Mountain lakes village approved by Laconia planners

The Planning Board last night approved Mountain Lakes Village, Phil Brouillard's subdivision on Mile Hill Road straddling the Belmont town line on the condition that Belmont follows suit.

Planned on 103.3 acres — 36.7 in Laconia and 66.6 in Belmont — the project consists of 77 house lots — 59 in Laconia and 18 in Belmont. The significant difference in density reflects the differences in the zoning ordinances of the two communities. The Laconia portion of the project is zoned residential single family, where the minimum lot size is 10,000 square feet and the minimum frontage in 80 feet. By contrast, in Belmont the minimum lot size is two acres and the minimum frontage 200 feet.

The imbalance in density is mirrored by an imbalance of open space.

Steve Smith of Steven Smith & Associates explained that two-thirds of the land would remain as open space, 50.7 acres in Belmont and 17.5 in Laconia. Gary Dionne, who chairs the board, expressed concern about the distribution of the open space, suggesting that if Belmont changed its zoning ordinances, more of the land could be developed, which would diminish the value of the undeveloped land in Laconia. "It's all one neighborhood," Smith replied, "but unfortunately there is a town line running through it."

Smith conceded that the open space in Laconia is "fragmented," but added that unbroken expanses of open space are not easily reconciled with the Fire Department's desire for through roads rather than cul-de-sacs. However, Shanna Saunders, Director of Planning, stressed that the open space in Laconia was contiguous with that in Belmont and would be linked to it by a trail network.

Brouillard described Mountain Lakes Village as a "family neighborhood" of three-bedroom, two-bath homes of between 1,700 and 2,400 square feet priced at about $229,000 for moderate income home buyers. "It's something I've wanted to do for a long time," he told the board.