Subdivision Approved for Portsmouth Street

The Planning Board on Wednesday approved a subdivision plan that will bring six new single-family homes to the street, abutting the Broken Ground Elementary School.

Rebecca Hebert, a planner with the city of Concord, presented the application to the board stating that the original proposal in 2007 had requested seven homes to be built at 121 Portsmouth St.

The revised plans proposed 0.38 to 0.6 acre lots consistent with new subdivision regulations and a smaller cul de sac. Hebert stated that the applicant was requesting a waiver on the granite curbing requirement and was proposing dry wells to absorb storm runoff. She said the soil in the area was sandy and conducive to absorbing water. A 25-foot public right-of-way is also being set aside for access to Broken Ground Elementary and Mill Brook Primary schools.

Hebert said that neighbors were requesting screening to block off the view of the new houses, but there was no regulation requiring the screening.

Planning Board member Martin Gross asked about the screening issue and Hebert said the homes had been reconfigured and would be constructed with larger backyards.

A representative of Holden Engineering, the company proposing the revised plans, stated that there was more than enough buildable area and “any reasonable contractor” would leave enough trees on the site to increase the value of the lots. He added that it would not impact the properties. 

Mike Varley, an abutter from North Curtisville Road and the property owner with the largest border to the subdivision, reminded the board that four years before, they suggested that an appropriate level of screening be required to protect abutters. He said it was Gross who suggested a 25-foot buffer zone could be written into the proposal before the previous waiver requests were denied and the original proposal tabled.

“The property line is very close to the tree line,” Varley said. “There are some that straddle the line but the vast majority of trees are on the subdivision (side) of the lot. “

Varley said since 2007, he has been planting trees and hasn’t cut anything, in anticipation of new homes being built on the site.

Susanne Smith Meyer, another board member, called the requirement for a 25-foot no cut zone “excessive,” noting that the proposal was not retail or industrial use.

“I think it should be up to the property owner, who is already there, to build up his buffer,” she said.

Member John Swope said the lots were “considerably larger” than the previous proposal.

The board then voted unanimously to approve the project.