Accountability Posts

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Undisclosed prior ownership of reviewed property and lack of formal conflict-of-interest process

Amherst Planning Board (11/5): A board member disclosed their family previously OWNED the Pence Service Station parcel — mid-hearing, as casual context. No formal conflict-of-interest declaration. No recusal. They voted. Residents deserve better than informal disclosure.

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Groundwater contamination risk from development over compromised aquifer

Amherst Planning Board approved Pence Service Station application 11/5 — an 11,728 sq ft garage/towing facility over an already-compromised aquifer. A board member's own words: 'we don't need to make it more compromised than it already is.' Third-party review still pending. Next hearing: Jan 7.

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High-stakes deferred application with anticipated significant public interest

Heads up Amherst: A major Planning Board application was deferred to Souhegan High School auditorium on Nov 18 at 7:30pm — moved specifically because large public attendance is expected. Don't know what it is? That's the point. Show up.

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Application advanced with incomplete documentation; environmental review deferred

Amherst Planning Board moved Pence Service Station forward 11/5 despite missing owner signature and missing soil data. Staff called it 'substantially complete.' Board agreed unanimously. Environmental safeguards required — but technical review doesn't happen until January.

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🧵 THREAD: Amherst Planning Board met 11/5. Two issues residents should know about — one is a groundwater risk over a compromised aquifer, the other is a conflict-of-interest question that wasn't handled formally. Here's what happened.

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1/ The board reviewed a site plan for Pence Service Station & Towing: an 11,728 sq ft building with a garage and outdoor storage for wrecked vehicles. The site sits over or near an aquifer that is ALREADY COMPROMISED by prior contamination.

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2/ A board member said it plainly: 'Even though we all know that this aquifer is compromised, we don't necessarily need to make it more compromised than it already is.' Wrecked vehicles leak fluids. Garages use oils and chemicals. This is a real risk to drinking water.

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3/ The board did require safeguards: oil separators, a spill prevention plan, concrete slabs with membranes under the garage and vehicle storage area, and a 30-day cap on vehicle storage. That's meaningful. But third-party technical review hasn't happened yet — that's January 7.

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4/ Now the conflict-of-interest issue. Mid-hearing, a board member (a speaker) disclosed that their family used to own this exact parcel. They offered it as background context about the property's septic history. No formal conflict-of-interest declaration was made.

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5/ No recusal was requested. No recusal was offered. The board member participated fully in the hearing and voted on all motions, including finding the application complete. The disclosure was informal — not entered into the record as a formal COI declaration.

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6/ Amherst residents: prior ownership of a property under review is exactly the kind of personal interest that conflict-of-interest procedures exist to address. Whether or not it legally required recusal, the public deserved a formal, on-the-record process — not an offhand comment.

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7/ Separately: a major application was deferred to Souhegan High School on Nov 18 at 7:30pm because large public turnout is expected. Details on what application it is were sparse in the record. If you care about what's being built in Amherst — that's the meeting to attend.

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8/ Bottom line: An application with real groundwater implications is moving forward with an unresolved conflict-of-interest question and a third-party technical review still months away. Next Pence hearing: January 7. High School meeting: November 18, 7:30pm. /end

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Longer-form draft.

📋 AMHERST PLANNING BOARD — November 5, 2025 Meeting Recap

Two issues from last Wednesday's Planning Board meeting deserve public attention.

🔵 GROUNDWATER RISK: The board reviewed a site plan for Pence Service Station and Towing — an 11,728 square foot building with a garage and outdoor storage for wrecked vehicles, located over or near an aquifer that a board member described at the meeting as already compromised. The concern is straightforward: wrecked vehicles leak fluids, garages use oils and chemicals, and the site sits in a sensitive groundwater zone. The board unanimously approved the application as substantially complete and required environmental safeguards — oil separators, spill prevention planning, concrete slabs with membranes under both the garage and vehicle storage areas, and a rule that no vehicles can be stored more than 30 days. Those are real conditions. But the critical third-party technical review hasn't happened yet. That review is scheduled before the January 7 continuation hearing. Residents who rely on wells or municipal water sourced near this area should be paying attention.

🔴 CONFLICT-OF-INTEREST CONCERN: During the hearing, a board member disclosed that their family previously owned the Pence parcel. The disclosure was made informally, as background context about the property's septic history. There was no formal conflict-of-interest declaration entered into the record, no recusal request, and no recusal offered. The board member voted on every motion related to this application, including the vote finding it complete. Whether or not prior ownership legally requires recusal under New Hampshire planning board rules, this is exactly the kind of personal connection that conflict-of-interest procedures are designed to address transparently. An informal, mid-hearing comment is not a substitute for a formal process.

📅 UPCOMING MEETINGS TO KNOW: A separate major application — expected to draw large public attendance — was deferred from the regular meeting location to Souhegan High School auditorium. That hearing is scheduled for **November 18 at 7:30pm**. The Pence Service Station application continues at a regular Planning Board meeting on **January 7**. If either of these issues concerns you, those are the meetings to attend or watch.