CHESHIRE, Mass. — Residents aired their concerns about a proposed development on Jenks Road during a utility pole hearing. 

 

The Selectmen unanimously approved utility pole placement the week before on Jenks Road that would supply power to future homes, however, not without some pushback from residents.

 

"I want them somewhere else," resident Diane Hitter said. "They are basically on our front lawn."

 

Landowner Nate Girard has split the land into eight lots and has requested that the Selectmen approve the placement of some utility poles, but attendees had concerns about losing their views and asked if the poles could be rearranged.

 

Selectwoman Carol Francesconi said the proposed poles were placed a specific way to ensure safety and stability and staggering them would compromise this.

 

"The money isn't the issue it is the safety of the wires and the poles," she said. "That's the issue because they are safer when they are in a straight line."

 

Resident Robert Hitter thought the developer was getting ahead of himself requested that the Selectmen take no action until Girard is given the go-ahead to develop.

 

Selectman Robert Ciskowski corrected Hitter and said Girard has already gone before the Planning Board and noted that even if he wasn't given permission, he would still have the right to develop because he meets all of the frontage requirements.

 

"It would become legal anyway even if they didn't ok it," he said. "A property owner has rights and if you have the frontage and area no one can stop you from building on your land."

 

The debate then turned away from the poles with many residents just arguing against the development of any kind in the area.

 

A letter was provided to the Selectmen from a Jenks Road resident who wrote that there is already a water supply problem in the area, especially during the summer, and further development would only deplete the water table.

 

Ciskowski noted a hydraulic engineer would be needed to prove this and it would be very difficult to prove.

 

Some residents thought the Selectmen should put the kibosh on the project because with more development there will be more traffic on the road, which is in bad shape.

 

Highway Superintendent Blair Crane said this would be no reason to hold up development and that the town can only continue to maintain the road the best it can.

 

One resident said he thought the land was just unbuildable.

 

Ciskowski disagreed and said the land was fine.

 

"In the past, I have excavated some terrible looking land that has turned into nice housing," he said. "I don't think there is really anything there that would deter anybody from building a nice house."

 

Francesconi stopped the conversation that she said was drifting away from the poles and noted the Selectmen have no right to deny the electricity.

 

"The only decision we are making here tonight is about the poles and we are not here to stop development," she said. "We do not have the authority to stop development…it is not our department and legally we cannot refuse to have electricity supplied to a development."

 

Girard who was sitting quietly in the back of the crowd eventually spoke and said he has been working on this project for some time now.

 

"I have not put the cart before the horse because I have done a lot of it already. I have had permission to be on the land for the past 36 months so ... I know that the lots are buildable," he said. "I am very far ahead compared to someone coming in from out of the area."

 

Girard said he by no means wants to saturate the area with homes and instead of dividing the land into 11 lots he only did 8. 

 

Girard said he may not even need all the poles and noted that potential buyers have shown interest in purchasing multiple lots – he said one person even asked to purchase the entire plot.

 

He said the caliber of buyer is high and some people just want to build fall homes for leaf peeping season.

 

"It is hard for me to tell you what is going to happen up there because I really don't know at this point," he said. "From a taxable standpoint, there could be seven beautiful homes there that could be taxed at $500,000 you could be adding $3.5 million to the tax rate. That is significant money."

 

Girard even offered to make some improvements to the road and said he has no intention of taking away from the beauty of the area and is open to working with the neighbors.

 

"Honestly right now it has been logged way beyond what it should have been, and I want to bring beauty back to it," he said. "I want it to be attractive like all of the other lots up there and I don't want to do anything that is not right."