To the editor:

I add my voice to the more than a dozen town residents who spoke on March 28 in opposition to the two high-density housing plans that were presented to the town’s Planning Board for their consideration. 

As a Barrington resident and taxpayer for the past 30-plus years, and a resident of Watson Avenue for 25 years, I and my family oppose the plans presented to the Planning Board last Tuesday.  

The plans ignore the input of our community and they run counter to the Town’s Comprehensive Plan – a legal document developed based on input from across the community which should guide town planning. 

The most recently hired architects presented plans that would pave the way for developers to build a high-density development based on flawed assumptions and flawed data: 

1. The high-density plans presented at the Planning Board do NOT, as claimed, reflect community input; 

2. They are NOT, as claimed, based on a consensus view; 

3. The proposed density is NOT, as claimed, consistent with the surrounding neighborhood. The consultants said that the surrounding neighborhood has 6-8 dwellings per acre (within a radius of a 5-minute walk from 25 Watson). In fact, the surrounding neighborhood is ~ 1 dwelling/acre (reflecting the current R40 zoning at 25 Watson); 

4. High-density is NOT the only financially viable plan for this site; low density could more than recoup the Town’s investment to date; 

5. The plans do NOT address the impact of the proposed developments on traffic (Watson Avenue is a 18’ narrow road) and the Nayatt school (already overcrowded), etc.; 

6. The plans do NOT consider that this location is remarkably remote from local transportation, shops, and services; 

7. The plans do NOT consider the potential environmental impact of the runoff from high-density housing, ignoring the fact that 25 Watson Avenue lies within ~200 feet of the current protected coastal marshland sustaining Narragansett Bay, and that it is also within 700 feet of protected freshwater wetlands to the northeast of the site; 

And 8. The plans do NOT consider impact on the local aquifer which (according to Map NCR-1 in the Town’s Comprehensive Plan) sits below part of the property and the entire property sits in the area that is recognized as vital for the recharging of the aquifer’s water supply.

This is one of the most beautiful locations in Barrington, the views of the bay are stunning, the land abuts saltwater marshlands, the neighborhood is low density, low traffic, the streets are filled with kids on bicycles, runners, walkers. The town voted to purchase 25 Watson to be able to limit development on this site and to be consistent with the neighborhood.  

I call upon you to reject these high-density plans that disregard the voices of the community and that would destroy one of the most precious pieces of land in Barrington.

Respectfully, 

Edward Hawrot

Barrington