Accountability posts

Here's what happened at the Amherst Planning Board meeting on September 18, 2024 — and why the October 2 follow-up matters.

The board spent the bulk of the meeting on the Rosa subdivision, a proposed 9-lot development off County Road. The central dispute was whether a quarter-mile access way serving three homes should be classified as a driveway (lower construction and safety standards) or a private road (higher standards). The board denied the applicant's requests for two driveway standard waivers and sent the applicant back to redesign the access as a private road. That decision protects residents — but it took hours of contention to get there, and the applicant's attorney directly challenged the board's legal authority to regulate how off-site road improvements are implemented.

Two issues raised by residents in public comment went without a direct board response. First, a resident asked why a finding by the town's third-party reviewer (Keach) — that the project may require state subdivision approval — was not being addressed. The board redirected her to limit comments to the current application. That question remains unanswered on the record. Second, a resident named Colleen Tapley warned that the developer had threatened to return lot-by-lot to avoid triggering larger infrastructure obligations, and that County Road is already failing in spring mud season. The board was mid-debate with the applicant's attorney and did not respond directly to either concern.

Also unresolved heading into October 2: the developer's proposed 25% share of a $130,000 intersection improvement (the methodology for calculating proportional share is still being worked out), emergency vehicle access on the long shared driveway, the fire pond location (the applicant must meet with Fire Chief Connelly — no timeline set), and whether the back lot complies with RSA 674:41, the state statute requiring buildings to be on streets. The board also discussed seven potential zoning regulation changes — including home occupation rules, driveway vs. road definitions, and underground utility requirements — with drafting assignments given to staff. None of these are final, but they could affect property owners and developers across Amherst.

The next hearing on the Rosa subdivision is October 2, 2024. If you live near County Road, care about how development costs get shared, or want answers to the questions that went unanswered on September 18 — that is the meeting to attend.