Dean M. Clark

To the editor:

The 127 acres of property owned by the Bean Family on Saltmarsh Pond is a combination of fields and woodlands overlooking scenic Saltmarsh Pond with views from the upper portions of the property of the Belknap Range to the east and Liberty Hill and Cotton Hill to the west. The property abuts the State of New Hampshire Fish and Game pond access area on the east, and along the pond to the west, the 73-acre state forest. As one approaches the property from the Gilford Ave. (Route 11 A) direction, you crest the hill on Saltmarsh Pond Road and you have an open view of the fields that abut the north side of the pond and you are looking southerly down onto the pond with a back drop of forested land. Currently there are no houses lining this scenic trout pond. DMC Surveyors were asked by the owners of the Saltmarsh Pond property to create a development plan for the two parcels of land that comprise the 127 acres. The development plan was based on the tax map of the Town of Gilford, current Town of Gilford zoning regulations, the Town of Gilford subdivision regulations, the USGS (United States Geodetic Survey) contour maps which were created on a 20 foot contour interval and the Belknap County Soils Map book. We took this information and by digitizing the maps into a copy of the Town of Gilford tax map we created a base plan for the development layout. The property is located in the Natural Resources Rural zone which requires that each lot have a 2-acre minimum lot size with 150 feet of road frontage. Each lot would be required to have 1 acre of buildable land without wetlands and without slopes over 15 percent (a grade change of 15 feet in 100 feet). These parcels, under ideal conditions, would be capable of producing approximately 60 lots for 4 bedroom homes. The development plan that we put together for this property contained 42 lots for 4 bedroom homes. There are 33 lots on the 102 acres on the pond parcel and an additional 9 lots on the easterly 27 acre parcel. After the development is completely built one would approach the property from the Gilford Ave. (Route 11 A) direction and you would crest the hill on Saltmarsh Pond Road and would see nine new houses lining Saltmarsh Pond Road, and another one around the bend as you head toward Hoyt Road. On the left there would be an additional four new homes at the end of a new 600 foot roadway that ends in a cul-de-sac. On the right there would be five new homes along the Saltmarsh Pond Road. Then one would approach the new loop road that would traverse the field and woodlands and come back onto Saltmarsh Pond Road at the 90 degree corner where the old barn from the farm used to stand. This new loop road would have three additional cul-de-sacs off of it with 21 new homes. There would be seven new homes along the shoreline of the pond and brook. The houses in the upper field and woodlands would have views of the pond and the Belknap Range. This development would be very similar to the "Labonte Farm" development but it would have a very nice overlook to the scenic Saltmarsh Pond. These homes would be very desirable because there is only one remaining parcel of land abutting Saltmarsh Pond that could be developed. The pond is controlled and stocked with trout by the State of New Hampshire and only electric motors having 55 pounds of thrust or less are allowed on the pond. Because the State maintains an access point adjacent to the development, all of the lots in the development will have ready access to the pond.

Based on the data as noted, the potential is genuinely there for a build-out of 42 very desirable house lots surrounding over half a mile of frontage on Saltmarsh Pond.

Dean M. Clark

Gilford