LEBANON — Residents intent on telling the Planning Board how displeased they were with a proposed 152-unit multifamily housing development near Colburn Park went home disappointed after the board’s Monday night meeting, as the bulk of the discussion was moved to May.

The one item relevant to the project that did make the meeting, involving a boundary adjustment, was largely a formality that passed unanimously. The adjustment follows the purchase of approximately 0.11 acres at 12 S. Park St. from the city of Lebanon. The City Council voted last week to transfer that slice of land to the developer for $12,899.44.

According to staff documents presented to the board, the property was needed so the development would “have the setback necessary.”

Senior Planner and Zoning Administrator Tim Corwin told the Planning Board the city had no concerns about the boundary adjustment.

Jim Wasser, of Studio Nexus Architects + Planning in White River Junction, represented the applicant, developer Recreo LLC, based in Franconia, N.H. He told the Planning Board the land would be useful for several reasons.

“The building we want to put at that end of the property is on terrain that is quite sloped,” Wasser said. “This will allow us to orient the building to go with the slope and not against. It will also allow us to create a very nice courtyard in front of the building, including picnic tables, sitting walls and landscaping.”

The property in question is located at 2 Mascoma St., the site of the former Village Market near Colburn Park.

The proposed two-phase, 152-unit multifamily development calls for two structures: a five-story, 48,000-square-foot building with 72 units and a six-story, 56,800-square-foot building with 80 units.

About 80% of the units would be studio apartments and 20% one-bedroom.

The development would make site improvements and provide onsite parking for the residents.

The smaller building would include an 8,000-square-foot basement parking garage with room for 17 cars. Additional parking lots would provide for a total of 99 parking spaces, according to the project narrative provided to the city.

At Monday’s meeting, about a dozen attendees were surprised to learn the sale of the sliver of land had already been approved.

Resident Mary Ann Mastro criticized the process as difficult for residents to follow, with multiple boards taking up different pieces of the project.

Planning Board chair Bruce Garland assured the audience the board was just fulfilling its duty to examine a request for a boundary change and that the purchase had been handled by the City Council. He also acknowledged that it was difficult to follow but promised residents they would have a chance to address the board at every step.

Previous plans for the project have said the first phase of the project would be the smaller of the two structures, which would be built behind the building that previously housed the Village Market, which closed in 2018. Developer Mike Davidson purchased the property in December.

The larger building would be erected at the corner of Mascoma Street and Water Street.

The two buildings may be followed by a third six-story structure combining 21,000 square feet of commercial retail and office space on the bottom floor, with 71,000 square feet of residential space, creating 86 apartments on the upper five floors.

The third building would be in the current location of the Village Market, which at the moment is occupied by businesses offering tabletop games, laundry facilities, a tanning salon and a martial arts studio.

The third building is in the long-term planning stages, and developers would wait to see how the first two phases of the project proceeded.

Promoters of the plan say it falls in line with Lebanon’s goals to add high-density housing and would revitalize the downtown area.

The next meeting of the Planning Board will be held at 6:30 p.m. on May 9.

Darren Marcy can be reached at dmarcy@vnews.com or 802-291-4992.