Londonderry may soon have a new manufacturer in town. The Planning Board heard a proposal from Lymo Constructions during its last meeting about plans for a warehouse and office space. It would be built in an industrial zone on Wentworth Avenue, off of Harvey Road by the airport.
“It would be a three story office with warehouse space towards the rear,” said Kevin Lanson of Meridian Land Services. He is an engineer who explained most of the site proposal to the Planning Board. The building would be 26,608 square feet with 65 parking spaces broken up into two lots.
Lymo Construction wants to move from their Merrimack location to Londonderry. The company designs, manufactures, and installs exterior cladding for buildings. It does most of its business in the Metro-Boston area and uses a lot of tractor trailer trucks to get their good to their customers.
To accommodate for the trucks, the developer is seeking a waiver from the Planning Board. Bosch Water Heating neighbors the property Lymo wants to develop and its driveway would cause Lymo to build one less than 200 feet away to make room for the large trucks coming and going from the warehouse. Lymo would also need a dual entrance for the trucks. In order to do that, it needs approval from the board to waive the current regulation, which says driveways need to be 200 feet apart.
Lymo is also looking to waive the need for a utility clearance letter from the Manchester Water Works before it can start the development. Lanson explained that the water works won’t give the letter until they see a finalized site plan. The problem is Lanson and the developer can’t get it until the town has the letter.
“I’m at a catch-22 here. I need the application approved before I get the clearance letter,” said Lanson.
Board member, Ann Chiampa, voiced concern over not having the letter from the water works. “Why wasn’t it addressed earlier?”
According to Lanson, Lymo issued draft copies to the water works, but they insist on a final plan so it knows what the needs of the building will be before giving the letter. Typically, this sort of thing is figured out beforehand so applicants can get their letters before having their approval meeting with the Planning Board.
Board members wanted to know exactly what Lymo plans to do in the warehouse and what materials would be used. Dan Lynch, the president and founder of Lymo Constructions, said “the primary use of the facility will be to bend sheet metal for exterior cladding systems.” He said the company primarily deals with aluminum and other sheet metals, but not chemicals.
The board was concerned about the two wetlands on the property. Lanson said they were applying for a conditional use permit because of the wetlands. The plan is to build a basin for collecting storm water within 50 feet of one of the wetlands, which would be allowed under the permit. The property slopes down, so the runoff would create a permanent pool of water. Lynch admitted is a potential for oil from the trucks could run down into the basin.
Town Planner Colleen Mailloux thought the plan did its best to deal with the wetland buffer and believed it should be approved.
The application for development was accepted, but the waiver for the utilities clearance letter was not. The final approval will be decided at the Nov. 8 meeting, giving Lymo time to get the letter from the Manchester Water Works.