By Katie Farrell
NEWBURYPORT — Toppans Lane could soon have 20 more single-family homes if developers choose to move forward with a potential development.
Great Woods Post and Beam Company visited the Planning Board Wednesday for a "pre-application conference," or an informal discussion about tentative plans they are considering bringing forward.
The developer is looking into building 20 single-family homes on 11 acres of land on Toppans Lane. The property, which used to belong to the Rindler family, extends back near where the new medical center is being built by Anna Jaques Hospital and abuts the hospital parking lot. Dan Bowie, chairman of the Planning Board, said the initial reaction by board members was "lukewarm at best."
The developers are considering proceeding under a conventional subdivision plan, Bowie said, and the board is encouraging them to consider following a city ordinance that encourages a development to keep as much open space as possible — about 50 to 60 percent — in exchange for an increase in density.
"This is one of the larger ones to potentially come before us in several years now," Bowie said of the possible proposal.
Planning Director Nancy Colbert said a formal presentation could be filed early next year.
City Councilor Ed Cameron, who represents the neighborhood where the land is located, said he has spoken to a number of neighbors about the proposal, and shares the concerns they have voiced.
Those concerns range from land use — part of it is currently farm land — to the configuration of the road — initial drawings show two exits out of Toppans Lane from the development in a loop or U-shape design, to worries about a grove of trees that are 200 years old and what could happen to them.
There is no lack of high-end homes in Newburyport, Cameron noted, adding that the initial price of the homes is set at $1.2 million each — something that isn't helping the city offer more affordable housing, he said.
"This is one of the last big chunks" of undeveloped property in Newburyport, and the city must be careful about how it is developed, Cameron said.
The owners of Great Woods could not be reached for comment.
