Developer seeks approval for 59 condos near Stratham, Exeter
STRATHAM — A developer is looking to construct 59 condos on the StrathamExeter town line.
Green & Company went before the town’s Zoning Board Tuesday seeking a variance to allow single-family housing in a commercial zone at 13 and 15 Stoney Brook Lane.
The board voted 4-1 that the proposed project will have a regional impact. Exeter and the Rockingham Planning Commission will now get an opportunity to weigh in on the proposal before a decision is made on granting zoning relief.
Representing Green & Company, Joe Coronati of Jones & Beach Engineers told the board this is the third variation for residential development at the location. The first two proposals didn’t go anywhere due to the need for water and sewer from Exeter. One was for 400plus housing units and another for 128 townhouses.
“Anything of a substantial size out here really needs water and sewer,” he said. “The town of Stratham has voted against water and sewer… we’ve had about a year of discussion with Exeter that just ultimately didn’t go anywhere.”
The new proposal relies on private water wells and septic tanks.
The project calls for 59 stand-alone, three-bedroom condos with a deck attached to each unit. Coronati said the units will look similar to a single-family house but have all the perks of condominium ownership, such as private roads and full maintenance service.
Developer Michael Green of Green & Company said the “dilapidated” area has been undeveloped for a long time. The 77-acre property is off Route 108 past the Route 101 interchange going toward Exeter.
“If it would work for commercial (building), it would have been done,” said Green.
Currently, there are four single-family houses in the area, all built before the re-zoning by the town. Coronati said the “best use for the property is single-family units,” which is “consistent with the town’s goal of needing additional housing units.”
“Locally in Stratham, the demand has been for single-family homes that are freestanding, something that can be built one at a time, sold one at a time, occupied one at a time,” he said. “As the demand is sought by the developers and by the public, the units will be built and sold – it’s not the same situation where you’re building many units and hoping to sell them at the end.”
Abutters air concerns about project
Stratham resident Drew Goddard said the town should plan for the future, not just today.
“The master plan clearly marked this parcel as commercial,” said Goddard.
Goddard said if the town wants to rezone the area, it should go on the ballot for “the people to decide.”
Greg Mann, a resident of Frying Pan Lane, said he is concerned with the project’s impact on public safety. He said the development has the potential to add 100 residents to the town.
“From a safety standpoint, our Fire Department in town isn’t even full-time or barely per diem, they’re barely parttime, so it’s not exactly staffed to an adequate level for the 8,000 (plus or minus) residents in town already,” Mann said.
Mann was also concerned the development may turn into a 55-plus age-restricted project.
Mann, a full-time firefighter in Merrimack, said in his experience, 80% of calls to his Fire Department are from a 55-plus community.
Green said the development is not set to be an age-restricted community. However, he said similar types of developments are age-targeted for “mostly empty nesters.”
Abutter Dot Cleary fears the development will impact traffic. There are currently two roads that lead to the area from Portsmouth Avenue, Stoney Brook Lane and Stoneybrook Connector, also known as Finch Lane (located in between McDonald’s and Gibbs gas station).
Cleary said the development will cause additional traffic on an already busy road, that includes a daycare, Lindt Chocolate Shop and a ConvenientMD Urgent Care.
“People that live on Stoney Brook Lane can attest that even with daycare traffic… they’re impacted by people trying to get off Portsmouth Avenue to turn in and pick up their kids,” said Cleary. “There’s also been considerable accidents right there at Finch Lane at the McDonald’s and gas station intersection.”
What’s next
Planning Director Mark Connors said the board plans to notify the town of Exeter and the Regional Planning Committee about the project.
By voting that the project has a regional impact, it affords abutting communities and the regional planning commission the status of an abutter.
The discussion on the project continues at the board’s next meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 9.