Rindge Conservation Commission members said they’re concerned about the impact a proposed 66-unit housing development might have on a town aquifer.
The development, proposed by Navian Development Company, is located on Route 119 across from North Street on a wooded 110-acre parcel, would include 26 single-family units, 16 three-bedroom units in four four-unit buildings, and 24 two-bedroom units in four six-unit buildings. Sixteen of those would be considered “workforce housing,” which is defined by law as affordable for the income of the area.
In Cheshire County, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development considers workforce housing for a family of four $278,500 for a home, and $1,170 monthly for rent for a family of three.
During a Planning Board meeting held Tuesday night in the Rindge Community Center and via Zoom, developers had addressed some – but not all – of the board’s concerns from the July 6 meeting when plans were introduced.
The board did not take testimony from residents present at the meeting, but did read into the record feedback from the town’s Conservation Commission and the Southwest Regional Planning Commission.
The Conservation Commission has reviewed the plans for the proposal and walked the site, and said in a letter to the board that most of their concerns centered around water and the parcel’s proximity to one of the town’s aquifers.
The commission urged the board to require studies done by an independent hydrologist or hydrogeologist to determine the project’s impact on the groundwater recharge rate, the impact to the culvert under East Monomonac Road, and whether it would impact runoff into nearby wetlands.
The commission also urged the board to hire a natural resources scientist to consider the impact to wildlife in the area.
The board also received information from the Southwest Regional Planning Commission, to comment on the possible regional impacts of the project. The Commission told the board there was an increasing need for mixed and rental housing in the southwest portion of the state.
“To attract younger professionals and families and to accommodate those seeking to ‘age in place,’ communities might consider employing creative solutions that support the development of diverse and affordable housing options in proximity to service and employment centers,” the Commission’s report read.
The region’s communities don’t support housing to allow seniors to age within their own homes or locality, and over the past ten years, the costs of rents in the area have risen while income has remained stagnant, according to Southwest Regional Planning Commission Senior Planner Lisa Murphy, in the Commission’s letter to the board.
The board discussed both letters, but did not take any votes on whether to require any of the suggestions made in them.
The plans are expected to be back before the board on Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. at the Rindge Community Center, located on Wellington Road.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.