PLAINFIELD — Plainfield could see an influx of new families should the Planning Board approve an 18-lot subdivision scheduled for a preliminary discussion at a meeting on Monday.

If approved, the project would be the largest subdivision in Plainfield in two decades, according to Town Administrator Stephen Halleran. In the housing-starved Upper Valley, any residential development draws attention, but in Plainfield, with a population of nearly 2,500, it would be notable to bring in so many new residents.

“It’s certainly a project that has our attention,” Halleran said.

The proposed site, some 214 acres spread along Bean and Gleason roads, is less than a mile east of Route 120 and includes a single residence, woodlots and a former trucking depot.

The subdivision would create large lots for 15 new single-family homes, according to the application on the Town of Plainfield’s website. The proposal was submitted by the property owner Michael Venditto, who currently lives on a residential lot on Bean Road that would be part of the subdivision, and his attorneys at Exeter, N.H.-based DTC Lawyers.

Eric A. Maher, of DTC Lawyers, said Venditto’s project would utilize a sizable tract of land for residential purposes while respecting the property’s natural features and protecting the environment. Pointing to New Hampshire’s current housing crisis due to low inventory and high demand, Maher said he and Venditto “want to provide housing in a way that maintains the rural character of the neighborhood and of the community.” The site is about 30 minutes by car from Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.

Possible concerns, Halleran noted, were road conditions on Bean Road, which could require updating, and wetlands protection.

The 23-page proposal calls for two new driveways on Gleason Road, and other lots would stem off the paved portion of Bean Road, requiring no updates. Bean and Gleason roads have existing utility infrastructure that would serve the lots. Each of the lots, which range in size from 3.5 acres to nearly 40 acres, would have its own well and septic system.

Halleran also noted that neighbors to the potential project — referred to legally as abutters — have been notified and may attend Monday’s public meeting to express their opinions.

One neighbor, Lee Lynd, a professor of engineering at Dartmouth College, said that he did not want to comment until the meeting on Monday. He said his hope was that all parties involved with or affected by the project would “listen to each other and make a good start toward a way forward that is responsive to the interests and concerns of all involved.”

While many of the adjacent properties include homes, other nearby neighbors include Kimball Union Academy and the Blue Mountain Forest Association, a private game reserve.

Halleran says that this process is still in informal stages.

“This is not a formal discussion yet,” he said. “This is a chance for everybody to get together in a room and talk. The idea is to see what will be proposed.”

While the project is in an early phase, Halleran said that “it is very important the town show no favor to concerns of the applicant or to concerns of the abutters, especially when the process has not yet begun. We’ll take it one step at a time.”

Maher said that his team is “looking forward to meaningful feedback and working with the Planning Board to create a formal application for the project.”

The Planning Board meeting is scheduled to take place on Monday at 7 p.m. at the Plainfield Town Hall on Main Street. The meeting will also be accessible by Zoom and the link can be found on the Town of Plainfield website.

Molly Shimko can be reached at mollydshimko@gmail.com.