Residents packed Peterborough Town Hall on March 2 to hear a proposal from Bold Steps Behavioral Health, LLC, for a 160-acre residential drug and alcohol treatment facility.
The Zoning Board of Adjustment asked the organization to return in April with a completed zoning application before the proposal forward can move forward.
Bold Steps Chief Operating Officer Joe Curran and the organization’s attorney, William Baker, outlined plans to purchase properties at 468 Greenfield Road, 16 Burke Road and 36 Burke Road. The combined 160-acre parcel includes a horse farm and residential properties, according to the application request.
Baker said the proposal is for a licensed detoxification and short-term residential substance abuse treatment facility designed to be compatible with the surrounding rural neighborhood. The facility would serve some 60 adults at a time and employ about 25 staff.
ZBA Chair Christopher Diloreto said the application was incomplete, noting the absence of a required plot plan.
“I feel like with something of this magnitude we should have a plot plan,” Diloreto said. “It’s a fairly incomplete application.”
In addition to a plot plan, the board requested a traffic study and a water and septic analysis. Members also asked Bold Steps to provide data on emergency medical services, hospital and police usage related to similar facilities located near rural residential neighborhoods.
ZBA member Jonah Wheeler said residents are looking for as much information as possible about the project and its potential impact on abutters.
At Baker’s suggestion, the board approved a public site visit to the property scheduled for March 16 at 4 p.m.