From:	Karen Edwards
Sent:	Wednesday, October 22, 2014 3:04 PM
To:	Karen Edwards
Subject:	FW: Letter to the planning board re: tonight's meeting



Karen Edwards
We have recently moved our offices.  
Please note new address below.

Town of Durham
8 Newmarket Road
Durham, NH 03824
(603) 868-8064
www.ci.durham.nh.us

From: Karen Crowley []  
Sent: Wednesday, October 22, 2014 12:40 PM 
To: Karen Edwards 
Subject: Letter to the planning board re: tonight's meeting

To: Durham Planning Board 
Date: 10/22/14 
Re: Proposed Mill Plaza Redevelopment Project 
 
We have been Durham residents and homeowners for over 5 years and Lee residents for 13 years prior 
to that.  I have signed on to Erin Hale’s letter to the Board as I believe she makes many good points.  I 
also wanted to share our experience and concerns.  We live on Mill Pond Rd and my 4 children walk 
down Chesley Drive, through the plaza and up the pathway past the old grange back and forth to the 
middle and high schools every day.  I am very concerned about any changes to the plaza that do not 
improve the pedestrian experience and which will add to the student population in that area.  Since the 
grange has been renovated into student housing, we have already seen negative changes to that 
area.  My children are already adversely impacted by the college students living along their route to 
school – with litter (including cigarette butts and beer containers) and at times inappropriate behavior, 
like swearing, calling out to them, even pot smoking.  Cinco de mayo last year was quite the negative 
education for them – and this was at 2:30 in the afternoon!  I have also witnessed cars screeching to a 
halt (barely) into the crosswalks, especially that double lane near the post office where my children have 
to cross.  The increase in student traffic in town is a real concern for us. 
 
I am also challenged to come up with why we would want more student housing going up in town when 
we have the old grange, the area now going up next to it, the Henderson development across from the 
post office and that huge student housing development going up further down Madbury Road.  I realize 
the students are a great source of income for the owners of those developments but they also bring 
their own set of issues and problems to the community and, really, enough is enough.  I teach at UNH 
and have a lot of affection for our students but we need to balance their desire to live close to town 
versus the impact they inevitably have on the families living in town.  We need to have a healthy, 
respectful balance.  I believe the proposed development will tip the balance even more and cause 
increased resentment and animosity in our town’s relationship with the university.  Let’s be thoughtful 
about our town’s future and the quality of the community in which we live and raise our families. 
 
Thank you,
Karen Crowley 
Marie Crowley (my wheelchair-bound mother who lives with us) 
Shane Chinburg 16, Riley 15, Caleb 13 & Josie 11 
48 Mill Pond Rd