RICHMOND — Neighbors of a proposed 14-lot subdivision off U.S. Route 201 in Richmond on Tuesday urged the Planning Board to deny several waivers sought by the developer.

Land surveyor Jan Boucher discusses a proposed 14-lot subdivision project off U.S. Route 201 on Tuesday night with Richmond Planning Board members. Times Record photo by Darcie Moore

Requested waivers range from requiring internal connector roads and sidewalks to mapping the historic stone walls. The sheer number of waivers requested angered neighbors of the proposed Pleasant Ridge Subdivision. That includes Bill Snedeker, an abutter on Stillwater Lane, who said the rules are in place for a reason.

“You have one person coming in trying to execute a project. … The vast majority of the abutters and all the people around it have serious questions and concerns,” Snedeker said. “Waivers are voluntary. What is the compelling public interest when somebody can still build adhering to everything that’s in there? What is the necessity for any waivers?”

Neighbors also expressed concern over potential leaching from individual septic systems.

Donald White told the board he has farmland near the proposed subdivision site.

“If there are any issues with leach fields, all that’s going to run straight into us,” White said.

Doran and board member Jessica Alexander opposed waiving the requirement for a more involved soil testing by a soil scientist. However, that waiver was approved, 3-2.

April White, Donald White’s wife, expressed frustration after the meeting, stating that nothing the public had to say on waivers seemed to matter.

“Every single statement that we made was straight out of our town ordinance, with reference to such every time, and all were dismissed or laughed off,” White said. “It doesn’t seem like they really cared about what the taxpayers had to say.”

The request for so many waivers illustrated problems with the town’s cluster development rules meant to preserve open space.

However, because of contradicting zoning rules, applicant Jeremy Purington and his land surveyor, Jan Boucher, will have to rework the lot sizes, leaving just under 10 acres for open space instead of 17 acres.

Planning Board Chairwoman Linda Doran said the board hasn’t reviewed any other subdivisions using these rules. Valley said fixes to the ordinance are anticipated to go before voters in June 2020.

Boucher argued that the rules seemed to be entangled with those for multifamily developments that would regulate apartment buildings or condominiums, for example.

Many of the requirements in the ordinance the board decided weren’t applicable to this project, or just not necessary.

For example, the board decided it wouldn’t require the subdivision to have only a single shared well or a single sewer system. Doran said that would require the installation of a public water supply system regulated by the state and a sewer treatment plant.

If the application is deemed complete at the Planning Board meeting on July 23, a public hearing on the project will follow.

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