A vacant farmhouse abuts Thorn Hill Road near where housing units are proposed to being built in Intervale on July 2. (Photo by Rachel Sharples)
A proposal to build a 33-unit housing development off of Route 302 is being examined by the planning board.
The development proposed by Cedarcroft Farms LLC would be built between Sunrise Shack and EG Chandler Property Maintenance.
Land Surveyor Andrew Fisher of Ammonoosuc Survey presented preliminary plans to the board on Monday.
The plan is to build 33 housing units, including two duplexes.
“It is not a small project,” said Fisher.
Some abutters aren’t happy.
Peter Gagne, who lives on Thorn Hill Road across the street from the east side of the parcel, was concerned by the amount of traffic a development, its only egress being onto the hilly section of Route 16/302 just south of the Sunrise Shack, could generate.
“I’d like to see a traffic study because if you have 35 houses in here, two or three bedrooms (each), most likely these will all be short-term rentals,” said Gagne.
Fisher said that the board can’t control whether the homes are used as short-term rentals or not.
“I’m just saying with STRs, you’ve got more traffic,” said Gagne.
Under current regulations, Cedarcroft could ask for 14 more bedrooms to be built on the property.
Resident Terry O’Brien pointed out that none of the homes would be affordable.
Bartlett Planning Board Chair Scott Grant said there was no plan to make these homes affordable housing.
The public hearing held Monday night has been continued until Aug. 5, which means more interested parties can weigh in on it then.
Each of the housing units would have three bedrooms and each would have its own septic system.
Cedarcroft Farm is based in Stoneham, Mass. The principal is Bryce Tinmouth.
The planning board Monday accepted the application for the project as ready to be deliberated on further. However, it will take months for them to approve it.
Traffic was also a concern to other residents who spoke at the hearing.
Julia King asked Pat Roberts for his opinion about how the only access to the development would be from Route 302 and if that would be “problematical” in an emergency.
Roberts is a planning board alternate and a former fire chief. Roberts was not sitting in as a voting member.
Roberts said he is no longer the fire chief but that “two ways in and two ways out makes sense.”
Mary Anne Taylor of Pear Mountain Road, which empties onto 302 from the west, said if she wants to get her mail she can sit waiting for 15 or 20 minutes to turn left. Her development is about a third the size of Cedarcroft’s proposal.
“If you’re having 30 some people turning out onto 302, and some of them are going to want to go to North Conway to get their groceries, go to the drugstore, etc., you’re going to have people waiting a long time. You need more than one exit,” she said.
Doug Taylor added that he and Mary Anne have connections to Nova Scotia. “Last year in May of 2023, they had a series of wildfires outside of Halifax, and there was a subdivision similar to this and they were trapped,” said Doug Taylor. “There were 400 houses, and people were trapped in their subdivision because they couldn’t get out.”
Selectmen’s representative to the planning board Vicki Garland said that the state of New Hampshire is responsible for allowing curb cuts onto Route 16/302.
Fisher said the state won’t give Cedarcroft more than one onto 302.
“That’s a problem,” said Mary Ann Taylor.
In a text, Grant said selectmen could overrule the state regarding curb cuts on 302. He also told the Sun that Burr Phillips of Civil Solutions in Bartlett will make sure the road that is built through the development is constructed correctly.
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