A six-lot conceptual design proposal for 115 Hovey Road was heard by the Planning Board.
Engineer Bill Evans of Gregsak Engineering and John LaCombe of Diamond Edge Development asked the Planning Board at its Wednesday, Oct. 9, meeting for a waiver on an 8 percent maximum grade, instead of the 6 percent currently allowed, “to minimize the amount of cut.
“We’re basically here to discuss a conceptual proposal for the six-lot residential subdivision, and part of the discussion is that we’d like to discuss a waiver of the 6 percent maximum grade to an 8 percent maximum grade to minimize the amount of cut of the proposed roadway, and make access to the lots a lot smoother, with less visual impairment coming down out of the lots,” Evans said.
He said that before a lot of time and money is spent on design, they want the board to look at the conceptual proposal “and tell us what you think.”
Assistant Director of Public Works and Engineering John Trottier said the road would have to be designed to town standards, and waivers for grade have been supported in the past.
Trottier said the cul de sac does not meet the town specifications and has to be redesigned, and an enclosed drainage system was needed.
Chairman Arthur Rugg asked the length of the road from Hovey Road to the cul de sac, and Evans replied that it was 875 feet.
Board member Mary Wing Soares asked Trottier if he supported the waiver, and he said he did. He noted the road had to be 28 feet wide with an enclosed drainage system.
Board member Leitha Reilly said the plan shows five lots on the new road and the sixth on Hovey. Evans said that on the sixth property, the existing home would eventually be reconfigured so its driveway was on the new road.
Board member Lynn Wiles said he had a concern with ice, as the slope was on the north side of the development, and Trottier said it would be treated. LaCombe added that afternoon light would help with melting.
Board member John Laferriere asked if there were another development with an 8 percent grade, and Rugg said there was one near the Londonderry Country Club.
Board member Tom Freda asked about the setback from the road to the houses, and LaCombe said it was 30 feet.
Resident Ann Chiampa asked about the neighbors who would have a new road at the back of their property and questioned whether they were notified of the meeting. She was told they were notified and that the meeting was conceptual.
Resident Maureen Knepp said she has lived on Hardy Road since 1984 and thought there was a safety issue. “My biggest concern is traffic,” she said. “That intersection, if this goes in, there’s six more houses, 12 more cars, 12 more kids going to school, and the bus stop at that corner is extremely dangerous,” Knepp said.
She said her daughter had been hit, as it is dark at 6:30 a.m. She also had a concern for the stone wall in the area that she’d like to see preserved.
Knepp also asked whether six more houses on well water would cause her well to run dry and said she would “love to see a three-way stop sign at the intersection of Hardy and Hovey.”
Rugg said when the plan comes in, it goes before a design review committee, and noted the Heritage Commission always takes a close look at stone walls.
Knepp asked if there were a spring on the property and LaCombe said there was a pond.