LEWISTON — Several small streams run through the property where the new elementary school will be built near Lewiston High School.

That wetland is set to be protected from development forever by a buffer that will prevent development, City Planner David Hediger said.

The project needed a full site review from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. DEP granted the permit last month to build the new school and athletic fields, with a condition that the wetlands be protected.

On Monday night, the Lewiston Planning Board voted to recommend to the City Council that a 200-foot-wide buffer barring development be included in the deed.

The streams, some which run underground, are too small for fishing or any water activity. Many people didn’t know they existed, said Jeff Larimer, chief architect on the project.

While some of the wetland runs through the middle of the property and off East Avenue, with the buffer there is plenty of land to build the new school, new fields, a pedestrian path, playgrounds and parking, Larimer said.

The Planning Board’s recommendation is on the City Council’s April 4 agenda.