The Planning Board approved three zoning waivers Wednesday for a proposed 34-home rental development on Haverhill Road, but the project will not receive a final decision until at least Nov. 18.
The board continued its hearing on the Village at Buxton Farm, a development proposed by Derry developer David Haddad at 611 Haverhill Road. The application has been under review since April 22 and has involved a lengthy list of conditions, including requirements related to PFAS found in soil on the property.
Three waivers approved
The waivers approved Wednesday cover the project’s proposed unit sizes and its access. The board agreed to waive the minimum unit sizes required under the town’s ordinance, along with two requirements concerning the size of the driveway and access road.
The development is described as a rental housing project made up of “tiny homes.” The board continued the conditional use permit hearing until Nov. 18, when members are expected to review the permit and the conditions attached to it.
Conditions address PFAS soil
Board members also reviewed a list of 25 conditions for approval. The list was reduced from a draft containing 30 conditions that members began reviewing at their Oct. 14 meeting.
Several of the conditions concern PFAS contamination discovered in June. The requirements generally call for the developer to manage the soil in accordance with rules of the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services and to follow a protection plan.
- The project is proposed for 611 Haverhill Road in Chester.
- The application calls for 34 rental homes.
- The conditional use permit hearing is continued to Nov. 18.
PFAS are chemicals used in a wide range of consumer products. The chemicals reached agricultural land in part through the decades-long practice of spreading wastewater-treatment sludge, also called biosolids, as fertilizer.
The property was once part of a larger farm. Testing followed a June public hearing at which an abutter said biosolids had been spread on the land. The discovery added soil-management requirements to an application that already had been under review for several months.
Chester’s ability to impose requirements related to the contamination is limited by the state’s treatment of PFAS associated with agricultural biosolids. New rules taking effect in January will require sludge used as fertilizer to be tested for PFAS levels. Those rules do not require testing of material that may already be present on agricultural land.
The board’s Wednesday action approved the waivers and continued the conditional use permit hearing. The Village at Buxton Farm remains under review while the board considers the conditions connected to the proposed homes and the contaminated soil.
