NASHUA, NH – The Zoning Board again voted in favor of a wetland special exception allowing for an 18-hole disc golf course at Roby Park at a rehearing on Tuesday night, this time with a unanimous vote.
The Zoning Board originally held a hearing and meeting for the case on June 25 where the special exception received a 4-to-1 vote in favor.
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The board held a rehearing on Oct. 22 after three applications for a rehearing were received.
The reasons stated for requesting the rehearing were that not all abutters were notified of the meeting – therefore not giving them the chance to speak at the hearing – and that the meeting was not in procedural appliance with Section E- City of Nashua Zoning Board of Adjustment By-Laws Rules and Zoning Procedure.
The Board asked those giving testimony to speak specifically to the wetland and wetland buffer special exception being requested.
Many points were reiterated from the original hearing, with those in opposition concerned about the wetlands, the well being of wildlife, erosion and trash.
Those in favor again emphasized that disc golf is a free to low cost activity for families, and that the disc golf community is respectful of nature and would be at Roby Park.
Members of the board said that they struggled with the plan provided in the special exception request application, Jay Minkarah saying that they were “hard to follow.”
A Nashua resident with a background in landscape architecture speaking in opposition said that the drawings in the plan were incomplete.
The board also had issues with the location of some of the holes being close to wetland buffers, especially hole three, which is located on top of a steep hill.
Before granting the special exception, chairman Robert Shaw said, “I do hope that the applicant looks at things a little more critically. We’ve talked a lot about hole three. It seems that there’s a lot of concern about the potential for erosion.”
The next step will be a site plan review for the disc golf course by the planning board.
