Bedford Conservation Commission Unanimously Backs Three Wetland Applications in January Session

BEDFORD — January 24, 2017 — Bedford Conservation Commission unanimously supports three wetland applications, including a major road reconstruction. The commission voted January 24 to back a Town of Bedford request to fill approximately 5,925 square feet of wetlands for the reconstruction of Galt Road, Maple Drive, and Patton Road — a project that had already received a state Department of Environmental Services permit before the commission's review. Jed Merrow of McFarland Johnson presented for an absent project team, describing 10 impact areas of roadside ditches and swales, with the largest single impact at 3,320 square feet near the Maple Drive and Galt Road intersection. The commission also supported a New Hampshire Department of Transportation application to permanently fill 7,811 square feet and temporarily impact 3,815 square feet for conversion of the Bedford Toll Plaza to open-road tolling, with staff noting the permanent fill falls below the 10,000-square-foot mitigation trigger. A third unanimous vote approved a revised variance for Gary Wadland to build a single-story garage at 34 Old Bedford Road just 37 feet from a wetland edge — a resubmission after consultant Tom Carr of Meridian Land Services discovered a drafting error in a sideline setback figure first presented in November.