By Suzanne Laurent
slaurent@derrynews.com
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LONDONDERRY — A stone driveway has been laid for construction vehicles and bucket trucks are lifting workers up into the trees to begin clearing the 100-foot right-of-way through the Springwood Hills subdivision.
Sparks started flaring more than a year ago — on March 30, 2009 — when residents received a letter from James Mayo, a supervisor of engineering with Public Service of New Hampshire stating a boundary survey would begin.
The neighborhood was developed in the 1980s and home buyers were told by their real estate agents about the easement owned by the power company.
"No one thought at the time that the easement would ever be used," resident Bruce Connell said.
Last summer, Connell of 12 Seasons Lane organized a group of neighbors to oppose the tree cutting, which will bring the right-of-way right across his driveway.
"There are dormant easements everywhere," he said.
The easement was purchased by PSNH in 1965. The original plans show a line would be necessary to connect Derry's Ash Street substation with Londonderry's Scobie Pond substation as population and demands for energy boomed.
While PSNH said it did everything it could to work with abutters, Connell and others in the direct line of the tree cutting are still unhappy.
Connell said in the beginning PSNH asked if he wanted the easement angled on his property, but he turned it down. When he bought his property, Connell said, the easement was incorrectly documented by the developer's surveyor, and indicated it was farther from his home and driveway.
Now it's too late, according to PSNH spokesman Martin Murray.
"We told (Connell) many times that we would work with him, but there comes a point when we can't change things," Murray said. "Permits have been secured. Other people have worked with us when we had time to make changes. The state has issued all the permits for this job."
Abutter Laura El-Azem of Summer Drive said while she isn't happy "they're coming through my yard," PSNH was very good about making it as palatable as possible.
"My particular situation is different because of the way the line goes through my property," she said.
PSNH worked with the Department of Environmental Services to ensure poles were placed carefully to avoid wetlands. The Public Utilities Commission suggested PSNH offer to just cut 60 feet at this time as a compromise.
But that came with strings attached, Connell said.
"They wanted us to forego rights to complain about the project if something went wrong, like a line coming down and entrapping the neighborhood," he said.
No one would sign the agreement.
Sen. Sharon Carson, R-Londonderry, and Rep. Al Baldasaro, R-Londonderry, also tried to help mediate between the abutters and PSNH.
"PSNH has all the required permits," Baldasaro said. "The law is the law."
Baldasaro said he's received some "horrible e-mails" from disappointed homeowners.
"Sharon (Carson) and I did everything in accordance with the law," he said. "They gave it their best shot and now need to take it to court if they want it their way."
Murray said PSNH hopes to begin the line construction phase of the project in mid- to late September. Construction of the line could be completed by the end of this year, he said.
As the saws buzzed behind his property last week, Connell said he thinks there are still a lot of gray areas that weren't addressed.
"PSNH runs the state," he said, "It's like, 'This is PSNH. This is what we do. Have a nice day.'"
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