Commission backs $23,300 Black Brook land buy

Conservation Commission · Meeting of September 8, 2026

LONDONDERRY — The Londonderry Conservation Commission voted unanimously to recommend the town buy a Black Brook wetland parcel for $23,300. Alternate member Michael Speltz presented the roughly 1.5-acre Mammoth Road site, Map 3 Lot 9, calling it part of a long-protected corridor along the brook, and noted the owner would accept the town's assessed value minus transaction costs. Chair Marge Badois read the lone public comment, from a resident who questioned paying for land "that can't be built on because it's worth nothing." Separately, the commission reviewed two pending subdivisions, at 44 and 36 Pillsbury Road and 7 Litchfield Road, without a vote, raising concerns about a proposed 151-unit condominium conversion's single traffic access point and about a stormwater buffer encroachment near Little Cohas Brook.

The board also approved its August 11 minutes, with member Deb Lievens abstaining, and adjourned at 8:30 p.m.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 2,206 words

Source: the Conservation Commission meeting of September 8, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.

The Full Article

Call to Order and Roll Call

Chair Marge Badois called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. and appointed alternate member Michael Speltz to vote in place of absent Vice Chair Gene Harrington, and alternate member Gary Della Grotta to fill a vacant seat. This is a routine procedural step that allows the commission to reach a full voting complement when regular members are absent.

DRC: 44 and 36 Pillsbury Road, Subdivision and Lot Line Adjustment

Background and stakes: The item came before the commission as a Development Review Committee referral ahead of a Planning Board hearing scheduled for September 9. No applicant appeared; the commission worked instead from a letter submitted by attorney Laura Gandia of Devine, Millimet & Branch describing the current proposal.

The question before the body: Whether to draft comments to the Planning Board on a proposed subdivision and condominium conversion at the site, which was previously approved for 310 rental units including 250 cottages and 60 other units.

Substantive content: Members said the developer's letter describes converting roughly 100 of the rental cottages into 151 condominium units for sale, while leaving the overall site plan, unit locations, and shared amenities including a clubhouse and pool largely unchanged. The site's single vehicle access point sits near a new traffic signal at Michaels Way, which several members said does not align well with the signal. Members also discussed whether the project, despite being grandfathered from the town's newer conservation overlay district, would become subject to overlay requirements because the lot-line adjustment legally constitutes a subdivision.

The deliberation: Several members raised concerns that a homeowners association managing more than 150 condominium units would be harder to hold accountable than a single rental-property owner if pollutants reached the nearby duck pond. One member argued the shift to condominiums also reduces the stock of rental housing potentially available to moderate-income renters, though members acknowledged affordable housing is not squarely a conservation issue. "I think that's I don't know because I think, I think let's do it another way: ask the question, when the Planning Board approved this plan for 250 cottages, did they rely on any statements, implied or given, that approval would increase the amount of affordable housing in Londonderry," one member said, summarizing a comment the commission agreed to pass to the Planning Board. Speltz told colleagues he is an abutter to the property and had received a notice about the project, and asked that his remarks be treated as those of a private resident rather than a commission member; the commission noted it was not voting on the matter, only preparing comments.

Procedural steps and outcome: No formal motion was made. The commission agreed informally to forward three comments to the Planning Board: a question about whether the conservation overlay district applies to the subdivision; a recommendation that condominium documents require a professional management company rather than a simple homeowners association; and a suggestion that condominium documents bar further conversion of the remaining rental cottages. Michael Bazegian, the town's GIS manager and comprehensive planner, said he would try to get the comments to planning staff before the Planning Board's meeting the next night.

Implications and what is next: The Planning Board was set to take up the Pillsbury Road case September 9, with the commission's comments submitted on a tight turnaround. The commission's position does not block the project but will inform the Planning Board's review of the pending subdivision application.

DRC: 7 Litchfield Road, Subdivision

Background and stakes: The commission previously reviewed this subdivision on January 14, 2025, and in a session members referenced from November 2024, raising concerns about a water-line crossing and a stormwater buffer encroachment near Little Cohas Brook. The applicant did not appear Tuesday.

