Plans for Pickerel Pond subdivision designed to minimize wetland impact

LACONIA — A large cluster subdivision could soon be developed along Pickerel Pond Road.

The property, located at tax map number 13, lot number 183-16, is vast at 150 acres, and could become the site of 26 single-family homes on the northern end of the city.

According to the developer's conceptual plan documents, each unit would be between 2,200 and 2,800 square feet, organized as condominium ownership. Access to the homes would be provided by way of two dead-end roads ending in cul-de-sacs, and the proposed roadways are intended to be public.

The homes would be served by both septic systems and wells, according to the conceptual plans proposed by developer Parade REI, LLC. The neighborhood would be concentrated at the front of the parcel, leaving 120 acres or more at the rear in open space.

The conceptual presentation is offered as a courtesy for the planning board to ask questions and hear a general overview. The developer's next step would be to formally apply for the project through the board.

Pickerel Pond is paved for some of its length, but also includes unpaved portions on either end. It’s also along a conservation area, and is frequently used as a cut-through for vehicular traffic between Meredith Center and Parade roads.

Speaking before members of the planning board last week, Nicholas Loring of Benchmark Engineering said the parcel lies in the rural-residential zone.

“The proposal is for 26 single-family homes, between three and four bedrooms,” he said.

“We were before the zoning board [of adjustment] in September, they did grant a variance to allow the additional, the longer road at the bottom there does exceed the 1,000 linear feet max road length, it’s 1,300 feet, so we obtained a variance for that additional length of road,” Loring said during the Oct. 7 meeting.

Developers also intend to request a waiver for sidewalks, noting there aren’t any along Pickerel Pond Road, nor on Parade or Meredith Center roads with which to connect. The closest sidewalk is on Elm Street.

They’ve also got two conditional use permits: one to allow disturbance in the wetland buffers, and another for cluster development in the rural-residential zone.

“It’s a cluster subdivision, so they’re kind of like a building envelope that you have so much space on,” Planning Director Rob Mora said.

When asked why developers wouldn’t spread the subdivision out, Loring said they want to avoid wetland impact.

“The goal of cluster development, with the footprints that we’re looking at building and the land area, we do have the room for these units and not expanding into the back,” Loring said. “With this proposal, there’s not wetland impacts,” if they keep the development at the front of the parcel, leaving as much undisturbed land as possible.

Peter Grenier, owner of the parcel, said he spoke with department of public works staff about creating a pedestrian zone along the cul-de-sac, rather than sidewalks, to better facilitate plowing in the winter. The pedestrian zone would be along the road shoulder.

“We’ve also talked with DPW as well, and we committed up to like $300,000 to do some paving and improvements on Pickerel Pond Road as well,” Grenier said.

Planning board member Dave Ouelette said he was surprised to see the conceptual presentation added last-minute to the meeting’s agenda — at the zoning board meeting, he said, there were 19 residents of Pickerel Pond in attendance, and they’d likely wish to be at city hall for the conceptual presentation, too. He recused himself from the discussion as a direct abutter.

“I know that there’s a lot of people on the road that are concerned, have issues with this development and want questions answered,” Ouelette said. “Unfortunately, because I sit on the planning board, I seem to be the go-to for the 22 residents on the road. I checked last week — Thursday or Friday — and specifically asked if there was anything relative to Pickerel Pond Road coming up at this meeting and I was told, 'No, there was not.'”