At a meeting of the Board of
Mayor and Aldermen held on August 3, 1999, it was announced that the
city of Manchester had selected the consulting engineering firm of
VHB (Vanasse, Hangen, and Brustlin, Inc.) to perform a master plan
study for the development of the Hackett Hill property. Two
representatives of the firm were introduced at the meeting. It was
announced that the scope of VHB's services would consist of the
development of a master plan, a marketing plan, and a capital
improvement plan. The work was expected to take approximately 3
months and it was promised that "further presentations would be made
to the Mayor and Board of Aldermen, and many other community and
staff level groups."
The Hackett Hill property is located in Ward 12. The alderman from that ward, Keith Hirschmann, requested that he be included in the "master plan team", and this request was approved. Hirschmann emphasized that he had previously strongly supported the development of a research and executive park for the property.
There was then a brief discussion as to what type of
development would appear on the Hackett Hill property. One of the VHB
representatives stated that there were many possible options,
including "limited retail and commercial use of parts of the
property." Importantly, the possibility of retail and commercial
buildings, that conceivably could mean the development of a "Hackett
Hill Mall," had previously been ruled out by Jay Taylor, Manchester's
Economic Development Director.
Alderman Shea (Ward 7) inquired as to whether there were any possible uses for the property other than commercial and industrial. He was told that possibilities included the relocation of the national guard armory and the construction of a more permanent fire station than the one presently found on Hackett Hill Road. Mr. MacKenzie commented that Alderman Shea's suggestion that a Senior Center be built on the property was also "feasible".
Alderman Rivard (Ward 8) asked the VHB representatives if the city's landfill, which was filled to capacity and then covered, would be included in their study. He was told that the firm will make recommendations and suggestions regarding the disposition of the landfill.
VHB recognized the fact that there was a "strong
conservation component" to the master plan, in that "The Nature
Conservancy would receive and protect over 300 acres of the
property." In response to a question from Alderman Thibeault about
the nature of this "protection" , Mr. MacKenzie reported that the
value of the land to be protected had been determined, but did not
reveal the value. He commented that "CSO money will pay for the
conservation land." (The manner in which this arrangement will occur
is more accurately described in the EPA Compliance
Order.)
Proponents of the city's development plans emphasized that "only" about 140 acres of the property will be developed out of the 400+ acres designated for development on the Protection-Development map. The fact that more land will not be developed is undoubtably due to the fact that much of this area consists of rocky cliffs, steep inclines, and extremely thin soils. Also, it should be reiterated that the so-called "Preserve" is slated to be fragmented by 5 "potential and special development zones" that total 22.7 acres, and that these areas are located at the most aesthetically appealing and environmentally sensitive parts of the property. Importantly, none of the aldermen asked questions about this fragmentation of the "Preserve," or took exception to it.
On August 26,1999, a "briefing session" was held at which the Hackett Hill master plan was discussed by Manchester city officials, representatives of The Nature Conservancy, Conservation Law Foundation, Sierra Club, Manchester Conservation Commission, EPA, DES, DEP and members of the VHB master plan team. It was announced at the briefing that a public meeting concerning the master plan for development had not been planned, although the matter would be discussed further at a future Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting. No members of the general public or representatives of the press were present at the "briefing session."
On Feb 15, 2000, Gordon Leedy, Managing Director, Land Development, of VHB presented an initial version of the master plan at another "briefing session" to a similar group of individuals. Again, no members of the general public or representatives of the press were present. This version of the master plan consisted primarily of the location of various buildings and roads. Amazingly, the plan had not been preceded by any type of conservation plan pertinent to the natural resources of the area! Plans for the release of the development plan to the public and for consideration by the Board of Mayor and Alderman were not definitively arranged, although it was implied that the public could voice their opinons at the BMA presentation.