GRA: Ed 321.03 Minimum Standards for School Sites

From the New Hampshire General Court Administrative Rules
CHAPTER Ed 300 ADMINISTRATION OF MINIMUM STANDARDS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS:

        Ed 321.03 Minimum Standards for School Sites.

        (a) A school site shall have safe access, parking, drainage, security, and sufficient buildable area to accommodate a school facility that complies with the minimum gross site sizes as described in Ed 321.03 (f).

        (b) There shall be access for emergency vehicles from at least 2 directions.
                (Editor's Note: The proposed site is to be accesses from Elm Street only.)

        (c) The first occupied floor of school buildings located within a 100 year flood plain shall be constructed at an elevation at least one foot higher than the base flood elevation for a 100 year flood at that location.

        (d) Prior to acquisition of a site, the school district shall have surveys conducted to ascertain, as much as practicable, that past use of the site has not resulted in conditions hazardous to public health, public safety, or to the environment, or matters of interest for historical preservation under RSA 227-C that cannot be adequately removed, abated, or mitigated.

        (e) The following shall not be considered buildable land for the purpose of comparing a given site to the minimum site sizes in Ed 321.03 or to the maximum site sizes in Ed 321.04:

                (1) Wetlands, including required setbacks from wetlands;

                (2) Areas with slopes in excess of 60 percent;

                (3) Areas with extensive amounts of bedrock within 6 feet of the surface; and

                (4) Sites known to be contaminated with hazardous materials.

        (f) The minimum site size approvable for school building aid for new construction, including additions to existing buildings, for elementary schools, middle schools and junior high schools, and senior high schools shall be as follows:

                (1) For an elementary school the minimum site size shall be 5 acres of contiguous
                      buildable land, plus one additional acre for each 100 students or fraction thereof
                      for the design capacity of the school building;
                        (Editor's Note: The largest contiguous section of the proposed site is 2.5 acres.
                         The total required for a 200 student kindergarten is 7 contiguous acres.)

                (2) For a middle school or junior high school the minimum site size shall be 10 acres
                      of contiguous buildable land, plus one additional acre for each 100 students or fraction
                      thereof for the design capacity of the school building;

                (3) For a high school the minimum site size shall be 15 contiguous acres of buildable land,
                      plus one additional acre for each 100 students or fraction thereof for the design capacity
                      of the school building; and

                (4) In all cases, if the design capacity of the core space is greater than the design capacity
                      of the educational space, the site size shall reflect the higher number.

        (g) Whenever a district has a school site that does not meet the site size requirements in Ed 321.03(f) for a new building or an addition to an existing building, the school board may request a waiver for the minimum site size under Ed 321.30.

        (h) The school board shall provide the following information in its request for a waiver:

                (1) A site utilization plan showing all pertinent features for meeting the requirements of the
                      educational specifications that includes:

                        a. The location for parking;

                        b. Out-of-door play areas;

                        c. Other municipal playing fields; and

                        d. Any other spaces available for student use;

                (2) A long-range plan for any planned expansion of future spaces, such as additions, playing
                      fields, parking lots and any other spaces available for student use; and

                (3) Any pertinent data relative to land values and the availability of other property, contiguous
                      or not, that can be acquired to enlarge a school site.

        (i) Renovations and substantial renovations apply only to buildings and specifically shall not include site improvements or modifications as those terms are defined in Ed 303.02(l) and (n).

                                                                    Source. #8265, eff 1-22-05