MANCHESTER, N.H. – One street held a pair of variance requests to the Manchester Zoning Board of Adjustment separated by a month, a few hundred feet, distinct proposed uses and very different outcomes.
During the May 2026 Manchester Zoning Board of Adjustment meeting, a set of variances to allow the change of use from a food processing plant into a landscape contractor’s office at 231 Woodland Ave. was approved, just a few hundred feet away from where a set of variances that would have allowed a new housing complex were denied.
Woodland Avenue lies directly west of Eastside Plaza, also known as the Hannaford Plaza, on Hanover Street, and is primarily residential in nature with the exception of the largely abandoned J. Schwartz Transportation company lot at the end of the street. The Schwartz lot was the location of the proposed housing complex before the Zoning Board of Adjustment in April and is almost immediately to the south of 231 Woodland Ave. During the April meeting, residents on Woodland Avenue spoke in opposition to the requests, largely around the premise that the proposed complex was too large and dense to fit into the scope of the existing neighborhood.
While 231 Woodland Ave. is surrounded by single-family homes outside of the Schwartz lot, the 6,200 square foot building on its lot has historically housed a variety of industrial and commercial tenants dating back to the 1960s. Previous uses included a machine shop, plastics fabrication and distribution business, electronics wholesaler prior to its most recent use as a food processing operation.
Attorney Roy Tillsley, representing the applicant, told board members the proposal would be a lower-intensity use than some prior operations and would improve the appearance and functionality of the property.
“We have a site that has successfully hosted commercial activity for many years that works well in this residential neighborhood,” Tillsley said during the hearing. “We believe that we’re improving the site from prior uses with the fencing, the traffic flow, the landscape island, the improved parking situation.”
The proposal includes indoor storage of landscaping equipment and vehicles, office space and limited outdoor storage. Plans also call for installation of an 8-foot fence around much of the property, relocation of an existing Quonset-style structure, changes to parking configuration and a new access ramp.
Project engineer Matt Peterson of Tighe & Bond said the redesign would improve circulation and reduce the need for vehicles to back directly onto Woodland Avenue.
Business owner Chris Kirsten described the operation as a relatively quiet family-run business with limited public traffic.
“If there’s a rainy day like today, we’d come up probably just take care of a couple pieces of equipment, nothing really loud,” Kirsten said. “Any time that we’re working on smaller equipment, it’ll all be inside the building.”
Kirsten said the company would primarily store pickup trucks, trailers and seasonal equipment at the site, with much of the heavier equipment kept indoors.
Several nearby residents spoke favorably about the proposal while raising a handful of concerns.
Ron Oglesby, who lives across from the property, said he supported the project overall but asked questions about emergency vehicle access, lighting and the proposed landscaped island near the roadway.
“I’m for it,” Oglesby said. “I think you’d be a good tenant.”
The board ultimately approved the requests unanimously with conditions requiring the applicant to obtain quiet title to a portion of Castle Street and limiting operating hours to 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturdays.
