What is the proposed “Rose Farm” development?
Baker Properties, LLC is proposing to develop 49.9 acres of land in Exeter, NH with 37 single family houses priced in the $500,000+ range. Read more
Who owns the land?
Currently, Baker Properties, LLC under the name Exeter Rose Farm, LLC has a purchase and sale agreement on the property, which consists of three parcels that are owned by Frank and Mary Dagostino Heirs, Exeter Rose Farm and Frank A. & Betty Jane Dagostino and Benjamin & Joan Dagostino Revocable Trusts.
What are people concerned about?
Where is the Rose Farm property located?
Just outside the heart of downtown and up the hill from the Squamscott River and Swasey Parkway, the multiple adjoining properties are bordered by the railroad tracks to the east, the Henderson Swasey Town Forest to the north, the historic "Jailhouse Spring" on Oak Street to the South and Norris Brook Condominiums to the West. Norris Brook, which runs through the property, and its associated wetlands is a tributary to the Great Bay watershed.
Will this be affordable housing?
No. Based on comments made by the developer at the second Planning Board design review, the value of these homes will likely be upwards of $500,000 each.
Is conservation an option?
Yes, if Baker Properties is willing to negotiation with the community and Southeast Land Trust. Any use of the property is complicated by the fact that a portion of the land has been severely contaminated by the prior owners. The possibility of the land being purchased by the Town and being added to the Town Forest has not yet been explored.
I heard there is hazardous waste on the property. If the developers are going to clean it up, isn’t that a good thing?
The toxins on the property are a result of the Rose Farm activities as well as previous industrial use as a brickyard through the early 1900s. They include lead, arsenic, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and coal ash. For residential development to be possible, all toxins either need to be trucked off the property, past existing houses, through town to an offsite processing facility or capped with possible deed restrictions placed on future homes. Would you want to buy a house where you were advised not to have a garden or let your kids play in the dirt?
In a conservation scenario, where the land remains undisturbed, some or all of these toxins can remain in place without harming those using the land for recreational purposes.
Beyond the hazardous waste on the land, are there other environmental concerns related to this development.
Yes, many. Norris Brook runs through the property and empties directly into the Squamscott River. There are myriad vernal pools, wetlands and wildlife habitats that will be disrupted or destroyed if this property is developed. The natural spring, known as the Jailhouse Spring and accessed off Oak Street Extension, flows from an unknown aquifer that may be disrupted, damaged or polluted by the development.
What right do we have to tell someone what they can or can’t do with their property?
When the choices of individual owners have financial and other consequences for those around them, we all have a right to object to their activities.
When do we get to vote on the Rose Farm development?
You won’t directly. The developer must obtain approval from the Planning Board. However, if the Planning Board votes to approve this development, there will likely be upgrades to feeder roads, water and sewer lines, the cost of which may not be born fully by the developer. These upgrades (and their substantial costs) will eventually show up on a ballot as a warrant article that the Town’s residents would be responsible for approving before upgrades could be made (but not before the development could proceed).
Are there other residential projects underway in town currently that might magnify the larger impacts of this proposal?
Yes. In 2016 alone, more than 300 units of new residential housing were under construction. Historically, the 10-year average has been 50 units per year. The 37 houses being proposed for the Rose Farm will join more than a half dozen other projects either currently under construction or in the planning stages. The collective impact of several hundred more people living in town, driving through downtown, sending their children to school, contributing to our waste water system, and utilizing our emergency services will have a negative impact on our town budget and will increase our tax rates.
What is the West Side Neighborhood Coalition and the Exeter Area Conservancy?
The West Side Neighborhood Coalition is a neighborhood advocacy group comprised of residents of Salem, Oak, Wadleigh, Forest, and Walnut Streets and beyond, many of whom have lived in the neighborhood and Exeter for decades. The mission of the West Side Neighborhood Coalition is to be a voice of the residents who live in Exeter generally, and in the neighborhoods that lie west of Swasey Parkway specifically. We are small business owners, government employees, teachers, nurses, retirees and families who know that Exeter is special and want to keep it that way.
The West Side Neighborhood Coalition is part of the Exeter Area Conservancy, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
How can I help?
Baker Properties, LLC is proposing to develop 49.9 acres of land in Exeter, NH with 37 single family houses priced in the $500,000+ range. Read more
Who owns the land?
Currently, Baker Properties, LLC under the name Exeter Rose Farm, LLC has a purchase and sale agreement on the property, which consists of three parcels that are owned by Frank and Mary Dagostino Heirs, Exeter Rose Farm and Frank A. & Betty Jane Dagostino and Benjamin & Joan Dagostino Revocable Trusts.
What are people concerned about?
