Sidewalk Waiver Requests
Developers seek relief from sidewalk requirements while neighbors and engineers cite safety and connectivity impacts.
Developers of a five-lot subdivision on Old North Main Street and a campground on White Oaks Road sought sidewalk waivers in 2026; the planning board denied the first request 7-1 and granted the second 6-2 after hearing safety and connectivity arguments from neighbors and engineers.
Sidewalk waiver requests first surfaced in the June 2, 2026 planning-board meeting when the 1206 Old North Main Street subdivision application was continued because re-noticing was required.
At the July 7, 2026 meeting the same subdivision's waiver request was heard; the applicant cited DPW maintenance burdens and stormwater runoff as reasons sidewalks were impractical, while opponents countered that sidewalks were required for safety and to preserve the city's long-standing interconnectivity policy.
The board denied the Old North Main Street waiver on a 7-1 vote, forcing the applicant to resubmit plans that include sidewalks and continuing the full application to August 4.
Also on July 7 the board considered a separate sidewalk waiver for the 371 White Oaks Road campground; members compared the request to nearby projects and noted the site is not within walking distance of existing sidewalks.
That waiver was granted on a 6-2 vote, though the overall campground application remained continued because earlier plan-stamp waivers had been denied.
These two outcomes illustrate the board's case-by-case approach to balancing developer practicality claims against resident and engineering arguments for pedestrian connectivity.
Public comments at the July 7 meeting supplied the core competing positions that shaped both decisions.
Both applications return to the August 4, 2026 planning-board meeting.
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