Goboro Road plan criticized

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:29:00 GMT

The proposed Towle Farm Estates housing development off Goboro Road, near the Epsom/Chichester line, is receiving critical reviews so far from a cross-section of Epsom residents.

Developer Roger Bartlett hopes to put 42 single-family homes in a cluster development on part of the 275 acres. The land has been in his family for years. The property is at Tax Map R-13, Lot 36-1. The back 160 acres will be conservation land, with the easement held and monitored by the New England Forestry Foundation.

But residents have concerns ranging from water to traffic, and a standing-room-only crowd expressed their misgivings in several public meetings. Judy Gibson, who lives off Goboro Road, worries about runoff from the new homes to the Suncook River, which borders the development.

“They will fertilize their lawns,” she said of her potential new neighbors, “and every house will have a septic tank. I asked about it in the meeting, and the response was, ‘We’ll put in catchbasins with filters.’ I asked, ‘Who will take care of the catchbasins?’ and they said, ‘The town.’ That’s another tax burden on the town, and it was kind of a surprise for me.”

“The property does slope down to the river,” Bartlett said, pointing out, “It’s been a wetland for hundreds of years.”

He submitted his wetlands application to the Department of Environmental Services, who reviewed it. He said he is required to deal with drainage issues, and is doing so through culverts, swales and catchbasins. The engineering firm hired by the town, SSC, is comfortable with his drainage plans, he said.

While there may be runoff to the river, the development itself doesn’t have water, Jim Breagy, a 31-year resident of Goboro Road, said. He’s checked with two plumbers, both of whom told him wells would have to be drilled.

“You’re going to shove 40 houses in an area with no water?” Breagy asked rhetorically. Bartlett countered that he’s done test pits and perc tests, and “there is enough water.”

Traffic is also an issue with Breagy. Goboro has deteriorated over the years and is “like a bubble,” higher in the middle, he said.

There is already a problem with truckers passing through to Route 28, even though the road is supposed to be posted. “They do it to avoid the weight check,” he said.

In the summer, the road is filled with young moms with strollers, joggers and people walking their dogs. He’s concerned about the impact of cars from 40 more homes, he said.

“I understand the concern,” Bartlett said, “and it’s well-founded. The Planning Board has had the same concern for a while.”

A traffic study was done and reviewed by SSC.study found that 80 percent of the traffic generated by his development would head toward Route 28, he said, and he’s already talked with the state about his role in improvements to Route 28.

“It is a legitimate concern, and the board is looking at offsite improvements I can do.”

Traffic, he said, is an “open issue.” Police Chief Wayne Preve wanted additional signage on the road, he added.

Breagy is also concerned, he said, that there has been no engineers’ report on the planned development.

“They need to tell us: Is it feasible or not feasible?” he said. And Bartlett doesn’t “know where he’s coming from” on that. “I could not have submitted my application without the engineering work already done,” he said.

He’s contracted with Northpoint Engineering to do the engineering studies. In addition to their studies and those of SSC, Keith Cota, selectmen’s representative to the Planning Board and an engineer, has done a “careful and methodical” review, Bartlett said.

Other residents worry about school children and their effect on Epsom’s public school system. Bartlett said he has provided his “school projections.” Some people object to the strain on town services such as police and fire, but Bartlett said Preve and Fire Chief Stewart Yeaton haven’t come up with any major issues.

“The town zoning,” Bartlett said, “allows for this type of project in this type of area.” And the town may actually benefit, he added. The property is in current usage, with a portion of the taxes abated.

“If it comes out of current usage, the town gets paid – as much as $200,000 to $300,000,” he said.

Planning Board Chairman Dan McGuire sees the situation as “an objection to building in general” on the quiet rural road. He said, “We’ve received more opposition to this development than to any other since I’ve been on the board.”

Developer Adam Towne is working on a 25-house subdivision in another part of town, and hasn’t seen any controversy. But for Goboro Road there is, McGuire concluded, a “general anti-development feeling.”

And for Jim Breagy, that is part of the issue.

“You go on Goboro Road and all the houses are a good distance apart,” he said, adding, “It’s a very homey environment.”

The Planning Board will hold a public hearing on Towle Farm Estates Wednesday, July 8. For more information, call the Town Office at 736-9002.

Epsom News : development

Goboro Road plan criticized