The Merrimack Planning Board on April 1 accepted as complete and granted a waiver of full site-plan review for a proposal to convert the vacant Rite Aid at 420 Daniel Webster Highway into a church, and then moved to grant conditional final approval subject to the conditions in the staff memo. The board’s votes on completeness, waiver and conditional approval were recorded as unanimous on the transcript (7-0-0).

Applicant Felipe Goncalves told the board the interior plan targets about 320 seats. He said the site has 13 on-site parking spaces and that the applicant secured a lease for 10 off-site spaces at the nearby plaza (the DW Diner area), giving 23 spaces in total for typical services. The town’s site-plan regulation typically requires one parking space per three seats (or one space per six linear feet of bench); staff said the applicant must provide interior seating details so town staff can apply the formula. Goncalves said services are typically at 7:30 p.m. midweek (volunteers arrive about an hour earlier), and Sundays at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.; the applicant and board noted Sundays are the busier times and some neighboring businesses are closed then.

The board discussed traffic concerns but concluded that the site already was designed to accommodate peak on-site parking and that the signalized intersection nearby will regulate egress. The board and staff agreed the applicant should submit a "minor traffic analysis as outlined in the section 3 1 4 C," which staff will review; the board left the traffic review to staff’s administrative confirmation rather than requiring a full traffic study. Robert (Planning and Zoning Administrator) summarized the instruction: "Please provide a minor traffic analysis as outlined in the section 3 1 4 C." Applicant Felipe Goncalves said the conversion will focus on interior fit‑out and modest exterior upkeep and landscaping, and confirmed a lease agreement exists for the off‑site parking.

The board voted first to declare the application complete (7-0-0), then to grant a waiver of full site-plan review (motion recorded as moved by Helene; second by Lynn) and then to grant conditional final approval subject to the staff memo (all motions recorded as approved 7-0-0). Conditions include submission of interior seating layout to verify parking calculations, the minor traffic analysis for staff review per §3.14.C, and other checklist items listed in the staff memo. The parcel is in the C-2 Commercial and Town Center overlay districts and the Aquifer Conservation District (tax map 5D4, Lot 31; Case PB-2025-9).

Board members noted a few plan items for the applicant to finalize before recording: clarify whether an existing sewer easement crosses the parcel, formalize the off-site parking lease document, show snow storage on the plan (applicant had added a snow-storage area), and verify handicap access routing to the building entrance. The board indicated it preferred conditions be completed administratively by staff where appropriate to avoid repeated return appearances. This decision allows the applicant to proceed with interior work and finalize plan items for administrative sign-off.