CUMBERLAND – A project that would bring 18 two-bedroom condos to Bear Hill Road will be heard at the June 25 meeting of the Planning Board.
The Homes at Waterman Pond proposal was on the agenda for the May 28 meeting, but attorney Patrick Dougherty asked for a one-month continuance. He said they’d been having some “nice discussions” with abutters about their concerns in the hallway during that meeting, and that they had made some headway.
The plan calls for four multi-family residential buildings, including a pair of five-unit buildings and a pair of four-unit ones, for 18 total on a small pond in an area with a high water table.
This is the master plan stage for the proposal from The Homes at Waterman Pond, LLC, owned by Irene Schmitt. She also previously developed condos next door to this parcel.
The addresses for the project are 106 and 110 Bear Hill Road, which includes a home that would be demolished.
This is a mixed residential area of Cumberland, with single-family homes and condos. The new homes would be located between a condo project at 80 Bear Hill Road and town houses at 130 Bear Hill Road.
Planning staff say they’ve reviewed the application, recommending the following as conditions of approval:
• The applicant is required to obtain an approval letter from the Water Department.
• The applicant clarifies the location of the sidewalks proposed within the property on the plan and in the narrative.
• A draft conservation easement shall be presented at preliminary plan stage.
• Evidence of submission of applications to state agencies, as may be necessary for this proposal.
The project is proposed as a conservation development within the R-3 residential zoning district, which is serviced by public water and public sewer.
Under a conservation development in this zone, a minimum of 25 percent of the site’s upland area must be preserved as open space. Via an administrative subdivision, the lot lines will be reconfigured so that the residential complex is on one lot, and the open space area is contained on the other.
Lot 21 contains a single-family dwelling and garage. Both structures will be demolished as part of the proposed development, and the existing driveway will also be removed.
The project encompasses about 4.26 acres: Lot 21 is approximately 1.16 acres, or 50,500 square feet, and Lot 14 is approximately 3.1 acres, or 135,055 square feet. Wetlands and a pond on Lot 21 total about 1.98 acres, or 86,069 square feet. After accounting for the wetlands, approximately 99,486 square feet of land is suitable for development, which would allow for a density of 33 units, according to town staff. The proposed open space area is 25,659 square feet, which represents approximately 25.8 percent of the upland area and satisfies the conservation development requirement. In total, about 2.5 acres, representing about 60 percent of the total land area, will be conserved as open space.
Parking for the development will be provided through a combination of garages and driveways. Each unit will include a two-car garage and two driveway parking spaces, resulting in four parking spaces per unit. While the zoning ordinance requires a total of 36 spaces for the 18 units, the proposed design provides 76 spaces, 72 for the condos and four for visitor parking). The longer driveways proposed in front of each unit are intended to minimize the need for guest parking within the internal access drive and maintain adequate access for emergency vehicles.
Stormwater management for the site will be addressed through the installation of at least one stormwater basin, and appropriate water quality and stormwater management facilities will be provided to meet all applicable state and local permitting requirements.
The applicant’s narrative states that a sidewalk is proposed along what would become the residential lot, matching the sidewalk previously put in next door.
This application participated in a Technical Review Committee meeting last October, and a pre-application meeting with the Planning Board on March 26, 2026, where the following comments were provided:
• Highway Department staff commented that they’d prefer that the condo association take care of the open space of the development and said there would need to be a holder for the conservation easement to enforce that.
• The Planning Board members and the public expressed their concern about the increase of traffic in the area with more residential development and asked the applicant to conduct a traffic study.
• The Planning Board inquired whether the pond within the designated open space area would remain natural or if it would be used for recreation, accessible by residents of the condominiums.
• Members of the public expressed concern over environmental impact of the development regarding the wetlands and the potential for increased stormwater runoff.
Planning Department staff say they finds the proposed development is in compliance with the standards and provisions of the zoning ordinance, and that no variances or waivers are required. There will be no significant negative environmental impacts from the proposed development as shown on the final plan, with all required conditions for approval, they contend.
“At this stage of review, the Planning Department does not find any significant negative environmental impacts from the proposed development as shown on the plan,” they state. “Further review may be necessary at preliminary plan stage, after additional engineering is complete. The Planning Department recommends that this finding be deferred to preliminary plan stage.”
