'This is not what I signed up for'

Joshua Rogers of Chesley Hill Road speaks passionately against a zoning change that would allow apartments in his neighborhood during a City Council meeting on Tuesday night. (Courtesy photos)

ROCHESTER - Chesley Hill Residents, threatened with a zoning change to R2 that would allow apartment buildings in their neighborhood, came out in force on Tuesday night to fight to keeps its single-family zoned status, known as R1.

“This is not what I signed up for when I came here from Somersworth,” said Joshua Rogers of 238 Chesley Hill Road, which is located directly across the street from the old Mitchell farm where a 94-unit apartment complex is proposed on a nearly 150-acre parcel of land. “I sought out my house because of the quality of life, which this project threatens.”

While Rogers is a relatively new arrival in the Chesley Hill Road neighborhood, Ken Billings said his house at 161 Chesley Hill has been in his family for 92 years.

Longtime Chesley Hill Road resident told the council when there's no sense of ownership, there's no sense of accountability during his arguments against the zoning change.

Speaking for his neighbors, many of whom have been in their houses for 40 years or more, he said, “We take pride in our properties, there’s a sense of ownership. If you put in apartments, there’s no sense of ownership, no sense of accountability.”

Greg DeNobile brought along a Powerpoint presentation and questioned the developer’s contention that cluster-type apartments would allow for more open space than single-family homes. He said most of the open space in either scenario was mandated due to wetlands, setback and other restrictions and the difference is less than 10 acres.

He also flipped the developer’s assertion that homeowners create more traffic congestion because they have higher incomes, and presumably, could buy more vehicles.

 “Isn’t that what we want in Rochester, people with higher incomes?” he asked the council.

He also questioned whether apartment dwellers would produce higher property tax revenue for the city and what assurances were there that these would be upscale apartments as the developer and land owner Grondahl Family LLC had promised.

Rick Perrault, who lives near Chesley Hill Road, said the description of the upscale nature and large square footage of the apartments leads him to believe owners will have to get $3,000 monthly rents to make the project profitable. When there’s no takers, what then, he said.

Developers think they’re going to build these fancy, upscale apartments and miraculously upscale people are just going to appear to rent them, said Rogers.

“Last time I checked the ‘If you build it they will come’ works only in the movies.”