A proposed 24-unit, 55-and-older housing complex off Short Falls Road in Epsom is headed for the planning board after getting approval for a zoning variance and exception.
Sunrise Meadows is proposed to be built as six buildings with four units each – half one-bedroom and half two-bedroom – on farmland and could be completed within two years, the applicant Wendy Nelson of Deerfield said.
Nelson said they buildings will be arranged in a circle with a community center styled as a barn in the middle and room for gardening.
The plan is to meet the needs of people who may be growing too old to stay in their homes but don’t want to move into a community in the city, she said.
“A lot of people want to be in the country. They want to be living on what looks like a farm, but they also want to be close to services,” Nelson said.
The Epsom traffic circle, about 3 miles away, has a doctor’s office, physical therapy, restaurants, banks and other amenities, she noted.
Epsom’s zoning board approved the project Wednesday, after granting it a variance and special exception. Zoning board Chairman Glenn Horner said the project needed them because it didn’t meet two requirements set for elderly housing in the zoning ordinance.
The ordinance allows for senior housing for people 62 years and older and for nonprofit corporations. Sunrise Meadows will be allowed to operate for profit and with residents slightly younger than the minimum age after the unanimous decision by the board.
No one under the age of 55 will be allowed to live at the complex.
The hearing began April 20 and was continued to Wednesday. At the first session, about a dozen abutters showed up to speak against the project, saying it would undo the rural character of that piece of land, he said.
The board noted, however, that the parcel of land is zoned such that it could be developed with multifamily units with no age restrictions, “so you could have apartments in the same location with kids running around, and whatever else multifamilies bring with them that are open to all age groups,” Horner said.
At the second session, there was only one abutter who returned to speak against the project, he said.
There were two points of view expressed regarding the wisdom of bringing in senior housing complexes, Horner said. On one hand, the seniors won’t bring any children and therefore won’t significantly increase taxes. On the other hand, they may want to cut school budgets, if they don’t have any interest in the schools, he said.
“Those are the two balances of the equation that you would look at, depending on which side of the fence you’re on,” Horner said.
Nelson said her husband, Krist, is a builder and they’ve worked on a couple of commercial buildings in Deerfield. Pricing hasn’t yet been set for Sunrise Meadows, but she expects it’ll be a “more affordable option,” she said.
The hearing with the planning board hasn’t yet been set, she said.
(Nick Reid can be reached at 369-3325, nreid@cmonitor.com or on Twitter at @NickBReid.)