I spent a lot of money to live on a pond; now, I guess I spent a lot of money to live near a trailer park.”

STEVEN COSMOS

As developers from Tiverton Investments continue to propose an updated plan that would see 104 manufactured homes built on Stafford Road on the Tiverton/Fall River border, abutters on both sides are continuing to voice concerns about the property’s impact on their homes and environment.

At the Tiverton Planning Board’s Sept. 1 meeting, Tiverton Investments attorney Mathew Laundry discussed the new proposal for “Friendship Farms,”describing it as “scaled back” compared to the original plan. The first proposal called for 155 housing units, compared to the current plan, which sees a one third reduction in planned housing units, which developers say will help with concerns regarding traffic in the area, according to Laundry.

According to abutters, however, that does not tell the whole story. 

Sandra Van Hof, who lives down the street from the proposed building site, said that since the original plan called for 74 buildings, compared to the current plan for 99, even more land could potentially be taken up.

“He’s increasing the number of buildings that he’s going to put on the same amount of land,” she said. “He’s jamming them in even more.”

The proposed site for the development, which is currently undeveloped and heavily wooded, is also the site of wetlands, which have been an issue since the development was first proposed two years ago. 

At the Sept. 1 meeting, developers brought up engineer Lynn Small, who acknowledged that a crossing between sections one and two of the project would go over wetlands. However, she denied that any buildings would be on wetlands and that only a connecting road would go through them.

“It’s considered an application to alter with the state. I guess it’s as much as a variance as you can get,” Small said at the meeting. 

Residents are not so sure the proposed buildings will not encroach wetlands, however.

Steven Cosmos, who recently bought a home on the Fall River border, said the woods, located in front of his property, are primarily wetlands and that the architectural proposals do not show the whole story. 

He worries that those wetlands, as well as Watuppa Pond, which his backyard directly abuts, could be ruined for the future. Cosmos also said a detention pond outlined in the plans could also cause issues for the land and the neighborhood, especially homes located downhill from the homes.

“We will all be flooded out,” he said.

Cosmos pointed to a wild peacock that lives on the street, as well as many of the other animals and trees that make the neighborhood “peaceful and quaint.” He said that he spent his entire life savings to buy this home, and was unaware the development would be happening. Knowing the development could replace the wildlife made him step up, he said.

“I spent a lot of money to live on a pond; now, I guess I spent a lot of money to live near a trailer park.”

Kathy Perruzzi has lived in her home for 49 years.

“When we built our house 49 years ago, we were told it’s un-developable,” Perruzzi recalled, referring to the woods behind her. 

The plan will include installing septic systems into the woods right behind her backyard, which she referred to as one of the few dry places in the area. At the Sept. 1 planning board meeting, representatives from Tiverton Investments defended these systems, which they described as a “community septic system,” and Small claimed it would be better for the environment than individual septic tanks.

“He used every speck of land that wasn’t wetlands for cramming these buildings in,” Perruzzi said.

However, both she and fellow neighbor Sandra Von Hof said that due to the impact the development would have on home values, their wallets will be hurt even more. A realtor told them the homes in the area could lose upwards of 30% of their value, Von Hof said.

Representatives from Tiverton Investments will return to the Planning Board on Oct. 6 for continued discussion and said they will continue reviewing the proposal in an effort to address environmental and other concerns.