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Record of Proceedings

Claremont, NH Planning Board Approves 65 Pleasant Street Mixed-Use Site Plan on September 14, 2026

Planning Board — Monday, September 14, 2026
BodyClaremont, New Hampshire
SessionPlanning Board
DateMonday, September 14, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 37:25

Original source
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0:00

All right.

0:01

Welcome to the planning board meeting.

0:03

Monday, September 14th, 2026.

0:08

Can I have a roll call, please?

0:10

Here.

0:11

Jonathan Olson.

0:12

Here.

0:12

Michael Sandborn.

0:13

Here.

0:13

Richard Worley?

0:14

Here.

0:16

Yeah.

0:16

Maxone Jake and all different?

0:18

Yeah.

0:18

Richard Furger?

0:19

Here.

0:19

Ebra Matteff.

0:20

Here.

0:20

Nicholas Kaloski.

0:23

All right.

0:24

Um review of minutes of previous meeting, August 24th, 2026.

0:32

Motion to approve as presented.

0:34

Do I have a second?

0:35

A second.

0:37

Any discussion.

0:39

All those in favor say aye.

0:42

All right.

0:42

And the minutes pass.

0:45

On to new business.

0:52

PL 20 26 000 17.

0:58

Robert Bury 65 Pleasant Street LLC Salem, New Hampshire.

1:05

Application for a site plan approval for a new addition and new for new additional residential units on the first and fourth floor at 65 Pleasant Street.

1:19

Tax map 120, 70, Zone District MU.

1:24

What do you have?

1:26

Thank you.

1:28

So a couple of notes before I read the property and property description as we go through it.

1:33

One that this project is to be viewed as mixed use.

1:37

That the planning board determination you'll determine the square footage and the need for landscaping waiver would need your approval before the application is deemed complete.

1:50

And the application was prepared by our consulting planner, which was our former city planner, Austin Ford.

2:00

The property project description 65 Pleasant Street is a 3,371 square foot rectangular lot at the corner of Pleasant and School Streets in the city center.

2:10

The lot is in the mixed use district and historic district as well as the TIFF district.

2:15

The entirety of the lot is covered by a four-story brick building with just under 8,000 square feet of living space.

2:21

The first floor is currently vacant commercial space, while the second and third floors are occupied by apartments.

2:27

The fourth floor is mostly vacant with a single studio apartment in the southwestern corner.

2:32

The applicant wishes to convert the entire fourth floor and a portion of the first floor into the residential use.

2:38

The proposed conversion will add five studio apartments on the fourth floor and four on the first floor.

2:44

This is considered mixed use with street level dwelling units, which is typically allowed by conditional use permit per section 22-387 of the zoning ordinance and subject to site plan review.

2:56

However, mixed use with the residential uses at the street level in the mixed use district are subject to the regulations of section 22-387.

3:05

Section 22-387.14 copied on the following page.

3:37

So it has the locations.

3:42

You probably have that in your in your packet.

3:44

And then I'm I'm gonna go due to the fact that this property has a significant amount of frontage on school street or street level dwelling units are permitted.

3:53

The applicant sought a variance from this section of the ordinance to allow the conversion of a portion of the first floor to residential use, keeping a commercial storefront in the part of the building fronting Pleasant Street.

4:04

The variance was granted by the zoning board on August 3rd, 2026.

4:08

It is important to note that the zoning board will set a minimum square footage of the commercial space on the first floor and determine that the final layout of the first floor, including the ratio of residential units to commercial space, should be subject of the approval of the planning board as part of the site plan review process.

4:25

The planning board is encouraged to discuss this with the applicant, staff, and the public during the hearing before making a decision.

4:33

The applicant has noted that they are not requesting any waivers for this project.

4:37

However, it may be appropriate for the board to officially waive the requirement for the submission of a landscaping plan.

4:43

This may be accomplished with a simple motion that establishes the reasoning referenced below.

4:48

Article 7B, the planning board may waive provisions of these regulations provided that the planning board has determined that such waiver of any requirements will not affect the purpose and intent of those regulations and will be consistent with the master plan.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Zoning and Land Use█████████████████████████████████████████████51%
Procedural████████████14%
Planning and Development██████████11%
Historic Preservation████████9%
Affordable Housing████4%
Downtown Development███3%
Fire Department Budget███3%
Solar Energy███3%
Disabled Assistance██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Claremont Planning Board Meeting – September 14, 2026

The Claremont Planning Board met on Monday, September 14, 2026, to review one application: a site plan approval requested by 65 Pleasant Street LLC to convert the fourth floor and part of the first floor of 65 Pleasant Street into residential units. The board unanimously approved the prior meeting's minutes, heard staff updates, waived the landscaping requirement, accepted the application as complete, and approved the site plan with conditions. No members of the public spoke during the public hearing.

Consent Calendar

  • Minutes of the August 24, 2026 planning board meeting were approved as presented by unanimous voice vote.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comments were offered; the public hearing was opened and closed without testimony.

