WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — The Upper Valley Haven still plans to appeal the town Planning Commission’s decision to require a connector driveway between its parking lot and a neighboring church, though Haven officials said they no longer intend to build the low-barrier homeless shelter that led the town to demand the road.

The Haven intends to ask the Planning Commission to reconsider its decision in July. Commissioners — during a review of the Haven’s master plan — voted, 4-2, to require a driveway to connect the Haven’s parking lot with the lot of neighboring St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, which allows the Haven to use its parking lot when services aren’t being held.

The requirement forced the Haven to withdraw its application to build a 20-bed low-barrier homeless shelter on its property because the connector road would have to be constructed on space intended to build the shelter, according to Haven officials at the time.

Haven Director Michael Redmond reiterated this week that the Haven’s request for reconsideration is not part of an effort to reintroduce the proposed homeless shelter, which has faced opposition from some neighbors as well as concerns from members of the Hartford planning and zoning boards.

“We have no plans to add a low-barrier shelter at our Hartford Avenue location,” Redmond said in a statement on the Hartford Listserv, in response to residents who thought the Haven was attempting to resurrect the proposal.

In its application for reconsideration, Haven officials argue that the Planning Board imposed the driveway requirement without evidence of an existing safety issue.

The Haven also points to a traffic study by Erica Wygonik, an engineer with the Wall Consultant Group, of Boston, concluded that an internal connector between the parking lots was “not necessary nor recommended.”

“There are no transportation safety concerns with the site operations, no evidence of vehicle travel between the existing parking lots, a parking supply that exceeds maximum observed demand at both lots and several identified concerns with a new travel aisle between parking lots,” Wygonik stated in the study.

Planning commissioners in July said that a connector road would circumvent traffic issues on Hartford Avenue in an event where a Haven volunteer might have to travel from one lot to the other to find an available space.

But Wygonik’s study reported that each lot contains more than the minimal number required, even with the future addition of an 18-unit apartment building for people with low to moderate on St. Paul Church’s property.

In August, the Planning Commission voted, 5-2, to approve the low-income housing project, proposed by Twin Pines Housing Trust of White River Junction. Hartford Zoning Administrator Jo-Ann Ells told the Valley News at the time that the project still needed to apply for a zoning permit but “(has) received all the necessary approvals from the Zoning Board of Adjustment and Planning Commission.”

Twin Pines, which will own the St. Paul’s parking lot, plans to expand the lot to add an additional 11 parking spaces to accommodate tenants of the apartments. Based on the agreement between the Haven and St. Paul’s in regard to how the two lots would be shared, Wygonik concluded that the shared parking plan “would more than exceed the parking demand for the various uses” and that the individuals using the lots will “not need to use the surrounding street network to locate parking.”

The Planning Commission was originally scheduled to hear the Haven’s appeal on Monday, but Haven officials asked the commission for a continuance, according to Ells.

The next meeting date has not been announced on the town calendar, though the commission typically holds one to three meetings per month.

“I’m not certain when we will appear before the Planning Commission,” Redmond told the Valley News on Wednesday. “We’re trying to align schedules and have full attendance by the Planning Commission members, too.”

Patrick Adrian may be reached at 603-727-3216 or at padrian@vnews.com.