The question before the body: Whether the applicant's revised plans adequately address the commission's earlier comments, and what further comments to send ahead of the Planning Board hearing.

Substantive content: Members confirmed the applicant moved the water line to cross the wetlands at their narrowest point and relocated the site entrance, as previously requested, though the new entrance placement sits closer to a mature maple tree near the front of the property that the commission wants preserved. A significant buffer encroachment remains on the northeast corner lot to accommodate a stormwater detention basin. Members noted the developer created a need to extend a sewer line across wetlands after previously selling off a separate lot on the northwest corner of the parcel. The town's buffer impact policy requires mitigation but does not specify what form it must take; the commission instead offers site-specific suggestions. Members also noted the developer is transferring a strip of land on the east side of the property to the town for cemetery use.

The deliberation: Discussion centered on whether the detention-basin encroachment could be reduced. "Maybe we could say something like the commission remains concerned about the unduly large impact, the buffer to Little Cohas Brook," one member said, which the group then refined into formal comment language. Another member asked whether the first proposed unit, on the northeast corner nearest the brook, could be eliminated if engineers find no other way to move the stormwater structure out of the buffer; the group agreed to suggest that as a conditional recommendation rather than a demand.

Procedural steps and outcome: No formal vote was taken. The commission agreed to forward written comments reiterating its concern about the buffer impact near Little Cohas Brook, a request to preserve the maple tree near the entrance, and a conditional suggestion to eliminate the first unit absent a better engineering solution.

Implications and what is next: These comments, like those on Pillsbury Road, go to the Planning Board for its September 9 hearing on the Litchfield Road subdivision.

Public Hearing: Acquisition of 144 Rear Wildwood Road

Background and stakes: The commission holds conservation funds set aside for land purchases and has been assembling protected parcels along Black Brook for years. This hearing was required before the commission could formally recommend a purchase to the Town Council.

The question before the body: Whether to recommend that the Town Council use conservation funds to purchase Map 3, Lot 9, a wetland parcel off Mammoth Road, for $23,300.

Substantive content: Alternate member Michael Speltz presented slides describing the roughly 1.5-acre parcel as densely vegetated wetland and seasonal floodplain, bordered by surveyed lots on either side that he used to estimate the property's boundaries in the absence of a dedicated survey. He said the town's assessor database likely understates the lot's true size, possibly at five to six acres, and asked Bazegian to check the town's parcel-mapping database for a more precise figure. Speltz said the parcel connects to an existing, largely unbroken corridor of conservation land running from an Eversource right-of-way near the high schools, through land tied to an orchard and the Estee conservation easement, down toward a town-owned strip protecting Beaver Brook. The assessed value is $23,300; the owner has agreed to accept that amount minus any transaction costs, such as a survey or legal review, that the town incurs in closing the purchase.

The deliberation: Badois reported the hearing drew one written public comment, from a resident who asked why the town would pay for land that "can't be built on because it is worth nothing." Speltz responded that the land's inability to be developed is precisely the point of acquiring it, since ownership gives the commission standing to inspect the property and prevent future encroachment by neighbors, something it currently can only ask abutters to respect voluntarily. No other public comment was offered.

Procedural steps and outcome: Speltz moved to recommend that the Town Council purchase Map 3, Lot 9 as outlined in the presentation. David Heafey seconded. The motion carried unanimously.

Implications and what is next: The recommendation now goes to the Town Council, which must approve the purchase before the town can close on the $23,300 acquisition using conservation funds. The commission said it holds more than sufficient funds on hand to complete the purchase without new appropriation.

Old Business

Trail work: Badois said Josh Cook, a former commission member now working with Trailways, is organizing a volunteer workday on the Mathes Trail and had not yet set a date. Member Bob Maxwell said he had already cleared brush at the edge of the woods near the map box, though a lower section remains overgrown. Members agreed to notify New Hampshire Fish and Game once a date is set, since the agency has worked with the commission on trail maintenance there before.

Rabbit habitat: Badois said she has a Zoom call scheduled with a New Hampshire Fish and Game representative on September 10 to discuss rabbit habitat work and planned forestry cutting on a previously treated parcel near the Cooper tract.

