Planning Board Sends Wilson Road Project Back to Staff

An application for formal review of a lot line adjustment between 23 Wilson Road and 55 Wilson Road, and subdivision to create nine residential lots on 23 Wilson Road was brought in front of the Londonderry Planning Board for the fifth time this year by Evans Family Limited Partnership, during the Oct. 9 meeting.
However, once again the applicants and the board and town staff could not agree on an approval that will move this development forward and following a request made by the applicants’ lawyer, it was decided by the Planning Board to continue the discussion on the Nov. 13 meeting.
The previous discussion was held on the Planning Board Aug. 14 meeting. There, the issue with Wilson Road, which is unpaved and that only part of it is bi-directional while the rest is one way only, came up, since the proposed subdivision would be along the one-way section.

Charlie Evans, one of the applicants, said in the August meeting that they are willing to pay five percent of the total road improvement design, in order to move forward with their development. He refused to pay for more than that and said that this was a town road and that even if he pays it still does not guarantee his application’s approval, so he does not want to invest additional money without any insurance.
The Planning Board Chair, Arthur Rugg, suggested back in August that Evans approach the Town Council and see if there are any plans of options to make the road improvement on Wilson Road, but on Wednesday’s meeting, Evans replied that he had met with Town Planner Colleen Mailloux, Assistant Director of Public Works and Engineering John Trottier and Town Manager Kevin Smith and that Smith told him he discussed the issue with the councilmen and that there is no money available in foreseeable future for this kind of work. For that reason, Evans decided not to go with the subject to Town Council, as he already knew the answer to his question.
Following that, Evans and Rugg had a lengthy discussion on the traffic issued on Wilson Rd. and on the impact that nine more residential lots may have on the road. Evans asked what would be the board’s stance in case this development would not create any more traffic on Wilson Rd. and that he believes the traffic flow on Wilson Road could be cut in half and that would be a safe situation. Rugg answered that this is only theoretical and that the town has regulations to protect public safety. He added that there was some progress between the plans engineer and the Planning Board in the past, but that progress was stopped.
Evans claimed he did not get any comments from town staff on the improvements he proposed after the previous meeting. Towards the end of the discussion, he complained that “working with the staff was not productive at all. I won’t be held hostage. It’s extortion.” Trottier said that all the improvements were reviewed by staff and the staff’s comments are in the memos sent to the board members.
Three citizens who live on Wilson Rd. also gave their inputs to the board members. They believed that any traffic increase on the already problematic Wilson Rd. would not be a good idea, even if the increase is not big. They do not have a problem with the development itself, but they are not sure how the applicants or the town plans to fix the traffic problem it will cause.
Eventually, the applicants’’ lawyer asked for the continuation, next month. He said that they will have additional input to give and that they want to talk to the town’s staff again, as they may have more information after they discuss the situation with their engineers. “Your staff may not change, but we’ll have new information”, said the lawyer, before the board agreed to continue the case in a few weeks.
The Planning Board also gave a conditional approval to an application for formal review of a site plan for the design and construction of a telecommunications facility at 11 Mohawk Drive, near the Crossroads Shopping Center.
The applicants explained that they are proposing a 140-foot monopole tower and had already received a special exception from the town’s Zoning Board of Adjustments back in January, to operate the sell tower on this property. They also received the approval from the Heritage/Historic District Commission, in March and are going to build a tower to support four carriers.
T-Mobile, the applicant, will be on the top of the tower, while three more carriers will be located lower. The applicants added that the tower will not be lit and that the area is pretty well developed and that makes this property a great spot to bring coverage to Rt. 102, South Road and Appletree Mall Shopping Center.
The only real concern brought up by the planning board was whether there would be a danger in the event of high winds, and where the tower would drop.
The lawyer representing the applicant told the board that towers a being designed to bend, and collapse straight down now, and there would be no danger to the public, or other structures.