Planning board grants waivers and approves New Hampshire Electric Cooperative's covered-rack site plan with conditions

The Plymouth Planning Board granted waiver requests and approved a site-plan application from New Hampshire Electric Cooperative for a covered rack structure to store wire reels, subject to conditions the board said were needed to protect nearby wetlands and confirm stormwater compliance.

Applicant Gary LeMay, director of facilities and renewable energy engineer for the cooperative, described the proposal as a 77-by-31-foot covered rack with a footprint of about 2,280 square feet sited within an existing paved storage area. Because the footprint exceeds 1,000 square feet, staff said the project required site-plan review. LeMay told the board the roof would be placed over existing paved racks and that he did not intend to add walls; he also said the cooperative would install conduit in case interior lighting is later needed.

Board members debated whether the roofed racks constitute a "building" or merely an accessory structure and examined a lengthy waiver request list. After discussing the waivers, including elevation and survey items the applicant asked to waive, a board member moved to grant the requested waivers on the finding that site circumstances warranted them; the motion carried.

Members raised stormwater and wetlands concerns because the parcel includes wetlands and a stream feeding the Baker River. Staff and several board members asked whether a Stormwater Pollution Prevention (SWIP) plan already existed or whether one would be required. LeMay said he would search the cooperative's records and the state files and confirmed that if DES (the state Department of Environmental Services) requires a SWIP the cooperative will prepare one.

The board accepted the application as complete after correcting a typographic plan error (12 inches of gravel under the slab, not 12 feet) and then approved the site plan by motion, attaching the following conditions: submittal of as-built plans showing all impervious surfaces and the new underground conduit; documentation from DES either supplying an existing SWIP or confirming that no SWIP is required (or, if DES requires one, submission of the SWIP); and installation of only downcast lighting under the structure. The board noted that if DES-mandated changes require material plan revisions, the matter could return to the board as a compliance hearing.

Next steps: staff will issue a Notice of Decision; the applicant may pursue building permits subject to applicable state/local precedent requirements and must supply the required as-builts and any SWIP documentation before final occupancy.