Essex Planning Board Continues 36-Lot Subdivision Hearing to April 1

ESSEX -- March 18, 2026, Essex Planning Board unanimously continues 36-lot subdivision hearing to April 1 as environmental and school concerns mount. The board reopened and then continued the Definitive Subdivision Plan public hearing for Bell Point LLC's proposed Preserve at Essex development, a 36-lot Open Space Residential Development on approximately 82 acres at Essex Park Road and Pond Street Rear, voting 6-0 to advance to the April 1, 2026 session. More than a dozen residents pressed concerns about groundwater nitrogen loading from septic systems near Alewife Brook, a hazardous waste designation on or near the property, and a projected 70-plus new students potentially straining the town's school-sharing agreement with Manchester. Chairman Lisa O'Donnell repeatedly stated that Massachusetts case law bars the board from weighing school or fiscal impacts, prompting a sharp exchange when residents cited the town zoning bylaw's own purpose-and-intent section requiring protection of "the health, welfare, and quality of life of all residents." Town Planner Valerie Massard suggested the applicant consider a nitrogen loading study for peer review and Board of Health consideration. Peer reviewer James Pearson of Weston & Sampson raised no engineering objections to most of the 11 waiver requests but recommended consulting the Department of Public Works on a proposed switch from reinforced concrete to high-density polyethylene drainage pipe, and the police department on the applicant's request to forgo street lighting to preserve rural character. The board also voted unanimously to approve a Site Plan Review for 91 Main Street, where Building Inspector Bill Sanborn confirmed the coffee shop seat count had been reduced from 20 to 18.