairs were already approved and that the change would keep the same total of 400 square feet but move its location.
The board did not make a final decision on the zoning amendment at the meeting; instead members directed staff to follow up with the applicant and report back at the next meeting.
Next steps: staff will obtain and circulate plan sheets, confirm whether prior permits were implemented as approved, verify impervious-area accounting, and report traffic history and any safety mitigations for events. The item will return for further review.