- Suitability of the land: The property is wet, steep and connects directly to the Great Bay watershed. Adjacent to the Henderson Swasey Town Forest, the property is heavily forested and provides habitat for wildlife.
- Impacts on adjacent neighborhood: The development would negatively impact the livability and safety of the adjacent neighborhood by dramatically increasing first construction-related traffic and, later, residential traffic on already narrow roads without sidewalks.
- Impacts on Town of Exeter: All Exeter residents will see our taxes rise as we are obligated to pay for road, sewer and sidewalk improvements in the adjacent neighborhoods, school expansions, additional police, fire and ambulance services, and expanded waste water management facilities required to accommodate the burden imposed by this 50-acre housing development.
Where is the Rose Farm property located?
Just outside the heart of downtown and up the hill from the Squamscott River and Swasey Parkway, the multiple adjoining properties are bordered by the railroad tracks to the east, the Henderson Swasey Town Forest to the north, the historic "Jailhouse Spring" on Oak Street to the South and Norris Brook Condominiums to the West. Norris Brook, which runs through the property, and its associated wetlands is a tributary to the Great Bay watershed.
Will this be affordable housing?
No. Based on comments made by the developer at the second Planning Board design review, the value of these homes will likely be upwards of $500,000 each.
Is conservation an option?
Yes, if Baker Properties is willing to negotiation with the community and Southeast Land Trust. Any use of the property is complicated by the fact that a portion of the land has been severely contaminated by the prior owners. The possibility of the land being purchased by the Town and being added to the Town Forest has not yet been explored.
I heard there is hazardous waste on the property. If the developers are going to clean it up, isn’t that a good thing?
The toxins on the property are a result of the Rose Farm activities as well as previous industrial use as a brickyard through the early 1900s. They include lead, arsenic, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and coal ash. For residential development to be possible, all toxins either need to be trucked off the property, past existing houses, through town to an offsite processing facility or capped with possible deed restrictions placed on future homes. Would you want to buy a house where you were advised not to have a garden or let your kids play in the dirt?
In a conservation scenario, where the land remains undisturbed, some or all of these toxins can remain in place without harming those using the land for recreational purposes.
Beyond the hazardous waste on the land, are there other environmental concerns related to this development.
Yes, many. Norris Brook runs through the property and empties directly into the Squamscott River. There are myriad vernal pools, wetlands and wildlife habitats that will be disrupted or destroyed if this property is developed. The natural spring, known as the Jailhouse Spring and accessed off Oak Street Extension, flows from an unknown aquifer that may be disrupted, damaged or polluted by the development.
What right do we have to tell someone what they can or can’t do with their property?
When the choices of individual owners have financial and other consequences for those around them, we all have a right to object to their activities.
When do we get to vote on the Rose Farm development?
You won’t directly. The developer must obtain approval from the Planning Board. However, if the Planning Board votes to approve this development, there will likely be upgrades to feeder roads, water and sewer lines, the cost of which may not be born fully by the developer. These upgrades (and their substantial costs) will eventually show up on a ballot as a warrant article that the Town’s residents would be responsible for approving before upgrades could be made (but not before the development could proceed).
Are there other residential projects underway in town currently that might magnify the larger impacts of this proposal?
Yes. In 2016 alone, more than 300 units of new residential housing were under construction. Historically, the 10-year average has been 50 units per year. The 37 houses being proposed for the Rose Farm will join more than a half dozen other projects either currently under construction or in the planning stages. The collective impact of several hundred more people living in town, driving through downtown, sending their children to school, contributing to our waste water system, and utilizing our emergency services will have a negative impact on our town budget and will increase our tax rates.
What is the West Side Neighborhood Coalition and the Exeter Area Conservancy?
The West Side Neighborhood Coalition is a neighborhood advocacy group comprised of residents of Salem, Oak, Wadleigh, Forest, and Walnut Streets and beyond, many of whom have lived in the neighborhood and Exeter for decades. The mission of the West Side Neighborhood Coalition is to be a voice of the residents who live in Exeter generally, and in the neighborhoods that lie west of Swasey Parkway specifically. We are small business owners, government employees, teachers, nurses, retirees and families who know that Exeter is special and want to keep it that way.
The West Side Neighborhood Coalition is part of the Exeter Area Conservancy, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
How can I help?
- Give money. The Exeter Area Conservancy, of which the West Side Neighborhood Coalition is a part, has secured an attorney to advocate on behalf of our collective concerns. To mount an effective argument against this development additional technical experts will need to be hired.
- Attend the meetings and hearings. Public input empowers and informs the Planning Board’s decisions. They need our support and participation.
- Spread the word. This development, particularly in concert with the multiple other residential projects underway in town, will significantly and negatively impact our town budget in years to come. Educate your friends and neighbors and get them involved. Exeter is special, but we all have to do our part to keep it that way!