By Nathan Duke
Staff Writer

The proposed Riverside Commons development at the site of the old mill building is currently in limbo as Goffstown's attorney drafts language for easements that would be necessary for the project.

Attorney William Drescher is currently drafting the final items for the proposed development's use of town land, said Town Administrator Sue Desruisseaux.

"Once we receive the language (from Drescher), we will take the proposal back to the board of selectmen, and then hold two more public hearings," she said.

Two public hearings, held 10 to 14 days apart with a decision made by the board of selectmen within 10 to 14 days after the hearings, are required for the proposed project after the planning board and Riverside Commons developer Elmer Pease meet with the board, said Desruisseaux.

Public hearings to grant the easements were last held on Nov. 8 and Nov. 14 and were well attended, said Desruisseaux.

Members of the planning board began discussing the project with Pease in November 2003.

Two concerns from abutters that are currently being reviewed in the mill project plans are traffic issues stemming from the Commons and environmental effects caused by drainage.

"There were a series of concerns relating to traffic and residents were asking, 'How much is too much?'" said Stephen Griffin, the town's planning and economic development coordinator. "(Traffic) has been scaled back from the first plan in response to these concerns. The first plan generated more traffic through commercial use, which has been reduced."

The Commons will still be a mixed-use project, with the woodframe house on the property being converted into a restaurant and the brick office building being used for commercial purposes. However, the two residential buildings, which will house 60 condominiums, will no longer designate their ground floors to commercial use.

Griffin said an easement is required for the Commons and the town to have a shared driveway and that a concern of the planning board has been whether fire trucks can easily get on the property. However, he said developer Pease has asked for the use of town property for an entrance to the complex, which would not require an easement.

Sue Desruisseaux said environmental concerns of residents will also be addressed in the project's plans.

"We want to make sure (the project) has no environmental impact on the town," she said. "The area should be in the same condition it was in prior to any work being done on it."

Griffin said another element of the project that needs to be addressed is drainage from the complex. One proposal is to create a separator under the complex's parking lot to separate materials, including sand and oil, from water that runs off into the Piscataquog River.

Currently, no date has been set for the planning board and developer to meet with the board of selectmen. The two public hearings will follow shortly thereafter if the board of selectmen approve the plans.