The Peterborough Planning Board voted Monday to postpone discussion of the proposed subdivision on Garland Way until their February meeting, with the majority of members wanting to further consult town counsel before proceeding.
The meeting was the first time the Planning Board was scheduled to discuss the proposed subdivision of the property owned by the Garland Family Realty Trust since a preliminary hearing in July, when applicant Akhil Garland first described his plan to subdivide the Walden Eco Village and construct additional residences following Open Space Residential Development (OSRD) criteria. The project’s application process led town staff to discover 15 unpermitted structures on the property in November, and their observation of life safety hazards during a December site visit caused the town to evict the site’s 25 tenants on Dec. 16.
Town Planner Danica Melone had previously determined that the proposal was out of compliance with the property’s 2010 variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals and would need to receive a new variance from that board before moving forward with the Planning Board, according to communications with the applicant on Dec. 31, 2020 and a staff report dated Jan. 4. However, on Monday night Melone told Board members that, although he could not attend the meeting, town counsel John Ratigan had agreed with the stance Garland’s attorney voiced in a letter received earlier that day that claimed the ten year-old Zoning Board decision could be abandoned, since the initial conditions that buildings on the site be accessory to the adjacent Well School no longer applied.
Many Board members said they would be more comfortable moving forward once they had Ratigan’s position in a written statement, however, and agreed to revisit the item at their meeting on Feb. 8.
Select Board liaison Tyler Ward said he would recuse himself in all decisions about the proposed subdivision due to his involvement with the code enforcement issues on site in December, but reserved the ability to participate as a member of the public in the upcoming process.
“While many can have the comfort to have a discussion in their home… there are those on this line who have been traumatized and are still seeking direction,” Walden Eco Village tenant Pearl Ramsey told Board members, and reminded them the “devastating impact” the town’s housing regulations could have on real-world situations.
“All that we can do is, going forward, make things as good as they can be,” Chair Ivy Vann said.