Unlocked Eversource gate: Badois reported a gate on an Eversource right-of-way on Litchfield Road, near the Cooper parcel, has been left unlocked, and said she believes vehicles, possibly pickup trucks, have been driving through and crossing a brook on the property. She said she would try to identify an Eversource contact, possibly a staffer named Tanya Pinter, to have the gate relocked.

Hickory Hill: Maxwell said he cleared access to the Hickory Hill kiosk from both the old and new parking lots after finding the trail blocked. Badois said she had emailed a Department of Public Works contact identified only as Dave Wally about related trail-clearing work but said DPW's attention is currently focused on flooding issues elsewhere.

Lithia Spring: Speltz said he has been unable to reach the new owner of the former Penny Fence Company property to discuss shared parking arrangements for Lithia Spring and said he would look for another approach.

Trail grants: Speltz noted the town had expected trail grant award announcements in August but said the commission has not yet heard anything.

Financial report: Member Deb Lievens gave an update through June 30, reporting roughly $109,000 in the commission's habitat account and an open space protection fund balance of $1,650,129.71 as of that date, with an additional roughly $90,000 expected to bring the balance close to $1,741,064.89. She said revenue into the fund this fiscal year totaled more than $36,000 but said she did not yet have complete figures for recent months. Members also discussed two $10,000 invoices paid out for a project at Lithia Spring, which Lievens said have been paid and are expected to be reimbursed through a grant.

New Business

None was raised.

Approval of Minutes

Maxwell moved to accept the minutes of the August 11, 2026 meeting as presented. Speltz seconded. The motion carried, with Lievens abstaining.

Adjournment

Elkel Bickford moved to adjourn. Heafey seconded. The motion carried unanimously, and the meeting ended at 8:30 p.m.

Marge Badois, Chair, present. Deb Lievens, member, present. Bob Maxwell, member, present. David Heafey, member, present. Elkel Bickford, member, present. Michael Speltz, alternate member, present, voted in place of Vice Chair Gene Harrington. Gary Della Grotta, alternate member, present, voted in a vacant seat. Susan Malouin, alternate member, present. Gene Harrington, Vice Chair, absent. Michael Bazegian, GIS Manager and Comprehensive Planner, staff, present. No members of the public attended either the general public comment period or the Wildwood Road public hearing in person. Laura Gandia, attorney with Devine, Millimet & Branch, did not attend but submitted a letter on behalf of the Pillsbury Road applicant. Josh Cook, a former commission member now affiliated with Trailways, referenced regarding trail work but not present. A Department of Public Works contact identified in discussion only as Dave Wally, referenced but not present. Tanya Pinter, a possible Eversource contact, referenced but not present.

Devine, Millimet and Branch — law firm representing the Pillsbury Road applicant; attorney Laura Gandia's letter described the proposed condominium conversion discussed under item one. Planning Board — scheduled to hear both the Pillsbury Road and Litchfield Road cases September 9; the commission's comments on both items were prepared for that hearing. Town Council — the body the commission formally asked to approve purchase of the Wildwood Road parcel using conservation funds. Trailways — organization, through former member Josh Cook, organizing a volunteer trail workday on the Mathes Trail. New Hampshire Fish and Game — agency the commission plans to notify before trail work and is consulting on rabbit habitat management. Eversource — utility whose right-of-way gate on Litchfield Road was reported unlocked; commission sought a contact to have it relocked. Penny Fence Company — former property owner Speltz has been unable to reach regarding shared parking at Lithia Spring. Department of Public Works — contacted regarding trail clearing near Hickory Hill. January 14, 2025 Conservation Commission meeting minutes — cited as the source of the commission's prior comments on the 7 Litchfield Road subdivision, including the conditional use permit recommendation and buffer concerns. Town conservation overlay district — policy whose applicability to the Pillsbury Road lot-line adjustment the commission asked the Planning Board to clarify. Town buffer impact policy — cited in the Litchfield Road discussion as requiring mitigation without specifying its form. August 11, 2026 Conservation Commission minutes — approved at this meeting, with one abstention.