George Chadwick of Bedford Design requested and received the consolidation of 10 lots, part of the discontinuation of a portion of Reed Street and a portion of Golen Drive, to facilitate his proposed 110 unit over 55 rental housing development on Button Drive. The project is called Grand Estates at Londonderry.
“Once consolidated, and with the formation of a new cul-de-sac at the end of Reed Street, the parcel is 12.72 acres, and will then be used for the 110-unit elderly housing project,” Chadwick said.
Chadwick also sought a couple of easements – a 30-foot utility easement to allow the extension of the sewer that is now in front of the Woodland Condos, and gas. “We look to relocate water in that portion of the easement to get it around to where the building will go,” Chadwick said.
Chadwick said the frontage for the development will be on Button Drive.
“When Golen is discontinued, half (of the roadway) goes to each side, so the property line will run down the center of Golen Drive,” Chadwick told the Planning Board at its Wednesday, Oct. 1 meeting. “So I’m looking for a waiver to offset the monumentation 25 feet so the monuments won’t be in the middle of the road,” he said.
He said wetlands have been mapped, the utility companies have been contacted, the discontinuance has been submitted and had its first reading, and he expects the second reading in a couple of weeks.
Assistant Director of Public Works John Trottier said staff recommended granting the waiver.
It’s not feasible to locate boundary monuments within the pavement of Golen Drive,” Trottier said. “It would be more appropriate to place them on the side as requested.”
Trottier noted the Town Council would have to take action regarding the discontinuances of parts of Golen Drive and Reed Street.
Town Planner Cynthia May said that once Golen is discontinued, the two lots would be landlocked without frontage.
“It’s my understanding that they’ve agreed to provide a notice of lot merger to consolidate at least the lots that would be rendered unbuildable, so that would be a condition of this approval. We are recommending final approval,” May said.
The waiver and final site plan approval were granted by unanimous vote of the board.
Parking and the unique configuration of the intersection of Meadow Lane and Nashua Road (Route 102) were also discussed.
Chadwick said the issue of a difficult turn at the intersection of Meadow Lane and Nashua Road would be addressed by the developer’s widening and reinforcing the shoulders. He said the state Department of Transportation would overlay and stripe the roadway to make it a less difficult intersection.
He added that left turn lanes would be added to facilitate smoother traffic flow.
Butler asked about traffic stacking on Button Drive, and traffic engineer Stephen Pernaw said there was no major stacking of traffic concerns.
“Left turns out of Meadow Lane right now was four vehicles over a one hour period,” Pernaw said. “Very, very light. The people coming down Meadow Lane, 90-plus percent, are all taking right turns. Those taking left turns, if you work it out mathematically, is less than a car.”
He said that both developments, Grand Estates and the future assisted living facility nearby combined, would result in 13 added vehicles in the morning and 19 in the evening.
Chadwick said the development would have 187 bedrooms among the three buildings, and 188 parking spaces.
Board member Jim Butler reminded Chadwick of a Heritage Commission request to add more handicap parking but Chadwick said they could not add any and still retain the required number of open spaces. He said they were within the town and state regulations for the number of handicap spaces.
Board Chairman Arthur Rugg said the number of spaces for handicap parking is based on the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.
May said the Londonderry regulations exceeded national standards for parking.
Board member Al Sypek asked if handicap units would be limited to the first floor and Chadwick said that would not be the case, as handicap units were slated for every floor.
Each building will have an elevator large enough to accommodate a stretcher.
Board member Mary Wing Soares asked if parking spots would be assigned to residents and Christopher Trevisani, Director of Development for builder Calmar, said they would not be assigned.
Butler asked if there would be satellite dishes on the building and Trevisani said that there would not be any; the buildings would have cable hook-ups available to each unit.
A waiver request for phasing was granted because it is a senior housing project, as was final site plan approval.
• In other Planning Board business:
• The developer for Wallace Farm, a half workforce housing, half regular housing development on Perkins Road near exit 5 of Interstate 93, requested an extension to the site plan. May said they “had a few more items to take care of before they are ready to have the plan signed and they are requesting a one year extension.”
The Board granted the extension by unanimous vote. The public hearing for conditional approval amendments of Wallace Farm was continued until Nov. 5.
• The assisted living facility planned for the abutting parcel to the Grand Estates of Londonderry off Meadow Lane was determined by staff not to be of regional impact.