For Belinda Allen and James Osborne, the plan to build a cluster development of 36 townhouses and 24 single family homes along busy Route 28 overlooks the impact on the wildlife that has long added to the charm of the property.

For Alida Brown, the 16 workforce – or affordable – townhomes, plus the 20 market-rate ones, will lower property values in the area, and she says she’s done the research to prove it.

And for Lena Drapeau, the water supply needed to satisfy existing homes plus the 60 new ones could cause a problem.

Meanwhile, Doug MacGuire, the civil engineer and vice president of the Dubay Group of Londonderry, was looking to convince skeptics Wednesday night at Epsom’s Zoning Board meeting that his conceptual plan was solid and addressed most of their concerns.

He’s representing the landowner, Mike Gagnon of Hooksett.

The workforce homes are targeted at a price of $292,000, which, MacGuire said, is necessary to help ease the housing shortage in the state.

“It’s very difficult for first-time buyers to be able to come into the market if there isn’t some provision to assists with that,” he said.

In the end, the Epsom Zoning Board approved a request for a variance and special exception for the project, which still needs overall approval from the Planning Board at a yet-t0-be-determined date.

The issues before the zoning board Wednesday night was the division of land and scope of the project. The plans call for four buildings with nine townhomes in each, which requires special permission. The other issue was the plan packs in more units than allowed in order to keep more land untouched. A traditional plan would require the townhomes to be spread out over a larger area, which was announced by Horner after he completed some math, to be 21 acres.

“The issue was with the amount of space that the townhomes took up,” said Glenn Horner, chairman of the Zoning Board. “He was supposed to have that much land to build on and he was a little short.”

While the project was designed to disturb as little land as possible and offer affordable housing to the area, abutters still saw cause for concern.

For example, Alida Brown told MacGuire that her real estate agent, a personal friend, said that her property would, indeed, lose value if the plan goes through. By rule, the Planning Board must weigh her input, which would have been more powerful with a written analysis, rather than a verbal argument.

We went on the side of the developer,” Horner said. “We do not think workforce housing will reduce value.” 

Elsewhere, abutter Belinda Allen’s grandmother owned 250 acres in the area years ago and Allen currently live on 11 of those acres. She believes wildlife in the area will be adversely affected.

“It’s very important what they are doing with the leftover property and how they develop it,” Allen said in a phone interview. “My concern is we have a lot of bears, deer, raccoons, foxes, possums. There will be machinery moving in and the noise factor and all the dang people. I think he was disrespectful of the animals.”

James Osborne said his grandmother lived on a piece of the land when she was 3. Osborne now owns 20 acres near the Epsom/Chichester town line. He worried about Marden Brook, which cuts through the potentially developed land and is a major part of his life.

“It’s a natural brook that’s been here forever,” Osborne said the day after the meeting. “There are native lake trout and they’re putting in 36 units in the middle of the brook on one side. That will definitely have some sort of impact. I’m afraid he will say one thing  and then do what he wants.”

And Lena Drapeau is skeptical that the artesian well there will not provide enough water for residents and newcomers.

“I want to know how big it is, how deep,” Drapeau said. “I want to know how many people are pulling from it.”

Traffic and safety issues were also raised. Fire Chief Stewart Yeaton said he needed more information before passing judgment, and the town’s police chief and road agent did not attend.

“There’s nothing specific for me to look at,” Yeaton said.

At least two residents thanked MacGuire for what they said was a thorough and honest presentation, but abutters certainly had other ideas.

“I don’t think he gave a damn about the animals,” Allen said. “And it was the same thing with property values. He didn't’ seem to care.”

Added Osborne, “I’m rather upset about this, but there’s nothing I can do. It’s progress, I guess.”

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