The Planning Board granted final approval March 2 for a site plan to construct a parking lot to serve a Manchester business near the town line.
The parking lot is to be constructed in Londonderry at 345 Rear Mammoth Road, near The Yard Restaurant, but there will be no connection to streets or properties in Londonderry.
“Business is going well and they have a need for additional spaces,” Tucker McCarthy of TF Moran civil engineers said of Symmetry Medical, which is located on Abby Road in Manchester.
In addition to granting final approval for the 100 additional parking spaces, the Board approved six waivers for the project, several of which were related to planting trees and screening for adjacent properties.
McCarthy said the site plan does not provide 5 percent dedicated landscape area within the parking lot, but rather focuses on landscaping around the exterior of the lot.
Contrary to Site Plan Regulations, the plan also does not include planting one tree for every 15 spaces being constructed, or for every 20 feet of perimeter.
Assistant Director of Public Works and Engineering John Trottier said staff supports granting the waivers to the requirements for deciduous plantings because the lot serves an industrial use and isn’t visible from any streets.
The Board also granted a waiver to not provide screening for the off-street parking area to abutting residential districts.
Trottier told the Board the site plan shows there is a significant stand of trees on the eastern side to buffer future development on the adjacent lot and noted the applicant provides a reasonable mix of evergreen and deciduous trees along the perimeter of the lot.
Additional waivers the Board granted include one to allow pipes to flow more than full and a waiver to allow an excess of .2-foot candles to trespass across the property line between the parking lot in Londonderry and the adjacent business it will serve in Manchester.
Trottier said staff supports both waivers, explaining the waiver to allow pipes to flow more than full is an “isolated occurrence,” where the pipes are handling storm water from an abutting property.
At the advice of Town staff, the Planning Board agreed to grant the waiver to allow the foot candles to trespass across the property line because the parking lot is intended to serve the adjacent industrial site where the trespass occurs and additional lighting across the two driveway connections would enhance safety for those using the new lot.
The Manchester Planning Board also granted the site plan for the new parking lot conditional approval last month.