The former Surf Coaster property on White Oaks Road in Laconia is a step closer to becoming a neighborhood after the city's Planning Board approved a 150-unit residential development.
The board voted unanimously Oct. 6 to approve the plan for 1085 White Oaks Road with a list of findings and conditions, according to draft minutes posted by the city.
According to the city planning staff report, the applicants, Surf REI LLC and Bohler, LLC, proposed about 150 residential units and about 5,520 square feet of resident amenity space on two parcels totaling about 11.3 acres along White Oaks Road. The owner of record is Stonewall Corners LLC. The application was filed as a Performance Zoning conditional use permit and multifamily site plan, and the parcels sit in the CR and RR2 zoning districts.
Site work includes private roads, parking, pedestrian improvements, utility extensions, stormwater management, landscaping and other amenities. The project is entirely residential; earlier proposed commercial uses were dropped, and the amenity areas are for residents and their guests.
Attorney John Cronin, presenting for the applicant, said the 150 units fall into four designs: The Cottages, The Lookout, The Vistas, which are single-family homes, and multifamily buildings, according to the minutes. He said construction is expected to happen in phases over about five years, and he estimated about $1.5 million in annual tax revenue and more than $1 million in impact fees.
The plan went through three Technical Review Committee reviews and several revisions, including road and pedestrian improvements. The applicant plans to extend the sidewalk along the frontage and connect to the existing sidewalk on the west side of White Oaks Road, according to the staff report.
Under RSA 674:80, the board could only deny the application for lack of adequate sewer, water and road infrastructure, the staff report said. Staff noted that sewer and water are readily available, and city staff told the board the road can handle the traffic, according to the minutes.
Traffic and conditions
Two residents spoke at the public hearing. One raised safety concerns about crosswalk placement, and another, who lives in the area, opposed the size of the development and its traffic effects, the minutes show. The board also discussed rapid flashing beacons at Endicott Street and White Oaks Road.
A third-party traffic review by HEB Engineers, paid for by the applicant, came in late, and state Department of Transportation feedback was still outstanding. The board's conditions require the applicant to address the HEB review dated Sept. 30, 2026, and submit an infrastructure improvement and cost-sharing plan, with a phasing schedule, before final plan approval and any city permits. The board added language so that major changes resulting from the final traffic study go first to the planning director, who decides whether they need to come back to the board.
Other conditions require a condominium association responsible for private roads, water, sewer, drainage and solid waste; site improvement security before any site work; native buffer plantings near wetland buffers; erosion controls; and a preconstruction meeting with the city's planning, public works, fire, police and water departments. Building permits won't be issued for a phase until that phase's traffic improvements are installed. Impact fees are due before each unit's certificate of occupancy, and all conditions must be met within seven years unless the board grants an extension.
Planning staff also noted that the fire department wants revised fire apparatus turning analyses and that water system modeling, booster station requirements and pressure zones were still under review.
Why it matters for Contractors
A 150-unit, multi-phase development with single-family homes, cottages and multifamily buildings is a substantial job for the Lakes Region, and its roughly five-year phased schedule means work could come in waves. Before vertical construction starts, there's sitework: private roads, utility extensions, a possible water booster station, stormwater systems, sidewalks and off-site traffic improvements tied to each phase.
Because building permits for each phase depend on finishing that phase's traffic improvements, roadwork and sitework contractors will help set the pace for everyone else. The project still needs state Alteration of Terrain and transportation approvals, Cronin said, so timing isn't set. No general contractor has been named. Contractors interested in the job should watch for final plan approval and reach out to the applicant as the phasing plan takes shape.