CHINA -- The Board of Appeals rejected Al Althenn's appeal of a subdivision permit granted to Joseph Sears last fall.

After almost three hours of testimony and discussion Wednesday evening, board members voted that the Planning Board acted properly in granting both the subdivision permit and a road standards waiver exempting Sears from having to rebuild existing roads.

Althenn's appeal raised several questions about Planning Board procedures, starting with whether the application was properly received. In a separate argument, he questioned the board's approval of Sears' waiver request.

His main concern, he said, is that in case of a fire, fire trucks could not travel the narrow gravel road to save his abutting wooded property.

Sears' attorney, Dan Dubord, pointed out that the road will be improved because of the subdivision.

Althenn replied that adding houses increases the chance of an accidental, human-caused fire.

Board of Appeals members divided Althenn's presentation into three separate questions and found that:

n The Planning Board's procedure was correct;

n The Planning Board's approval of the subdivision was based on substantial evidence; and

n The Planning Board's approval of the road standards waiver was based on substantial evidence and contained no clearly erroneous legal conclusions.

The first two votes were unanimous, with Chairman Spencer Aitel abstaining, as he habitually does when his vote is not needed to break a tie.

The vote on the third point was 4-1, with Robert Fischer dissenting.

Fischer argued that Planning Board members should have gone through the road standards individually and waived only the ones that would have been very difficult or impossible for Sears to meet.

Althenn said after the hearing he would consult with an attorney before deciding whether to appeal in court.

Sears' subdivision is off Alder Park Road.

The approved plan contains a total of 10 lots, some already sold and built on, served by two existing private gravel roads.

The existing roads do not meet China's standards for private subdivision roads, approved by voters in November 2007 to alleviate road problems for buyers of future subdivision lots.

Because Sears' subdivision was not approved before the November 2007 vote, the new standards applied.