Seven years after Coos County planners approved a Planned Unit Development for The Balsams, the development team is back before the planning board,

LANCASTER — Seven years after Coos County planners approved a Planned Unit Development for The Balsams, the development team is back before the planning board, this time seeking site plan approval for an expanded ski area. During a 3-hour site plan review hearing on Wednesday at the North Country Resource Center, lead developer Les Otten said there are still no guarantees that the redevelopment of the grand resort in Dixville that has been shuttered since 2011 will happen and financing can only fall into place after the project receives its permits, which planners held off on approving because they still need more information. The hearing was continued to March 8. Because one ski trail would come within 575 feet of a Granite Reliable Power wind turbine, planners want more information and assurance that the icing plan will keep skiers safe in the event the spinning turbine sheds a fragment of ice.