LACONIA — The Planning Board gave a green light last night to the Lakehouses at Christmas Island project which will see a complete redevelopment of the Christmas Island Resort.
All of the existing 47 motel units will be demolished with only two large cottage units and the Christmas Island Steakhouse left from the original development, which dates to the 1950s.
Developer Romeo Lacasse plans to have 18 condo units, two two-story, 4,000 square foot cottages and 16 new condo units, each with about 2,400 square feet of space, which would be located in eight new duplex units.
The duplex buildings will be spaced along the 1,000 feet of waterfront, providing each unit with views of the lake. Each of the units will include a garage for one
car and space for a second in the driveway while visitor parking would be provided along the access road behind the buildings.
Lacasse, who developed Nature's View, a residential subdivision in Lakeport, said the units will have a lakehouse style and said after the meeting that he was very pleased with the board's decision.
All of the new units, with the exception of a small utility building, will be built behind the 50-foot wetland buffer and decrease the need for some of the current pavement, reducing the amount of impervious surfaces on the 3.2 acre lot by more than 20 percent according to Jon Rokeh of Rokeh Consulting, LLC, who is engineering the project.
Rokeh said that the project will see all of the utilities upgraded and placed underground while all of the trees in the shoreland area will be retained.
The properties closest to the water will be built on slab and the ones that are set further back will have full basements.
Rokeh said that currently storm water flows across the pavement into two direct discharge pipes that flow directly into Langley Cove. He said drainage conditions will be improved through the use of
catch basins containing snouts, the use of rain gardens, which will collect roof water from the buildings, and the creation of a swale which will help contain runoff, as well as additional vegetation in the 50-foot buffer area.
Attorney Regina Nadeau, who represented the developer, said that legal issues remained with the roadway known as Prescott Avenue and who actually owns it. She said that creation of a sidewalk requires that easements be obtained from the heirs of Prescott Farm.
'The board attached several conditions to its approval, including the resolution of the roadway status, expressed support for a wide shoulder rather than sidewalks along the roadway and a prohibition against the storage of boat or snowmobile trailers on the property.
http://www.laconiadailysun.com/index...board-approval