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Purpose: This article is adopted pursuant
to RSA 674:21 (Innovative Land Use Controls) as a timing incentive
and phased development. The purpose and intent of this article is:
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To ensure that public facilities needed
to support new development meet or exceed the level of service standards
established herein.
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To avoid premature subdivision or site
plan approval.
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To provide a reasonable and realistic
framework for the preparation of a capital improvements program needed
to accommodate the City's anticipated growth and development.
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To avoid reduction in the levels of
service for any public facilities below the adopted level of service
established in this article.
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To ensure that adequate public facilities
needed to support new development are available concurrent with the
impacts of such development, as defined in this chapter.
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To establish uniform procedures for
the review of development applications subject to the standards and
requirements of this article.
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To provide standards and predicable
criteria for use by applicants for subdivision and site plan approval.
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To facilitate implementation of goals
and policies set forth in the Nashua Master Plan, any master plans
for the provision of public facilities and services, and the capital
improvements program.
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To ensure that all applicable legal
standards and criteria are properly incorporated in these procedures
and requirements.
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In adopting this chapter, the City hereby
finds and determines as follows:
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The public facilities subject to this
chapter are necessary for the general public health, safety, and welfare.
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New growth and development within the
City has impacts on the availability and capacity of the public facilities
subject to this chapter, and those impacts can be mitigated by the
timing and sequencing of development as provided herein.
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The City has prepared and adopted a
capital improvements program (CIP) in order to provide the public
facilities needed to accommodate reasonably anticipated growth and
development. The CIP will be updated from time to time to reflect
changes in the City's growth rate, available financial resources,
and other relevant factors.
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The level of service (LOS) standards
adopted for each public facility in this chapter are necessary for
the protection of the public health, safety and welfare, and will
not unduly inhibit new growth and development within the City of Nashua.
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This section implements the following
Master Plan policies:
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Minimize the traffic congestion and
conflicts that often accompany commercial development by careful attention
to traffic issues and cross-access easements in the site plan review
process.
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This article applies to any application for
subdivision or site plan approval. No application subject to this
chapter shall be accepted, approved, granted or issued unless it provides
sufficient information to determine whether the capacity of public
facilities is adequate to support the proposed development, as set
forth in this article. This article shall not apply to any use, development,
project, structure, fence, sign or activity that does not create a
demand for streets.
B.
Decision. The Planning Board shall not approve a site
plan or subdivision plan unless it determines that:
C.
Advancement of capacity.
(1)
In order to avoid undue hardship, the applicant may
propose to construct or to secure funding for the public facilities
necessary to provide capacity to accommodate the proposed development
at the adopted level of service and at the time that the impact of
the development will occur as an alternative to the deferral of development
or building permits.
(2)
No advancement of capacity for public facilities needed
to avoid a deterioration in the adopted levels of service shall be
accepted by the Planning Board unless appropriate conditions are included
to ensure that the applicant will obtain any necessary approvals for
construction of the public facilities from any agency with jurisdiction
thereof prior to or concurrent with the issuance of a final subdivision
plan or other subsequent development permit, or a building permit.
(3)
The commitment to construction of public facilities prior to the issuance of a building permit pursuant to Subsection C(1) above shall be included as a condition of the determination and shall contain, at a minimum, the following:
(a)
An estimate of the total financial resources
needed to construct the proposed public facilities or expansion thereof,
and a description of the incremental cost associated therewith.
(b)
A schedule for commencement and completion of
construction of the planned improvement with specific target dates
for multiphase or large-scale improvement projects.
(c)
A statement that the planned improvement is
consistent with the Master Plan.
(4)
The construction or funding of only a portion of a
public facility needed to meet the adopted level of service shall
be approved by the Planning Board only where:
(a)
The public facility will be able to provide
the capacity need to meet the adopted level of service, and will be
fully usable and operational, due to the characteristics of the facility;
or
(b)
The construction or funding of the balance of
the public facility that is needed to meet the adopted level of service
is identified in the capital improvements program to be funded from
public revenues, or will be accomplished from other guaranteed sources.
The Planning Board shall determine the adequacy
of available public facilities and services based on standards provided
in the Master Plan, capital improvements program or prevailing industry
guidelines.
