A 10-lot subdivision proposed for 376 acres of land in Fayston is currently under review by the Fayston Development Review Board.
The parcel of land is currently owed by John and Monica Pieper of North Reading, Massachusetts. It is located on Center Fayston Road, roughly across the road from where Randell Road intersects Center Fayston Road.
At the September 26 development review board hearing (DRB), the board discussed the proposal, which developer Paul May says is “workforce housing.” May, who is buying the parcel from the Piepers, is seeking permits to create eight 2-acre lots as well as one 26.7-acre common area lot and a 10th lot including the remaining 341.2 acres.
Fayston zoning administrator John Weir said that the developer plans to build the houses as well as subdivide the land. The eight smaller lots will be offered for sale, with homes constructed, including septic and water, for $300,000 to $350,000. Each house is proposed as a four-bedroom house.
The subdivision will be accessed via an upgraded, existing logging road and is located in the town’s rural residential and soil/water conservation districts. The northern and eastern sides of the parcel are developed with single-family homes. The southwestern portion of the parcel abuts Camel’s Hump State Forest. The land is forested except for an open area that was a log landing area. The lot is located on a ridgeline that runs from north to south with elevations ranging from 1,400 to 2,300 feet.
According to the project narrative, prepared by Peter Lazorchak of Wilcox and Barton Engineering, the development envelopes for each lot have been designed to avoid wetlands, stream buffers, steep slopes and structure setbacks from property lines.
Additionally, according to the project narrative, the proposed subdivision is located on the lower reaches of a ridgeline and is not predominantly hilltop. While the parcel does contain areas of steep slopes, the layout of lots, building areas, drives, septic systems and roads avoids these areas and keeps the houses off the height of the land.
The DRB will hold a site visit prior to its second hearing on the project on November 14.