Discussion Items

  • Application overview: PL 2026-00017, submitted by Robert Bury of 65 Pleasant Street LLC, sought site plan approval for additional residential units on the first and fourth floors at 65 Pleasant Street (tax map 120-70, Mixed Use district; also located in the historic district and TIF district). The property is a 3,371-square-foot rectangular corner lot at Pleasant and School Streets. The application was prepared by consulting planner and former city planner Austin Ford.
  • Proposal: The plan converts the entire fourth floor into five studio apartments and a portion of the first floor into four residential units, while retaining a commercial storefront on the Pleasant Street frontage. Street-level residential use is generally allowed by conditional use permit under Section 22-387; the Zoning Board granted a variance on August 3, 2026, for the first-floor conversion and left the final first-floor layout and minimum commercial square footage to the planning board's site plan review.
  • Board positions: One board member expressed support for the project, stating, "I'm happy with what they're proposing because I want these projects to be able to work for developers financially," and highlighted the retained commercial frontage on Pleasant Street and an interested tenant. The same member countered a colleague's concern about precedent by noting the building's two street frontages make it "a unique building on Pleasant Street." A second member raised the precedent issue for allowing residential units on the first floor.
  • Applicant's testimony: The applicant said the first-floor unit layout was driven by the existing structure and the differing rules on the two street frontages; there are currently 11 residential units rented, and the building will total 20 residential units. (The transcript records the answer as "20 residential, one presidential," which appears to be a transcription error.) The applicant noted the building has no on-site parking, existing ~127-square-foot units on the fourth floor rent quickly to travel nurses, and the first-floor units will provide some accessible housing, since full accessibility compliance would be "literally impossible" without tearing down the old building.
  • Fire and life safety: The fire chief and building inspector have reviewed the project; the applicant said the fourth-floor fire escape, second egress, and the roughly three-year-old fire alarm system will be brought into compliance through the building permit process.
  • Staff updates: No applications are pending for the September 28, 2026 meeting. Staff is working with the Upper Valley Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission on open space trail connectivity maps for the master plan; the traffic advisory committee is reviewing double yellow lines on Winter and Washington streets; a service agreement with UVLSRPC is moving to the city manager's office; a limited scope agreement with former city planner Austin Ford will provide roughly two months of additional planning support; and the city has conducted a second interview with a potential planning applicant. Two notices of decision were included in the packet.

Key Outcomes

  • The board voted by voice vote to waive the landscaping requirement, finding the site has no room for landscaping, and then voted to accept the application as complete.
  • The site plan (PL 2026-00017) was approved, subject to the following conditions: (1) development in substantial conformance with the plan dated 7/9/2026, the application materials, and hearing testimony; (2) the applicant must obtain all necessary permits and approvals; (4) two copies of the final approved site plan printed on Mylar, suitable for recording at the Sullivan County Registry of Deeds, must be provided to the Claremont Planning and Development Department within six months of the date of approval; (5) no development may commence until the site plan is recorded at the Sullivan County Registry of Deeds; and (6) the site plan is valid for two years from the date of approval, after which it must be recertified. (The motion as transcribed lists conditions 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6; condition 3 was not captured in the transcript.)
  • The next regular planning board meeting is September 28, 2026, with no applications on the docket.

Meeting Transcript

All right. Welcome to the planning board meeting. Monday, September 14th, 2026. Can I have a roll call, please? Here. Jonathan Olson. Here. Michael Sandborn. Here. Richard Worley? Here. Yeah. Maxone Jake and all different? Yeah. Richard Furger? Here. Ebra Matteff. Here. Nicholas Kaloski. All right. Um review of minutes of previous meeting, August 24th, 2026. Motion to approve as presented. Do I have a second? A second. Any discussion. All those in favor say aye. All right. And the minutes pass. On to new business. PL 20 26 000 17. Robert Bury 65 Pleasant Street LLC Salem, New Hampshire. Application for a site plan approval for a new addition and new for new additional residential units on the first and fourth floor at 65 Pleasant Street. Tax map 120, 70, Zone District MU. What do you have? Thank you. So a couple of notes before I read the property and property description as we go through it. One that this project is to be viewed as mixed use. That the planning board determination you'll determine the square footage and the need for landscaping waiver would need your approval before the application is deemed complete. And the application was prepared by our consulting planner, which was our former city planner, Austin Ford. The property project description 65 Pleasant Street is a 3,371 square foot rectangular lot at the corner of Pleasant and School Streets in the city center. The lot is in the mixed use district and historic district as well as the TIFF district. The entirety of the lot is covered by a four-story brick building with just under 8,000 square feet of living space. The first floor is currently vacant commercial space, while the second and third floors are occupied by apartments. The fourth floor is mostly vacant with a single studio apartment in the southwestern corner. The applicant wishes to convert the entire fourth floor and a portion of the first floor into the residential use. The proposed conversion will add five studio apartments on the fourth floor and four on the first floor. This is considered mixed use with street level dwelling units, which is typically allowed by conditional use permit per section 22-387 of the zoning ordinance and subject to site plan review. However, mixed use with the residential uses at the street level in the mixed use district are subject to the regulations of section 22-387. Section 22-387.14 copied on the following page. So it has the locations.

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