New Sub-Division in Fort Rock?

This season there has been on-going land surveying taking place near the Watson Rd. Powerlines area of Fort Rock. Over the past few weeks I have noticed test pits being dug and bulldozers clearing access points for what I assume are larger trucks and equipment.

The LBS told me they are building a new a sub-divison but had no details as to the size and whether anyone was working with the developer on this issue.

This obviously won't impact Oaklands or Swazey Forest or most of Ft. Rock but could jeopordize a great access point on the Newfields/Exeter Line and some of the Bridge Trail around the beaver bog which has some nice sections to it.

Does anyone have any information on the project and whether NEMBA has spoken with the developers?

Thanks

[radair]

I know the surveyor that worked on the project. He said it's a done deal - I don't know how many homes or how much land is involved, but it can't be good. :'(

PK - Do you have any additional info on this?

I'd be happy to help out.

[radair]

I'm told the development is NOT a done deal and that there have been discussions with the developer (don't know who's discussing what, though). The developer may be Eric Chinburg and the engineer is Jones & Beach.

I'll dig into it a bit more and post what I find out.

I'm told the development is NOT a done deal and that there have been discussions with the developer (don't know who's discussing what, though). The developer may be Eric Chinburg and the engineer is Jones & Beach.

I'll dig into it a bit more and post what I find out.


Thanks for the info. I live down the street from there and haven't heard anything. There are some stables up near those powerlines so I gotta assume there are others interested in what is going on. Plus some of those access points are utilized heavily by skimobiles.

I'll keep my ears open.

[radair]

Yo NOO -

I do have a bit more info on this. Please drop me an e-mail and I'll send you what I have and who you can contact.

Sounds better than I originally thought.

[Sci Teach]

Please, let the rest of us know the news, too! There are many of us out here that love to ride at "The Rock". If there are people to talk with and to work with and to advocate leaving some green space that can stay as current usage, we should get organized. IF there is a chance of working with the owner to cut a deal like NEMBA is working for at Vietnam, why not do the same here.

[radair]

I put NOO in contact with a surveyor that works for the developer and real estate person involved. I believe they are in the process of setting up a meeting to discuss the options.

Nils, please keep us all informed!

[radair]

Info on Fort Rock Development:

The developer Eric Chinburg is hosting a neighborhood meeting at Scott Gove's office (GMAC Norwood Realty Stratham) next Saturday morning 1/25/03 at 9:00. The objective of the meeting is to let people see what is being proposed before it goes to a public hearing at the planning board level. Scott Gove suggested that this would be a good time for mountain bikers to offer suggestions. I have the impression that Eric may entertain possible re-route of existing trails around areas of proposed development. In anticipation that this is so, it would be reasonable that Eric will expect some level of support from our mountain bike community. Even a letter that expresses the importance of this area to the riders and thanks Eric for taking this into consideration.

Thanks Radair for the post and for leveraging your contacts.

To refresh everyone this is regarding development off the Watson Rd trailhead (powerlines) to Ft. Rock in Exeter NH. This access takes you to the Beaver Bog as well as what is referred to as the BLT trail and the Red and Blue trails on the North side of 101.

The land we are referencing is from Tax Map 11, Lots 16 & 17 and was formerly the Exeter Land Trust parcel. As this land abuts some property in my neighborhood, the local residents have been invited to attend. I have also spread the word at the LBS.

They are looking for suggestions from MTBers and all interested need to get involved. I just learned about this meeting today as well and unfortunately I am scheduled to be out of town when this meeting takes place (1/25/03 at 9am.) Although I am doing everything I can to be there, it may not be feasible. I have been pursuing the when and where of this meeting for sometime and it is of great interest to me as a MTBer, as a land mgt advocate and as a local resident.

If anyone needs directions or is planning to attend please let me know. I will be arriving in from Boston later that day and would like to know what went on. I can PM you my contact info.

Thanks,

Nils

[snembalen]

Great work to identify and dig into this folks!

Mark (AKA Kibby) and I will be attending the meeting top represent Seacoast NEMBA to offer ideas and support.

Thank you for your assistance on this and we will post a report on the details of the meeting.

Len

[snembalen]

Kibby and I attended the Abutters meeting for the proposed development at Fort Rock this morning. Kibby introduced me to John and Don, two of the gentlemen on the Exeter Conservation Committee. We talked with them before and after the meeting and they are really nice guys. We also met Bill and Steve who are part of the workforce that has done a tremendous job on the Oakland’s side of the highway. If all goes well there is a good chance we will all be working together in the future building new trails.

