A proposal in front of the Mason Planning Board includes conveying one of the subdivided lots to the Town of Mason as a conservation property.
The application, by BLC Holdings, includes a lot-line adjustment and subdivision of two properties on Scripps Lane. If approved, the lot-line adjustment would create new dimensions for lot E-31, reducing it to 48.3 acres. The proposal would divide the lot into three separate buildable new lots, one of approximately 28.7 acres, and the other two of 5.3 and 5.1 acres. The remaining property would be split into two parcels, a 0.29-acre lot to be conveyed to the town for Scripps Lane and a 7.78-acre parcel adjacent to the town’s rail trail, which would be consolidated with land the town already owns for conservation.
The neighboring lot, Lot E-36-3 would increase from 5.3 acres to 7 acres.
The buildable lots would become a planned cul-de-sac street proposed to be built off of Scripps Lane. Charlie Moser, the Select Board ex-officio to the Planning Board, said the plan calls for the construction of an 800-foot road and four housing lots – three created from the subdivision of Lot E-31, and the adjusted Lot E-36-3. The intent is the road would be adopted by the Select Board as a town-owned and maintained road after its construction.
Liz Fletcher, a member of the Mason Conservation Commission, said the land proposed to be given to the town as conservation would be a buffer for the rail trail, an area the town wants to see protected.
“It would be a natural buffer for the railroad trail. That’s a longstanding goal of the town, for a major trail to have conservation land abutting,” Fletcher said.
The Conservation Commission also has interest in some black gum tree stands located on the property off Scripps Lane. The commission is scheduled to meet on Tuesday to discuss the project and possible areas of interest, including those trees, which are located on the buildable lots, although not currently in the area planned for construction.
“They’re rare in New Hampshire, because they’re right at the northern end of their range here, and they’re one of the oldest hardwood trees you can find in the Northeast, because they’re no good for lumber and are usually in swampy areas, so they were never harvested, so they can be hundreds of years old and remnants of colonial times,” Fletcher said.
The Planning Board held a site walk on the property on Saturday and is scheduled to continue the public hearing on the proposal for the subdivision and lot line adjustment during its meeting Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Mason Town Hall.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.