By Chris Paul
During a discussion with the town’s Planning Department at last week’s Planning Board Meeting an issue was brought forth about a resident who has been dealing with excessive water flow on his property due to a recent development construction.
Londonderry’s Director of Public Works and Engineering, John Trottier presented the issue residents Ken and Kim Taralli are having at 9 Sherwood Road.
Trottier explained that the Taralli’s live below a recent development on Braeburn Drive, that was approved by the planning Board in 2018 and because of the drainage from the new development, water is flowing over their property.
It was explained that because of an incorrect assumption of where the water would be flowing after construction of this new development much of the water is now directed toward the Taralli property.
Trottier said that he walked the property after being notified by Ken back in August and since then, they have contacted the developer and have been trying to get the matter rectified.
Ken Tarrelli further explained that the property was previously used by the FAA because it’s the highest point in the area and was used for a beacon as far back as WWII.
Tarralli was pretty upset with the developer, saying he felt they knew what they were doing but didn’t bother to get any drainage rights from abutters that would be affected.
He added that he had videos of the water issues and that the problem has been going on for over a year now and that he is worried about the trees around his property being uprooted by the water crossing over them.
He also said that his neighbor’s property has also been affected by the water problem.
Tarralli said that some of his property is so wet that he has been unable to mow his lawn in certain areas for two years because his tractor sinks.
“I’m looking for help from anybody to get a resolution to this,” he said.
Tarralli also said that the talks he and Trottier have had with the builder have ended with them saying the solution would be to create a sale on his property and felt he shouldn’t be responsible for their bad planning.
Planning Board Chair Art Rugg said that the development should be all self-contained and shouldn’t affect abutters.
It was also explained that the area directly above the Taralli property has been stripped by the developer and is being used as a staging area, adding to the water runoff problem.
Board member Lynn Wiles asked what recourse do abutters have if the assumptions made on plans that are approved are wrong.
Trottier answered that there is a note on all plans that states if the plans are wrong, don’t construct it wrong, it needs to be resolved before the development continues.
Tarralli’s biggest concern with any solution the developer comes up with may not work, and it may take three to five years for him to figure that out.
He was hoping that the Planning Board could help put a stop to the construction at the development until the problem is resolved. Adding, the priority by the Planning Board should be to the property owners not the developers.
Rugg quickly responded that the board has no powers of enforcement and the building inspector is the means of enforcement.
Town Council liaison Deb Paul asked if they could expect to see a timeline on rectifying the issue fearing that the developer would just keep pushing it off until all the homes were built and would no longer be their responsibility.
Trottier finished by saying a timeline would be developed by the next meeting and he would give the board an update.