An age 55-plus housing project at 12 Lafayette Road in Hampton Falls changed multiple times before gaining approval from the town’s Zoning Board of Adjustment. (Courtesy of Hampton Falls Zoning Board)
The town’s Zoning Board of Adjustment granted all the variances Joe Faro needs to seek final approval from the Planning Board for his plan to build 72 age-restricted condos on his long-vacant Route 1 lot.
The board approved the project at its Aug. 22 meeting.
Faro’s new plan for the site of the demolished Faro Gardens restaurant at 12 Lafayette Road is reduced considerably to 72 one- and two-bedroom condos for the 55-plus age market. That is down by more than half from the original 164-unit concept he brought to the Planning Board for informal review almost two years ago. It’s also smaller than the 88-unit plan the ZBA considered for months before granting four variances but denying five others in June.
According to Robert Clarke, Faro’s consultant from Allen & Major Associates, comments made by ZBA members in June caused them to go back to the drawing board to reconstruct the project. Since size obviously mattered, he said, the new proposal is for 72 one-to-two-bedroom units, intended for sale at anywhere from $300,000 to $650,000 each for the senior housing market.
The resulting 126 total bedrooms would be built in three, three-story buildings, plus a pool and clubhouse, with parking for two vehicles per unit. This version has smaller 10,000-square-foot buildings, much different than the 31,000-square-footprint in June’s plan. Clarke said all facades will conform with Hampton Falls’ zoning, which requires Colonial-look architecture.
Why zoning relief was needed for age 55-plus housing project
The physical hardship of Faro’s 11-acre lot, as well as Hampton Falls’ stringent wetlands zoning, is the reason for the numerous variances, according to Clarke. In addition to the variances the ZBA granted in June, this smaller plan required four others. The most important one was for permission to build in Hampton Falls’ unique 100-foot wetlands setback.
The combined two lots on 12 Lafayette Road comprise 11.5 acres, Clarke said, but about half of that is flagged as wetland. Although that leaves 5.8 acres of buildable uplands, when the town’s 100-foot wetlands setback is imposed, it leaves only about 1.15 acres for construction.
“In other words,” Clarke said, “90% of the property cannot be used with strict conformance with (Hampton Falls’) ordinance.”
Clarke noted that Hampton Falls’ 100-foot wetlands setback is the most stringent he has encountered, far exceeding the 25-foot no-disturbance buffers in North Hampton, Kensington, Seabrook, and Portsmouth.
Further, Clarke said the vacant lot allows raw road and stormwater runoff to cascade into the wetlands untreated. But if Faro’s development is built, it will include a drainage system that treats stormwater before it hits delicate wetlands.
The other variances needed included one for exceeding the maximum allowable density for an elderly housing development (22 bedrooms per acre where eight are permitted); another that allows 42 bedrooms in an elderly housing building where 24 are permitted; and the last to permit improvements within the 20-foot backyard setback, which will accommodate some of the 2 to 1 parking spaces per unit, Clarke said.
Project still dependent on water and sewer from Seabrook
Clarke and others noted that Faro’s project hinges on Hampton Falls securing an agreement with neighboring Seabrook for sewer system access.
The idea was proposed by Hampton Falls selectmen to Seabrook’s board years ago. Seabrook selectmen have neither agreed to nor discussed publicly the prospect of an inter-municipal sewer agreement with Hampton Falls, according to Seabrook Town Manager Bill Manzi.
Clarke, however, has repeatedly promised Faro would underwrite the cost of bringing the sewer to his property – which lies right at the Seabrook town line. The implication is he could hook up to Seabrook’s sewer system with or without a formal inter-municipal sewer agreement between the two communities.
Yet, Manzi said he had spoken with Faro about his project two years ago. At the time, Manzi informed Faro that a site-specific project wouldn’t be feasible for Seabrook and emphasized the need for an agreement between the two towns.
“I have communicated that privately to Mr. Faro’s development team,” Manzi said on Monday.
But that’s not the picture painted by Hampton Falls Selectman Mark Lane Thursday night. Lane, who’s pushed for Faro’s project since the beginning, and admitted he does not know the current status of Hampton Falls’ sewer proposal to Seabrook. Yet, Lane said, he believes Faro “has the clout and experience to make things happen” with Seabrook, although Lane said he hasn’t spoken to Faro or Clarke about it.
“Joe Faro has some relationship with Seabrook; that’s what I’ve heard,” Lane told the ZBA. “My assumption is that (Faro) wouldn’t be pushing this hard and spending the money he’s spending to continue to develop new plans if he didn’t feel confident that he could get Seabrook to move.”
ZBA alternate Rudy Nadilo agreed. Unable to vote on the project, Nadilo left the ZBA table to speak as a Hampton Falls resident in favor of the project. Faro, Nardilo believes, has the ability somehow to get Seabrook to agree to bring its sewer infrastructure to his project.
“Let’s not be naive,” Nadilo said. “(Faro) wouldn’t be pushing this if he didn’t have pretty solid evidence that he’d going to be able to get the sewer. Let’s call a spade a spade, as they say … This project is a gift for our town and a catalyst for others to buy and invest in the Route 1 corridor.”
Residents make case why ZBA should approve project
Nadilo added that denying the variances would harm Hampton Falls more than Faro.
That’s a concept Lane stressed as well. The New Hampshire Housing Appeals Board is legally able to reverse decisions made by local zoning and planning boards, Lane said, and it’s done so repeatedly since its formation about three years ago. Should Hampton Falls turn down Faro again, Lane said Faro could appeal to the Housing Appeals Board with the original plan for 164 units, and possibly be approved.
Lane urged the ZBA to approve Faro’s current plan so the town can “regulate what coming to Hampton Falls,” not the state Housing Appeals Board.
During the debate, only one of the ZBA’s voting members, Patricia Young, voted against the project. Young said it still strays too far from the town’s zoning restrictions.
With zoning approval, the next step for Faro is to file site plans for the project with the town’s Planning Board. He may also have to file with the state Department of Transportation since the development is on Route 1, a state highway.
These articles are being shared by partners in The Granite State News Collaborative. For more information visit collaborativenh.org.
