The Research and Office Park District is an overlay district that allows research and development and related uses in rural parts of the Town where they would not otherwise be permitted. The purpose of the district is to:
Regulations and standards have been established to protect the residential and/or agricultural character of the district and are reasonable in exchange for the privilege of a Research and Office Park that would otherwise not be permitted in this district.
The Research and Office Park District is an overlay district that shall be used along with underlying zoning districts, as established in this ordinance. This district establishes special development standards and guidelines beyond those of the underlying zoning designation for the development of Research and Office Parks. The standards established in this Section shall only apply to Research and Office Parks with an approved Research and Office Park Plan, as described herein. If a development is not a Research and Office Park and a Research and Office Park Plan has not been approved, the standards of the underlying zoning district shall apply. Lots that are included in the Research and Office Park District but are not part of a Research and Office Park may be developed or used in any manner consistent with their underlying zoning district.
Any manufacture, processing, conversion or compounding (any of which, “manufacturing”) of extracted or raw materials, including chemicals (or products composed primarily from unprocessed raw materials or chemicals) to create products, or manufacturing that might reasonably be expected to have any adverse impact on surrounding land uses or property values or beyond Town borders. Heavy Manufacturing includes, without limitation, (a) manufacturing products using (1) chemical processes or (2) petroleum, petrochemicals, or products derived therefrom, or that otherwise involve processing, refining or storing petroleum or petrochemicals (other than reasonable amounts to be used solely as fuel); and (b) the production or storage of explosives or ammunition (except retail sales of ammunition incident to another permitted use). (Amended March 2020)
The manufacture, predominantly from previously prepared materials, of finished products or parts, including processing, fabrication, assembly, treatment and packaging of such products, and incidental storage, sales and distribution of such products, but excluding raw materials industrial processing and Heavy Manufacturing. These activities do not necessitate the storage of large volumes of hazardous, flammable, toxic matter or explosive materials needed for the manufacturing process. These activities do not include manufacturing processes using predominantly hazardous, flammable, toxic or explosive materials. (Amended March 2020)
A measure of intensity of land use that represents the portion of a site that is impervious. This portion includes, but is not limited to, all areas covered by buildings, parking structures, driveways, roads, sidewalks and any area of concrete asphalt, but does not include buffered setback areas, lawns, recreational areas, or agricultural uses.
Administrative, executive, professional, research or similar organizations having only limited contact with the public, provided that no merchandise or merchandising services are sold on the premises, except such as are incidental or accessory to the principal permissible use.
The primary use of any lot.
Administrative, engineering, scientific research, design or experimentation organizations where product testing is an integral part of the operation and goods or products may be manufactured as necessary for testing, evaluation and test marketing.
An area of minimum contiguous size, as specified by this ordinance, to be planned, developed, operated, and maintained according to a common Research and Office Park Plan as a single entity and containing one or more structures to accommodate principal uses or a combination of such uses, and appurtenant common areas and secondary uses.
A master land use plan that is intended to guide growth and development of a Research and Office Park over a number of years or in phases.
A business that engages in research, or research and development, of innovative ideas in technology-intensive fields. Examples include, but is not limited to, laboratories, scientific, medical, chemical, applied physics, mechanical, electronic, biological, genetic or other similar experimental research, product development or testing facilities. Development and construction of prototypes may be associated with this use.
A structure or use that: (1) is subordinate in the area, extent, and purpose to the principal use; (2) contributes to the comfort, convenience or necessity of the principal use; and (3) is located on the same lot or Research and Office Park as the principal use.
The Research and Office Park District encompasses the following areas within the Town of Wilton:
A building or structure may be erected, altered or used, and a lot may be used or occupied for any of the following principal uses, provided the use meets the requirements of this ordinance.
A building or structure may be erected, altered or used, and a lot may be used or occupied for any of the following secondary uses, provided the use meets the requirements of this ordinance and conforms to the definition of a secondary use.
All uses not explicitly permitted in this Section shall be prohibited in the Research and Office Park District. Such uses shall include:
All Research and Office Parks within the Research and Office Park District shall meet the following requirements.
A Research and Office Park shall be at least twenty-five (25) acres. No building within a Research and Office Park shall be constructed on any lot less than one (1) acre.
The Research and Office Park shall have four hundred (400) feet of combined contiguous frontage on the Class V or better road from which the development receives its primary access.
Total lot coverage of a Research and Office Park shall not exceed twenty percent (20%). Total lot coverage may be increased to twenty-five percent (25%) if the total area of the Research and Office Park is from fifty (50) to one hundred (100) acres, and to thirty-five (35) percent if the total area of the Research and Office Park size is one hundred (100) acres or greater.
At least fifty percent (50%) of the total development area shall be maintained in agriculture, as conservation land, or in a natural vegetated condition.
