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Having fought to preserve the tennis courts and playground at Alexander-Carr Park, District #1 residents gathered at the Marion Gerrish Community Center on March 21 to discuss the latest potential development in their neighborhood.
At the invitation of local resident Donna Thompson, site engineer Frank Monteiro of MHF Design Consultants and the two developers, Scott Mitchell and Kenny Linseman, met with residents to present their plans for a development at Shute’s Corner, the intersection of Birch Street and Rockingham Road.
According to a brief overview of the plan by Monteiro, the proposed development would include a convenience store, an Irving gas station, a bank, and a Rite Aid pharmacy. Monteiro emphasized that he and the developers have been working with numerous town boards to make sure the site plans meet their needs before proceeding to the Planning Board in April.
After describing the proposed layout for the development, Monteiro went into more detail concerning traffic and overall appearance. Based on suggestions from a traffic study conducted by the traffic safety committee, Monteiro told the group he plans to restripe both Birch Street and Rockingham Road at Shute’s Corner to use the 12-foot-wide center medians on each road to extend the two existing left-turn lanes. These turning lanes would give drivers access to two of the four entrances into the development.
Monteiro also assured the attendees, “We didn’t want a cookie cutter convenience store, gas station, and pharmacy, so we have added some architectural flair.” This “upscale architecture,” according to Monteiro, includes peaked roofs with gables, asphalt shingles, cupolas on the bank and gas canopy, and a glass entranceway for the convenience store.
When Thompson invited questions, hands quickly flew into the air. Several concerns were presented, including lighting, snow removal, trees, drainage, nearby wetlands, traffic, and pedestrian use.
Resident Judy Books summarized her concerns about the environmental impact of the development: “Wetlands (adjacent to the proposed development) are very important ecologically. They are a natural filtering system that remove pollutants and help with flood control. If we contaminate them with too many pollutants, we will have less flood control, less filtering, and fewer animals that inhabit them.”
Monteiro responded by describing proposed underground ponds that consist of “drainage pipes throughout the site, so the water won’t leave the site, but will be stored when it rains, and ultimately discharged at a very slow rate into the wetland area.” He added the water would be treated with an oil-water separator before discharge.
Another resident, Valerie McAdams, asked about pedestrian traffic and bikers. Developer Scott Mitchell responded, “We hadn’t thought of that until you brought it up.” He subsequently expressed a willingness to investigate putting in an additional sidewalk along Birch Street.
Monteiro followed Mitchell’s response by saying, “These guys want to fit into the community.”
The most frequent question asked was “Why do we need another gas station, bank, and pharmacy?”
The developers emphasized the zoning already allows these uses, and Linseman noted studies have been done to confirm the marketability of the location.
Mitchell added, “This is one of the best spots I’ve seen in 10 years.”
A few residents expressed their support for the development. Gary Lesuer expressed his desire to have more facilities, such as a gas station and convenience store, closer to his home and also said he hoped this development would encourage more businesses to come to Derry.
Another resident offered modest support saying, “I am not thrilled about this but the fact is something is going to go here - at least it is fairly well thought out and well designed.”
At the end of the meeting, town officials, including councilors Janet Fairbanks and Brian Chirichiello and Derry Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Jack Dowd had a chance to contribute their thoughts.
Fairbanks reminded the residents the area “is zoned for this usage” and the developers are trying to “make it conducive to the neighborhood with the least amount of impact.”
Dowd added, “They have gone to great lengths in this project to make it fit into the neighborhood, and it won’t fail, because they have lots of experience.”
The land has not been purchased, however, and a significant portion of Shute’s Corner is owned by David and Judy Hatch. Judy Hatch declined to discuss the development for personal reasons, but said, “This land has been in my mother and father-in-law’s family for 60 years.”
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