Opinion ID: 1954124
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Remand of Wetlands Issue

Text: In its cross-appeal, Graystone contends that the superior court erred by remanding to the board for further review the wetlands impact of the development depicted in the yield plan. The superior court found that the yield plan did not comply with applicable subdivision regulations, which required the plan to show all wetlands and proposed disturbances in sufficient detail so that the board could assess the impact, and to show that the proposed wetlands disturbance would be minimized in accordance with DES requirements. The superior court found that although the yield plan depicted the location of the wetlands, it did not contain detailed information about the proposed disturbances and impact on those wetlands. Accordingly, it ruled that the board erred when it approved the yield plan. Rather than reversing this aspect of the board's decision, however, the superior court remanded to the board to obtain the information necessary for determining whether the yield plan complied with the applicable regulations. Graystone contends that remand is unnecessary either because the board waived the wetlands portion of the applicable regulations or because the evidence before the board was sufficient to establish that the yield plan, in fact, complied with these regulations. We agree with Graystone that remand was improper, but uphold the superior court's predicate finding that the board erred when it approved the yield plan because there was insufficient evidence that it met the applicable subdivision regulations. The superior court's ruling that the yield plan failed to comply with the applicable regulations is supported by the evidence and is not legally erroneous. Summa Humma Enters., 151 N.H. at 79, 849 A.2d 146. While the regulations require the yield plan to show all wetlands and proposed disturbances in sufficient detail so that the board could assess the impact of a conventional development upon the wetlands, the yield plan that Graystone submitted failed to contain such detail. Under these circumstances, it was not error for the superior court to conclude that the board unreasonably approved the yield plan. Having determined this, however, the superior court should have reversed the board's approval of the yield plan, instead of remanding to the board for it to determine whether the plan complied with the applicable regulations. We, therefore, vacate the superior court's decision to remand this issue to the board.