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NOTICE: This opinion is subject to motions for rehearing under Rule 22 as well as formal revision before publication in the New Hampshire Reports. Readers are requested to notify the Reporter, Supreme Court of New Hampshire, One Charles Doe Drive, Concord, New Hampshire 03301, of any editorial errors in order that corrections may be made before the opinion goes to press. Errors may be reported by E-mail at the following address: reporter@courts.state.nh.us. Opinions are available on the Internet by 9:00 a.m. on the morning of their release. The direct address of the court's home page is: http://www.courts.state.nh.us/supreme. THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW HAMPSHIRE ___________________________ Belknap No. 2006-797 SUZANNE K. DOYLE & a. v. TOWN OF GILMANTON & a. Argued: June 7, 2007 Opinion Issued: July 19, 2007 Preti, Flaherty, Beliveau & Pachios, PLLP, of Concord (Simon C. Leeming and Mark H. Puffer on the brief, and Mr. Leeming orally), for the plaintiffs. Upton & Hatfield, LLP, of Concord (Barton L. Mayer on the brief and orally), for the defendants. GALWAY, J. The defendants, the Town of Gilmanton and the Gilmanton Planning Board (board), appeal orders of the superior court relating to matters involving the property of the plaintiffs, Suzanne K. Doyle and James F. Doyle. We reverse. The following facts appear in the record. The plaintiffs own a sixty-two and one-half acre parcel in Gilmanton. In October 2005, the plaintiffs filed an application with the board seeking to subdivide their parcel into three building lots: Lot 1, which would consist of approximately three and one-half acres and would include the existing house; Lot 2, which would consist of approximately six and one-half acres; and Lot 3, which would consist of the approximately

fifty-two remaining acres. Despite the large size of Lot 3, the plaintiffs had difficulty identifying land suitable for building because the lot is covered extensively by wetlands. Indeed, the extent of the wetlands on the entire parcel led the board to question whether the proposed lots would meet the minimum building site size required by the Town of Gilmanton's Subdivision Regulations (regulations). To meet the regulations, each proposed building site must contain a minimum of 30,000 contiguous square feet of suitable soil. Gilmanton Subdivision Regulations

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