To the editor: 

At a recent Barrington Planning Board meeting concerning the Belton Court development, a question was raised as to whether any fiscal impacts to the town had been identified. There was some consternation on the Planning Board - and no concrete answers.  

The neighbors of Belton Court have studied this subject and found a mixed bag of fiscal impacts - depending on formal commitments by ShineHarmony.

As developer of the Belton Court property, ShineHarmony should commit to paying in full for the installation and maintenance of the following upgrades/improvements to the onsite and offsite physical infrastructure that currently exists:

• Onsite roads, structures and landscaping proposed for the development;

• Onsite or offsite stormwater mitigation to minimize any rise in existing ground water level;

• Environmental mitigation that is required for the new development to minimize loss of existing tree cover (think habitat) as well as providing a treed buffer around the perimeter of the property;

• Any fire safety measures required for the new development including upgraded municipal waterlines offsite to serve the increased fire load on the property and protect the neighbors from a loss of water pressure under fire conditions;

• Any onsite or offsite electrical upgrades/improvements required to serve the new development;

• Any onsite or offsite sewage upgrades/improvements to serve the development;

• Any onsite or offsite cable upgrade/improvements to serve the development;

• Any onsite and offsite traffic mitigation/congestion measures that would make the area safer from the expected increase in traffic flows (including sidewalks, bike paths, accel/decell lanes at Middle Highway and Route 114, traffic lights, signage)

• Any security measures to protect the residents of Belton Court (ie private security, gates cameras) – as Barrington Police would be a back-up support only if necessary

• Any requests for additional police/fire/emergency response equipment and personnel that are directly related to the influx of hundreds of new residents at Belton Court;

• Any requests from the public library to accommodate new users from the development;

• All onsite trash collection and removal from the development;

• All onsite snow plowing and removal from the development;

• Any onsite measures for the aged and the handicapped including elevators, ramps, handicap accessible units, parking for the handicapped;

• Any onsite or offsite upgrades/improvements to support limited retail on the property.

The taxpayers of Barrington should expect to pay for neither the installation nor the maintenance of all of the above upgrades/improvements that the Belton court Development may require.

Which leaves two big fiscal impact to be addressed by the taxpayers – the impact on our public school system and the impact on our recreational fields and amenities.

Mark Hanchar

Barrington