HAVERHILL — A housing project proposed for Brandy Brow Road has neighbors on edge and environmentalists watching closely.
Neighbors are worried that their quiet, rural corner of the city will be altered by more houses and traffic.
Environmentalists are concerned about the effect new homes and added roads will have on nearby wetlands which feed Haverhill's drinking water supply.
City planners said they are tired of the developers asking for delays in reviews by city boards, as Haverhill officials and neighbors express their concerns.
It's all about to come to a head.
After more than two years of delays by the developers, the City Council expects to vote in September whether to allow the proposal to go forward.
Well-known local contractor Richard Early Jr. and his partner John Serratore have been trying since 2005 to win approval to build 11 homes and two roads in the rural neighborhood near the Merrimac town line.
The project is opposed by several neighbors and was rejected by the city several years ago, but a court overturned that decision and required the city to reconsider the plan.
The development was initially rejected because the Planning Board said it did not have enough information about the impact on nearby water sources. The land is near a protected watershed that feeds Millvale Reservoir through the tiny East Meadow River.
Brandy Brow Road connects Route 110 to Route 108, but the road is blocked by two metal gates. The city erected the gates 13 years ago to prevent illegal dumping and people from partying in woods off Brandy Brow Road.
If the housing development is approved, Brandy Brow Road would be improved and the gates opened to traffic, city officials said.
The developers need several watershed permits from the council to move forward. Last week, the council voted unanimously to grant the developers another continuance — the eighth one in the last two years. The continuance goes to Sept. 21.
"It's highly unlikely a further continuance will be allowed," Council President Michael Hart told the developers and their lawyer Don Borenstein.
City Economic Development Director William Pillsbury said he supported giving the developers one final delay. But he warned them he's unlikely to support another continuance.
"If we're making progress and moving forward, I'm generally not opposed to continuances," Pillsbury said. "But this has been going on a few years now and it's time to hold their feet to the fire. It's time to move forward or not."
In prior reviews, neighbors voiced concerns that the development would bring traffic to the area and have negative impacts on the wetlands, possibly affecting the drinking water quality.
Borenstein said the developers are in the process of responding to questions and recommendations from a consultant hired by the city to review the project's impact on the watershed. The developers paid for the city's consultant as well as one of their own, Borenstein said.
Borenstein said the consultant's recommendations "are doable."
"We'll be ready for the council to vote (on Sept. 21)," he said. "We just need one more shot."
Early and Serratore attended last week's council meeting, but neither spoke during it. Early is also one of Haverhill's representatives to the Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School Board.
If the council grants the watershed permits, Early and Serratore must then submit a "definitive site plan" proposal to the Planning Board, Pillsbury said.
The Planning Board's role is to consider the impact of infrastructure required to support the homes, including water and sewer pipes, sidewalks and two roads, Pillsbury said. The roads for the new homes are to be called Erin Way and Fermata Road.
Around the same time as the Planning Board review, the developers will also seek approvals from the Conservation Commission, which will consider the project's impact to nearby wetlands.
In the final step, the developers will submit plans for the homes to city department heads for their approval, Pillsbury said.
The project is to be built in two clusters — three homes on Serratore's lot and eight homes on Early's lot.
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Brandy Brow Road housing proposal
Eight homes on the eastern half of Brandy Brow Road on a new street to be called Fermata Road.
Three homes on the western side of the road off a new street to be called Erin Way.
Overhaul and open the middle portion of Brandy Brow Road, a section now blocked off with metal gates.
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