Several months after the application first came before the Planning Board, a proposal for a seven-lot subdivision on Barrett Hill Road in Wilton was continued again Dec. 21 due to lingering questions, but the board did take the first step by accepting the proposal as complete.
The subdivision proposal, submitted by SanKen Homes, would split up a 45-acre lot, which is in the General Residence and Agricultural district. The new lots would include three lots sized between about 2.3 to 2.7 acres, a 4.3-acre lot, a 5.9-acre lot, an 8.9-acre lot and a 19-acre lot.
The proposal includes the construction of a common driveway, which starts at the far end of the lot, and curves towards its center.
Caleb Cheng, a planner with the Nashua Regional Planning Commission who provides consulting services to Wilton, said the plan has undergone several revisions – including reducing the proposal from eight lots to seven – since it first came before the board in March.
Part of the long delay has been to allow for a third-party review of the property. The property is partially in the wetland protection district, with two lots at least partially in the district. Those properties are subject to stricter rules, such as larger lot sizes and bigger road frontage. The board required a third-party review to establish exactly where that district boundary was.
SanKen Homes has also been undergoing a process for a Zoning Board special exception to allow the driveway to cross a wetland area, which was granted on Nov. 8.
The driveway has also drawn scrutiny from the board, both for its initially proposed steep grade and 16-foot width – which has been widened to 20 feet in updated plans, alleviating the issue – and its proximity to neighboring lots as it skirts the upper boundary of the parcel.
Neighbor Shelley Newman, who was unable to attend the meeting, submitted comments to the board in a Dec. 21 email, where she expressed concerns about the driveway being so close to her property.
“My quality of life will be greatly affected by the lights pointing in my direction and the noise of cars, delivery trucks, etc.” wrote Newman. “There is at the very least, a need for a mature vegetation buffer along lot lines if this plan is approved.”
Newman also expressed concerns about the condition of Barrett Hill Road and the rutting caused by traffic already on the road, which she said she worried would be worsened with additional cars.
“There are still board members who want to see if the road can be moved further away,” Cheng said. “That’s an item in the air.”
The board also requested a revision to a planned stormwater basin, to be further from neighbors, and have requested the town’s Department of Public Works weigh in on the proposal.
Another issue is vegetation on the property. Prior to the application, a timber harvest was conducted on the property, and Cheng said the board is interested in seeing a plan for some amount of restoration in the area.
“The Planning Board would require replanting of some of the vegetation that was thinned or cleared, and the applicant has agreed to do that, but they haven’t yet come to mutual agreement on how,” Cheng said.
The board continued the hearing until Jan. 18.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172, Ext. 244, or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.