City council to discuss parking on Howard St, Opechee Loop

LACONIA — City councilors will discuss the process for public roads to be laid out over private streets where only a majority of property owners have provided easements.

The city council will meet at 7 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 13, at City Hall downtown.

Councilors will review the process by which overlays will work in anticipation of the same occurring on Hillcrest Drive and Janes Avenue. The majority of abutting property owners have provided easements but one or more property owners will not, according to a city staff report.

At the Jan. 27 meeting of council, representatives of the public works department will submit a petition to lay out the roads to begin the acceptance process. That petition is expected to include a copy of the proposed road layout and all of the easements provided by property owners. 

The process of accepting an eligible private street through the city’s Accept-As-Is program when only a majority of property owners have agreed involves three main steps. 

First, after councilors decide to consider a petition, the city must determine if that petition must be brought before the planning board for a recommendation. According to the staff report, Hillcrest Drive would not need to go before the planning board but Janes Avenue would. A road plat for Janes would need to be reviewed by the planning board prior to coming before council. If the planning board recommends the plat for approval, a simple majority vote by councilors would be sufficient. If the planning board does not make that recommendation, a two-thirds majority vote by councilors would be required. 

Second, the city council would establish a date to hold a public hearing.

And third, council would determine the value of damages to landowners opposed to the petition. The value of the land is determined by an impartial appraiser, or multiple appraisers if the landowner chooses to conduct their own impartial appraisal.

Councilors will also continue their discussion regarding requests to make Howard Street a one-way roadway and to restrict parking to only one side.

According to a staff report, the city’s public works subcommittee met Dec. 19, 2024, and determined: the traffic pattern along Howard should remain unchanged; the corner in the vicinity of 15 and 12 Howard should become a no-parking area on both sides — the restricted area would begin at the southern boundary of 12 Howard St. and end on the west side of the driveway into Victoria Woods; and a loading zone should be established on the even-numbered side of the street in the vicinity of the Brick Front Restaurant & Lounge.

Public works staff recommend: the odd-numbered side of Howard Street is no-parking from the southern boundary of 12 Howard St. to the west side of the pavement on the driveway into Victoria Woods; the even-numbered side of Howard Street is no parking with a loading zone plaque from the intersection of Howard with Church Street to the northeastern boundary of 12 Howard St.; and the even-numbered side of Howard Street is no-parking from the northeastern boundary of 12 Howard St. to the west side of the pavement on the driveway into Victoria Woods. 

The anticipated cost of these changes is $800.

And councilors will discuss applying to a grant from the state Transportation Alternatives Program for multiple segments of the WOW Trail's proposed Opechee Loop.

Lakeport and downtown are connected by the WOW Trail, which provides residents and visitors with a route for non-motorized transportation. 

An enhanced pedestrian and bicycle loop, the Opechee Loop would include a mixture of on-street bicycle enhancements and improved and widened sidewalks. The loop will take advantage of existing infrastructure for efficiency, according to a staff report. 

Segments A and C of the project are either fully funded or scheduled, including through a Northern Border Regional Commission grant for segment A, and a different TAP grant for segment C which is scheduled for construction in 2028.

Segment D will expand the existing TAP project to extend the trail from Hickory Stick Lane to Parade Road. Segment F will be an on-street painted route along Shore Drive. Segment G will be an on-street painted route along Holman Street and Gale Avenue. Segment H will have a widened sidewalk along a portion of Pleasant Street. 

The grant’s match requirement is 20%. It’s anticipated the project will cost $2.3 million, $460,000 of which would be the city’s share. The federal share is $1.84 million.