The developers of this property are going with a conservation design which could prove beneficial for the town, developer and trail users. The conservation design will allow for more units than would typically be allowed if the developers can meet specific town guidelines. These guidelines require setting aside land as well as constructing more affordable housing with some of the units.
Often times these designs can work in the favor of the developer as they “donate” the land that is difficult to work with and gain the extra units without a penalty. This does not seem to be to situation in this case, as the donated land is a very nice scenic piece of property.
In this case if the property was developed under the two acre minimum they would yield 77 single family homes with no space for conservation land or trails. And also the ability to put units on the proposed "donated" land.
With the conservation design there will be 96 units, a large parcel donated to conservation (30 acres I believe) and the ability to develop a trail network. Seventy six buildings will be single family homes. Twenty of the remaining units will be comprised of four 5 unit buildings.

The developer Eric Chinburg and the others on his team were very positive and appear to be willing to work with cyclist and the Conservation Committee to accommodate a trail system.
I look forward to working with Eric, Bill, Steve, Kibby and the Conservation Committee to help recreate a trail network. This will be a huge project and we will need the support of all riders in the area to help build the new trail network. Of course we want to keep with the technical tradition and character of the existing trails.
Looking at the plans, the famous bridges that we all love (they were built by deer if anyone asks ;)) will not remain but most likely moved to other locations.

As it stands now there are many parts of the process still being worked on for the developers; further wetland, water and septic studies as well as planning board and Conservation Committee meetings. If all goes extremely well the developers expect to have approval to establish the road system starting in November of this year, which will impact the existing trails. Any delays in getting approvals will of course push out this timeframe.

These types of meetings are always tough for the abutters and there were some very valid concerns brought to light by the existing landowners. It is only my opinion but the developers seemed willing to listen and work with the neighbors to accommodate them to the best of their ability.

Of course the development is still in the early stages but I felt this first meeting was very positive and I am looking forward to working with this group to keep trails accessible in the area.

[dsi]

We are very fortunate the developer is even considering allowing the use of the trails to continue. He is proposing to have deed restriction that state that the trails shall remain open to biking, hiking, skiing (non-motorized use). Talking to the developer after the meeting he expressed concern that many of the abutters seemed to prefer a conventional design vs. the open space design. For those that enjoy riding out there the conventional design would end that option. For the record, I can not claim any credit for the great trail work, other than adding traffic, as mentioned in the previous post. Steve and his friends deserve all the credit. Thanks to those that came to the meeting I think our message was heard clearly. Bill

[Tim]

Before you canonize the developer, realize that he is supporting the "conservation" design only because he thinks he will make more money, more easily, by building more units and avoiding all the engineering costs on the individual units. Without going through a complete engineering assessment on the conventional design, you can't really tell whether it would have been better or worse.

Massachusetts has a thing called a "Comprehensive Permit" which lets developers bypass all local zoning as long as they make some of the housing "affordable." The ludicrous part of it is that only a small fraction of the units built have to be actually affordable, and for only a very few years. Can you guess who rammed the Comprehensive Permit legislation through on Beacon Hill?

Sounds like the situation in Fort Rock may be the same type of thing.


Tim

[knucklebuste]

Hey as long as the developer and the politicians pockets are fat thats all that matters right? System sucks and so do all the fat ass greedy politicians that run it. Knuckle

The local residents have been notified there will be a Public Hearing at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 13th, concerning a request by Sandy Brook Corporation for a proposed open space (cluster) subdivision. The meeting will take place in the Nowak room of the Town office bldgs. The town offices are at 10 Front Street and the phone number is 603-778-0591 extension 112.


Nils

***********************************

From Chairman of Exeter Planning:

"The applicant is proposing to develop approximately 360+/- acres into residential open space subdivision providing a multiple variety of housing units. The subject property is located on Watson Road in the RU-Rural zoning district."

"You are invited to appear at the town office building (Nowak Room) in person or by agent or by counsel to review the applicants proposal and state reasons why the request should or should not be granted."

************

From the Exeter News-Letter Today. There is reference to the builder working with mountain bike groups.

(Also there is a deliberative meeting tommorrow at 9:00 in town hall to discuss a warrant that includes a provision for a 3 million dollar bond for the town to buy open space in Exeter.)

Here is the article:


By Lara Bricker
lbricker@seacoastonline.com

EXETER - The Planning Board and members of the public will get their first look at plans for a 95-lot cluster/open space housing development off Watson Road next Thursday night.

The proposed development, being brought forward by Eric Chinburg, of Chinburg Builders, is one of the largest developments to come before the Planning Board in recent years. It is also the first development to take advantage of a zoning ordinance approved last year that offers incentives to developers who build affordable housing.

The plans are still in the very early stages, Town Planner Sylvia Von Aulock stressed.

"This is just meant to be a preliminary, conceptual public hearing," Von Aulock said this week.

Chinburg added, "We want the Planning Board and abutters’ feedback. We’re there to present our vision."

