Passionate Debate Stirs Over Fort Rock Farm in Exeter

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Web resources:

• Save Fort Rock Farm Website

Outside Exeter’s town hall Tuesday night, angry residents clamored to get inside a zoning board meeting.
nats(reschedule…the doors will be closed…this is not a legal meeting…abutters aren’t even allowed in)
Police refused to let more inside -- the hall was already filled to capacity with 495 people.
(nat sound)
Residents were hungry to express their opinions about a proposal that has already sparked a vicious debate . . . St. Michael’s catholic church wants to develop what some residents feel is one of the prettiest spots of open space in Exeter – Fort Rock Farm.
(save fort rock, save fort rock)
Residents stuck outside town hall shouted through windows and held up signs.
The turmoil led zoning board members to postpone the debate.
Father Mark Drouin, (drew-in) pastor of St. Michael’s, says he never would have imagined this reaction from some members of the community.
1068 I’m distressed about it, in one respect, distressed because people on one level fail to realize that this is private property, they’re treating it like a public park and a public space.
For generations, Fort Rock Farm has sat along the banks of the Squamscott River.
The open space, historic barn and homestead are the first sites people see as they enter town on Newfields Road.
St. Michael's parish wants to build a 15-thousand 800 square foot church, along with 286 parking spaces.
Two additional buildings would add another 17-thousand square feet to the development.
Father Drouin says their current church, located in downtown Exeter, can seat only 475 parishioners and it serves more than two thousand families.
1065 1:48 we have almost four masses right now, two are full to capacity, one is almost full, the other one fluctuates from half full to more than that”
The church also uses five buildings around Exeter – their plan would put all their activities on one site.
1044 (the impact will be horrific)
That’s Eileen Cusick, she lives next door to Fort Rock Farm and is fighting to preserve it from development.
1044 1:40 it’s not a Wal-Mart but it’s high impact and it’s going to be a high density use in what has been rural, it’s going to change the character of the town tremendously and it’s just unimaginable for me to think about.
Opponents of the project have formed a nonprofit organization called Save Fort Rock Farm Circle.
They want to see the area permanently conserved.
They’ve strategically placed “Save Fort Rock Farm” on billboards and signs all over Exeter, they’ve established a website, and they’ve even dressed scarecrows with Save Fort Rock Farm T-shirts.
At a recent meeting of the group, Chairman John Hauschildt (How-shult) said he’s worried about traffic, aesthetics and environmental damage.
John: we’ve got a river on one side, we’ve got wetlands on the property that are going to be encroached quite substantially, this road floods quite a bit, putting more impervious surface is not going to help towards that means, adding more cars, putting about 300 cars in this small spot is not going to help the environment at all
Fort Rock Farm’s owner, Warren Henderson, says he’s shocked by the effort of those opposed to the plan.
He says he offered to sell the land to the church because he thought it would be the best way to preserve most of the property.
The church – at this point - plans to leave more than 40 acres untouched.
1061 4:31 what we’re talking about is six acres out of a 53-acre parcel, they evidently want everything open and no development, and that ignores the needs of St. Michaels, it ignores the rights of the property owner, and candidly, it’s not a level of control that the public ought to have on private land.
St. Michael’s capital campaign chairman Paul Young says plans for the site have changed based on concerns from residents.
Originally, the buildings were within the 300 foot shoreline protection zone – now they’ve been moved back.
As Young walks the site, he points out that the church is working to preserve the environmental integrity of the land.
1076 3:26 we have a team of experts, soil experts, environmental experts, who have been working along with us who feel very confident and they’ve gotten in preliminary discussion with state and local authorities and there seems to be nothing of environmental sensitivity that cannot be addressed and we’re going to address all those concerns.
But members of Exeter’s Conservation Commission are still concerned about the effect on the environment.
They recently sent a letter to zoning board members citing the amount of impervious surface from buildings and parking and how replacing meadows with asphalt will radically change the environmental attributes of the area.
They also noted that the amount of wetlands that would be filled would be more than a residential development – which is what the area is zoned for.
Exeter resident and opponent Troy Hartley says the town already has too much paved surface – the church’s project would make it worse.
1041 :42 we’re right there we’re pushing the threshold of seriously degrading our water quality, the Swampscott River and the Great Bay with any more impervious surfaces, whether its more road whether it’s the parking they’re proposing, all the buildings they’re proposing.
But church officials say they’re looking at alternatives to asphalt, including porous pavement.
The church’s website even says they want to make the church the greenest on the seacoast.
Father Drouin says he’s been searching for a good site in Exeter for five years and he sees this land as a gift from God.
The proposal will still have a tough fight – even if it passes the zoning board, it still must pass the planning board.
The Save Fort Rock Farm Circle plans on fighting it every step of the way.
For NHPR news, I’m Amy Quinton.