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Planning Board — April 2, 2025

Routine handling of multiple applications with unanimous procedural votes; only notable tension arose from one abutter's concerns on Wanderosa, which the board addressed by continuing rather than deciding.

Date Wednesday, April 2, 2025 Duration 2.0h Speakers 13 Public comments 1 Decisions 5 Lively
📄 Agenda ▶ Video

Decisions ⁠logged

Every recorded vote, with timestamps and dissents.
Approve Emond/Steele Conditional Use Permit with Keach conditions
Approved subject to conditions in staff report and Keach review; findings of fact adopted.
Motion carries (all in favor)
Postpone Fernandez application to May 7
Postponed with statutory deadline waiver; applicant to withdraw upon building permit issuance.
Motion carries (all in favor)
Continue Wanderosa hearing to April 16 meeting at high school
Motion by a speaker; site walk scheduled for April 5 at 11am
Approved by motion
Approve prior meeting minutes
Motion and second; all in favor
Approved
Elect planning board officers
Arie (chair), Gordon (vice chair), Tom (secretary)
Approved

Topics ⁠discussed

Click a topic to expand quotes and full context.
▶ 00:18 Emond/Steele Conditional Use Permit

Application for shared driveway impacting 568 sq ft wetland and 1,974 sq ft buffer; modified with plantings for net improvement; board reviewed Keach technical comments.

Speakers: Unidentified speaker
▶ 07:37 Fernandez Accessory Unit Application

Continued case for detached accessory unit; applicant requested postponement pending building permit and planned withdrawal upon receipt.

Speakers: Unidentified speaker
▶ 10:34 Reed Realty / Wanderosa Site Plan and CUP (Parking/Storage/Slope/Lighting)

Non-residential site plan for 2,900 sq ft office expansion and associated wetland CUP at 4 Limbo Lane; discussion of parking reconfiguration, permeable pavement, lighting, buffer impacts, abutter concerns, relocating storage container, reducing parking slope to 4%, and adding low-level lighting; applicant requested two-week continuance.

Speakers: Unidentified speaker
▶ 1:15:02 LaBelle Winery Route 101 Site Plan Amendment (Design Review)

Design review of amended 2019 conditional approval to reduce parking by -4 spaces, replace future building with 8-bedroom guest house, add well/septic, and reduce overall footprint and drainage.

Speakers: Unidentified speaker
▶ 1:33:26 Press Cafe Retail Center Conceptual Consultation

Conceptual review of 27,500 sq ft mixed-use project (Press Cafe with drive-through plus retail) on Route 101, including stormwater basins, PFAS soil handling, parking layout, and landscaping waivers.

Speakers: Unidentified speaker
▶ 1:55:17 Planning Board Minutes and Officer Elections

Board approved prior minutes and elected officers (Arie as chair, Gordon as vice chair, Tom as secretary).

Speakers: Unidentified speaker
▶ 1:58:18 Future Agenda Item on Scattered/Premature Development

Member flagged upcoming discussion of RSA 676:36 and local regulations regarding development impacts on town services and taxpayer costs.

Speakers: Unidentified speaker

Controversy & ⁠dissent

Where the board, the community, or the agenda diverged.

Potentially controversial issues

01

Reed Realty/Wanderosa parking expansion and buffer impacts

Abutter Nick Calverty raised strong objections to parking lot placement near his property line, citing loss of privacy, noise, headlights, and property value; project involves wetland CUP and reconfiguration at 4 Limbo Lane
Board position: Acknowledged concerns, discussed alternatives (relocating parking/storage, lighting), scheduled site walk and two-week continuance rather than approving
medium concern

Community vs. board tension

Action ⁠items

Who owes what, by when.
Consider relocating storage container, adjusting parking layout and slope, and adding low-level lighting; discuss with Keech; prepare revised plans
Assigned: Applicant (Reed Realty/Wanderosa/Meridian) · Due: April 16 meeting
Conduct optional site walk at Wanderosa property
Assigned: Planning Board members · Due: April 5 at 11am
Submit formal amended site plan application
Assigned: LaBelle Winery applicant · Due: Monday following meeting

Notable ⁠statements

Concern over lack of lighting in rear parking for employee safety after dark; suggested 0.1-0.5 foot-candles with cutoff fixtures. — Unidentified speaker · Reed Realty discussion ▶ 32:37
Board has very limited authority to impose conditions; sympathetic to abutter concerns but sensitive to legal limits — Unidentified speaker · Wanderosa/Reed Realty discussion ▶ 1:06:18
Conditional use permit has less impact than existing buffer conditions — Unidentified speaker · Wanderosa waivers ▶ 1:13:15
Planning board will not stay past 11:30pm; agenda placement not guaranteed — Unidentified speaker · LaBelle Winery scheduling ▶ 1:32:14

Public ⁠comment

What residents said — verbatim, with timestamps.
1
Total speakers
0
Addressed
1
Partial
0
Not addressed
Nick Calverty
▶ 51:11
Partial
Nick Calverty, an abutter at 27 Manchester Road, expressed strong concerns about the proposed parking expansion for the Reed Realty project at 4 Limbo Lane. He highlighted impacts to his backyard privacy, noise, headlights, property value, and potential blasting, while advocating for relocating parking to the front of the site or behind the building instead. He invited board members to visit his property to better understand the visual and quality-of-life impacts. Key concern
Parking lot placement too close to residential property line causing loss of privacy, noise/light pollution, and reduced property value; requests alternative parking configurations.
Board response
Board members acknowledged his letter and comments, discussed potential site reconfiguration options (including moving parking and storage container), considered a site walk, and voted to continue the application to April 16 with a site visit scheduled for April 5 to further evaluate concerns.
The board engaged directly with his concerns during the hearing, incorporated them into deliberations, scheduled a site visit, and continued the case rather than approving as-is, but did not resolve the issues in this meeting.

Accountability ⁠flags

Documented procedural gaps. Each item links to its source.

Topics discussed — not on agenda

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Report composed by grok-4.3, claude-opus-4-7 · analyzed 2026-05-27.