The Planning Board meeting begins at 7 p.m. Feb. 13 in the Nowak Room of the Town Offices.

The 270-acre parcel is in the area of a hairpin turn on Watson Road where the power lines go through. The plan is being proposed as a cluster/open space development vs. the traditional subdivision route. Under this style of development, Chinburg can apply for more house lots than a traditional subdivision, because of incentives to preserve land and build affordable housing. Under the traditional subdivision route, he could build 77 lots, while with the two incentives, he can build 95.

If Chinburg deeds 50 percent of the land to the town - rather than the standard 30 percent - for conservation, he is allowed to build 10 percent more house lots, under a town zoning ordinance.

Chinburg said Thursday that the plan at this point is to give the town 50 percent of the land, which abuts the town forest. He added that the land is not all wetlands or land that is not buildable.

"We’re preserving some beautiful uplands, we’re preserving a whole hill and a 26-acre piece that’s almost all upland," he said.

With the addition of this land, the town of Exeter would have about 1,000 continuos acres of land in the town forest.

"I’ve really been trying as a developer in this area to work with planning boards toward better subdivision designs that allow us to build on a smaller lot so we can leave more open space," Chinburg said.

While the house lots will be smaller than the traditional two-acre subdivision-sized lots-coming in between half an acre to one acre-Chinburg said he feels the open space around the houses will make up for the lot sizes.

"We’re trying to do a subdivision based on the landscape," Chinburg said.

The developers group has also been working with local mountain bike groups to help reconnect some trails in the area.

In addition to the bonus for deeding more land for conservation, Chinburg will be able to apply for 15 percent more houses on top of that because part of his plans include "work force housing." The work force housing would make up only a portion of the development and would include four buildings with five condominiums a piece in each. The condos would range from about $130,000 to $160,000.

While Chinburg acknowledges that he won’t make any money on the work force housing, he will be able to sell the other types of houses at market price. In addition to the condos, the development will feature single-family cottages and homes as well as more expensive estates.

Chinburg held a preliminary meeting with the abutters to the proposed project last week and said they had some valid concerns and questions. Some were concerned that work force housing would be unattractive apartments. He pointed out that the condos would be designed by an architect and would sit on a green, landscaped area. Some others were concerned about the traffic impact the development would have on the area, especially near the sharp corner.

Related issue.

I attended the Exeter Deliberative Session for the 2003 town warrant. One of the articles proposes that Exeter seek a 3 milllion dollar bond to buy some of the remaining open space. The article recieved overwhelming support from both residents, town planning, town inspector, and the conservation committee. All residents in favor are invited to vote on the warrant on March 11th. This would allow the town to buy 800 of the remaining 3300 acres of open space remaining in Exeter.

NOO

[dsi]

Prepare to be shocked at how little 3 million will really buy. Ten times that might buy the Chinburg Site. Still a worth while effort, just don't want you to get to excited.

Attended the Public Hearing last night. It was a preliminary gathering for the the Planning Board and Residents to see a presentation on the proposed development. Wetlands Scientist, Engineers, and Land Design Architects presented. The planning board and residents then gave feedback and suggestions. Traffic studies, water systems, etc. were not completed yet.

I will only comment on the mtb aspect. I was pleased with the amount and tone of references to Bike trails and MTBers. The proposal included and referenced intentions to include trail networks that would connect to the town land (Oaklands and Swazey (aka Ft. Rock). The town planner also suggested that the there be thought given to a small parking area where mtber's could unload their bikes. The premise was to offer public access for use of the open space and recreational trails. As was mentioned earlier, the builder seems to remain committed to working with the residents and bike community.

Again it was stressed that this was a preliminary meeting. However, I got the impression that the design was aesthetically and evironmentally a good starting point for the board.

NOO

Another hearing. Plans have scaled back based on number of homes.

*******

Notification of a public hearing to be held Thursday, October 9,
2003
>at 7:00 PM at the Town Office Building (Nowak Room) concerning a
request by
>Sandy Brook Corporation for the consolidation and resubdivision of
several
>parcels of land for a proposed open space development to include 58
single
>family residential lots and four residential lots for duplex dwellings
and
>a site plan review for a 28 unit congregate housing development and
>associated site improvements. The subject properties are located on
Watson
>Road.

[Daniel Wylie]

Hey there!!!!
I want to thank you guys for clearing up all the mixups that I had about Ft Rock. I was getting all my facts wrong till I just read this information which was very helpful to me so now I know the whole story behind it all. I was earlier informed by another source in regarding this case. So what I would like to do is to express my concerns as well for Ft Rock but would need a ride to get there. You guys have it well put together as it goes of getting the facts when it comes to the truth. As for me living here in Nashua, I still got a hell of lot to learn back here so good luck to you all. ;D

Daniel Wylie