There shall be one (1) primary access road leading to the development. The primary access road shall be located on NH Route 101 or NH Route 31. The primary access road may be located on a Class V or better road if: (1) the property owner(s) of the Research and Office Park is the sole owner of the entire length of frontage along that road from NH Route 101 or NH Route 31 to the access road; and (2) new traffic attributed to that Research and Office Park primarily utilizes this primary access road. One (1) additional access road located on a Class V or better road may be created for emergency purposes. Existing structures in the Research and Office Park with existing access roads may retain these roads in addition to the one (1) primary access road.
Maximum structure height is forty-five (45) feet or three (3) stories subject to Planning Board review in accordance with the Research and Office Park Regulations and the impact of the structure height on abutters to the Research and Office Park and the natural and rural environments.
Traffic shall not significantly increase on any road other than the primary access road as a result of a Research and Office Park. Each Research and Office Park shall be permitted to generate traffic in keeping with the character of the roadway from which the use has access and egress, according to the following schedule. For the purposes of this ordinance, each entering into or exiting from the Research and Office Park onto a public road shall be counted as a trip.
| Street Access | Maximum Allowed Trip Generation Per Square Feet of Gross Floor Area |
|---|---|
| NH Route 101 and NH Route 31 | 24/1,000 SF |
| All Other Class V or Better Roads | 12/1,000 SF |
No more than two (2) tractor-trailer trips per up to 20,000 square feet of gross floor area shall be permitted per day within a Research and Office Park. An additional two (2) tractor trailer trips shall be permitted per day for each additional 20,000 square feet of gross floor area within the Research and Office Park. For the purposes of this ordinance, each entering into or exiting from the Research and Office Park onto a public road shall be counted as a trip. No tractor-trailer shall be parked in a Research and Office Park longer than three (3) days.
Off-street parking shall be provided following the standards established in the Research and Office Park Regulations.
Signs shall be provided according to the standards established in Section 16.0 of this ordinance and the Research and Office Park Regulations.
The footprint of any building in a Research and Office Park shall not be greater than 20,000 square feet.
Research and Office Parks intending to be served by the public water supply system shall be reviewed by the Planning Board to ensure that the proposed developments would not require more than ten percent (10%) of the available capacity as determined by the system's current safe yield and average daily water usage at the time of the proposed development. In any circumstance, where the Town of Wilton may require professional assisance or additional information to make a determination of compliance, the developer shall be required to pay the costs associated with obtaining this assistance.
In areas not served by the public water system, Research and Office Parks shall obtain their own water supply. In cases where Research and Office Parks will be utilizing private wells to supply adequate water for the uses within the development, the following performance standards shall be applied in an effort to avoid depletion of water supplies for neighboring uses:
The developer may conduct additional hydrogeological studies of the site to determine the actual location and extent of the groundwater, the capacity for groundwater supplies and the impacts on surrounding groundwater users at his own cost. The Planning Board may modify the above limits based on the results of the hydrogeological testing and the determination that sustained use of the water supply will not unreasonably reduce the water supply to adjacent users.
The performance standards in Section 4.10 of this ordinance shall apply to any Research and Office Park as a whole rather than to individual lots within the development. (Amended March 2022.)
It shall be unlawful to create, permit, allow, or maintain a noise disturbance in the Research and Office Park District. Any and all excessively annoying, loud or unusual noises or vibrations such as offend the peace and quiet of persons of ordinary sensibilities and which interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property and affect at the same time an entire neighborhood or any considerable number of persons shall be considered a noise disturbance.
No outdoor storage of any material (usable or waste) shall be permitted in the Research and Office Park District, except in outdoor storage containers. Storage containers shall be screened from public view by appropriate means, such as fencing, natural buffers or as otherwise approved by the Planning Board.
No lighting shall be permitted that would cause glare from a Research and Office Park onto any street, road, highway, deeded right-of-way or into any abutting property. All luminaries and lamps shall be of fully shielded design and shall not emit any direct light above a horizontal plane passing through the lowest part of the light emitting portion of the luminary or lamp.
This Section is an innovative land use control as authorized by RSA 674:16, II. In accordance with RSA 674:21, II, the Wilton Planning Board is designated as the administrator of uses under this section. Before approving any developments under this Section, the Planning Board shall develop Research and Office Park Regulations that shall incorporate the standards of this Section, and any additional requirements that the Planning Board finds necessary or desirable to achieve the purposes of this Section.
The Planning Board shall have the authority to suspend or revoke any approval granted under this section for violation of any condition of the approval, including violations of Section 9A.7 of this ordinance, which shall be implicitly incorporated in the terms of all approvals under this Section. Any such suspension or revocation must be in accordance with the procedures of RSA 676:4–a.