Swanzey Planning Board, residents gather for snowy site visit of proposed campground extension

Developer Swanzey Lake Campground LLC has plans for a seasonal campground extension that would consist of 36 full-service campsites across the road from the existing camping area property at 88 East Shore Road, according to the agenda for the upcoming planning board meeting on Thursday. The project would also include construction of a bathhouse and a maintenance building, the agenda states.

The project went before the planning board for the first time at the Dec. 8, 2022, meeting where developers requested a review of the site plan, according to draft minutes of the meeting. The request came almost four years after the town zoning board of adjustment granted the developer a special exception to build a campground on the land, which is zoned as a Rural/Agricultural District, draft minutes from Feb. 11, 2019, show.

At the planning board’s most recent meeting on Jan. 12, Jim Phippard of Keene-based project consultant Brickstone Land Use Consultants said the developer intends to keep as many trees as possible and will add a new sewer system as well as water and electrical lines to each campsite. He also referenced a storm water system that would collect water so it will not leave the campground. He noted the system is designed to withstand major storms that impact New Hampshire every 25 years per state regulations.

Among the project’s most fervent opponents is Jana Blake, whose property abuts the extension land directly north at 111 East Shore Road. Her concerns include the campground property’s proximity to her own, which she measured as about 150 feet and said would lead to greater noise in the area on account of more campers.

“With these sites bring issues of dogs, excess fires, smoke and sound,” Blake said in an interview ahead of the Jan. 12 meeting. “As it is right now, I can hear everything people hiking on Honey Hill are saying, which is much further away.”

Blake, 45, who works as a data analyst for Main Street America Insurance in Keene, also questioned whether the lake could accommodate more visitors.

“Even having four or five boats on that lake is a lot; it becomes like a bathtub,” she said. “With a proposal of 36 campsites, that’s going to increase those boats and increase bather load. And some of the main concerns are ... Swanzey Lake gets shut down from time to time [due to] E. coli bacteria.”

Blake said her closest neighbor currently is roughly 725 feet away to the west on East Shore Road. She and a couple dozen other residents joined planning board members at the snow-covered site Saturday for a walk around the property to get a sense of where planned structures and paths would be in relation to Blake’s home.

A Swanzey native, Blake said she moved away after childhood and returned in 2003 after she bought her current land from her father. She said she poured her savings into building her East Shore Road home and noted the campground extension project first came to her attention just over four years ago, when the developer submitted the special exception to the zoning board.

“After the [exception passed] I was able to obtain a letter from Robin Smith, a real estate agent, because I had talked with her about how … I’m really concerned about my future ability to resell my property,” Blake said.

Blake said she and other nearby residents filed an appeal with Cheshire County Superior Court against the exception but weren’t allowed to present new evidence for a zoning board decision. Blake requested the zoning board rehear its Feb. 11, 2019, decision, but the motion failed at the board’s meeting the following month, draft minutes state.

During the Jan. 12 planning board meeting, Blake and other residents, including Jaffrey Lapid, president of the Swanzey Lake Protective Association, voiced their concerns. The association’s Facebook page states it aims to “serve and promote the recreational interests that occur at Swanzey Lake” by promoting education in forest conservation and laws around boating and vehicles in the area.

Lapid raised discussion of the watershed in the area and conducting an assessment to ensure there might be less of an impact to biochemical contaminants leaching into Swanzey Lake with the addition of three dozen new campsites.

Another speaker at the meeting was Joe Parisi, a resident on the west side of Swanzey Lake who lives at its southern tip. Parisi felt rather than providing a sewer system designed for major storms every 25 years, the developer should design the system for storms 50-100 years if severe weather events are happening more frequently.

Responding to these concerns and others from residents, Phippard told the planning board that state regulations on storm drain development have updated to account for 24-hour rain events with many inches of rainfall. He added that noise issues weren’t something he could address as the developer feels the 150 feet between Blake’s property and the proposed campground site is adequate for buffering sound.

Other critiques of the project from residents during the Jan. 12 public hearing involved the campground extension’s access to nearby Honey Hill’s nature trails, an increase of vehicle traffic on East Shore Road and strain on the current septic system at the existing Swanzey Lake Camping Area. To the last critique, Phippard said tests indicate usage from additional campers should be well under its 2,400-gallon daily limit if each of the 36 campsites uses a maximum of 60 gallons per day.

The meeting ended with a motion to continue the public hearing on Jan. 26 and carry out the site walk, which board members passed unanimously.

While Blake said recent snowfall impacted views of the proposed campground site and muffled sound, she expressed gratitude that planning board members followed the process in visiting the area.

“I’m very thankful they did take the steps to come out here and look at it from my perspective,” she said after the site walk concluded. “I’m very thankful for the residents that showed up.”

{div id=”article-body” class=”asset-content subscriber-premium”}{div class=”subscriber-only”}This Thursday’s Swanzey Planning Board meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Whitcomb Hall at 17 Main St. There will also be an option to attend virtually by using the Zoom app or calling 929-205-6099 and entering meeting ID 235 370 4380.{/div}{/div}