Flood memories fresh as board grills Charlotte White developer

Some skeptical about Westport project's drainage plan

By Bruce Burdett
Posted 2/11/18

WESTPORT — Skepticism about drainage and some unhappy neighbors greeted a developer seeking to build 16 houses off Charlotte White Road the firm’s their second visit to the Planning Board on …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Register to post events


If you'd like to post an event to our calendar, you can create a free account by clicking here.

Note that free accounts do not have access to our subscriber-only content.

Day pass subscribers

Are you a day pass subscriber who needs to log in? Click here to continue.


Flood memories fresh as board grills Charlotte White developer

Some skeptical about Westport project's drainage plan

Posted

WESTPORT — Skepticism about drainage and some unhappy neighbors greeted a developer seeking to build 16 houses off Charlotte White Road the firm’s their second visit to the Planning Board on January 25.

Developer ELJ Inc. of Bristol, RI, brought further information on its “Francis Estates” plan for 31.6 acres at 50 to 58 Charlotte White Road.

The company wants “open space residential” approval enabling it to cluster the houses on a bit over half of that acreage, leaving the rest for open space with paths and trees. Some of the open space is wet and part would hold community septic system and water retention ponds.

In answer to earlier questions, Richard Burke, a spokesman for ELJ, described plantings the company has in mind and said a traffic engineer had concluded that the neighborhood would have virtually no impact on traffic in the area. Houses would be “typical single family construction that you would see in the area” — market conditions would dictate the final look and size.

But most of the attention focused on drainage on a property that has had water issues in the past.

Board Chairman Jim Whitin was interested in a drainage easement that the developer said enables it to use parts of several adjoining properties to help corral runoff.

“Do you feel it was sufficiently clear that people buying those lots would know that” the area would be used for drainage, he asked.

Certainly, another ELJ representative replied. “There is no confusion as to where it (the drainage easement) is or how big it is.”

Mr. Whitin and neighbors, several of whom said they had only heard of the plans by word of mouth, were not so sure.

“The town employs a company that makes those assessors maps and they’re not inexperienced at doing this, yet they don’t really show on those assessors maps the same area that is on the plan that I can see,” Mr. Whitin said.

Heather Cabral, who is in the process of buying a lot next door, said “we were not told of a large retention pond” that would be on our property.

They are “coming on our land and essentially taking it. There is plenty of land they could use on their own property. They are being greedy. This is our land,” she said.

“Everyone feels hoodwinked,” said Jack Silverstein, an attorney for a neighbor. “It’s just not right” that parts of retention ponds would be placed on neighbors’ properties by way of an easement.

Neighbor Gregory Cabral said he was unhappy to learn that one retention plan would be placed within 100 feet of his well.

Another neighbor said he bought his 20 Charlotte White Road property last May with his life savings.

“I never received any notice that this was happening,” including that “a large retention basin would be right on my property line.”

Having just been told of the development by a neighbor, he pleaded with the board to make no decision that night — “I would like to have a lawyer.”

The board later obliged — the application will next be taken up again at 6:30 p.m. on March 6.

Water questions

With rainwater runoff misery at the Noquochoke housing project a fresh memory, board members and others focused especially on Francis Estates’ plans for keeping water under control.

Board member Robert Daylor expressed his doubts about the developer’s proposed system both in a letter and at the meeting.

“I cannot vote to approve as presented,” he wrote, because he does not believe the project complies with the town’s Open Space Residential District rules, DEP guidelines for stormwater management “or good engineering practice.”

At the meeting he zeroed in on stormwater drainage plan, “a very complicated and unusual system in my opinion … the proposed drainage system is very strange.”

“This system will require very smart water to know exactly which pipes to turn into at just the right time,” Mr. Daylor said.

“I’m not easily scared but this is scary,” he continued.

“This is going to be owned and maintained by future homeowners … Our recent experience is that when either the contractor or homeowners can’t take care of things, somehow the town ends up picking it up. I’d like to make sure we don’t do that to the town in the future,” Mr. Daylor said.

An ELJ representative said that all of Mr. Daylor’s concerns and questions “are easily explainable” and said a company representative will meet with him to provide answers.

Board member David Cole asked that, “Given our recent experiences at Noquochoke,” can the developer be required to have the town’s engineering firm keep a close eye on things during construction at developer expense? The developer said that would be agreeable.

2024 by East Bay Media Group

Barrington · Bristol · East Providence · Little Compton · Portsmouth · Tiverton · Warren · Westport
Meet our staff
Jim McGaw

A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.