In many respects, I agree what residing in Portsmouth, is of relatively higher quality than our sister towns, by comparison, south of us. However, the threat from further development, partially precipitated by the availability of excess Navy property, provides for uncertainty in our ability and willingness to preserve the “Quality of Life” we enjoy now for future generations. I still see certain zealousness in promoting real estate development, retail centers, and housing projects and perhaps, if we are lucky, some open space for public parks.
One of my major concerns is the fact that the EPA has yet to fully certify the carcinogen heavy metal levels in our aquifer ground water. The fact that the tank farms were collapsed, soil remaining of questionable residual content, and that the land was not returned to a state representative of what it was when the Navy occupied it and leaving the cost to the state tax payer to clean up rather than have the cost distributed across the country by having the US Navy assume the burden in total; a concept promoted in the DOD back in the 90′s, named: “Total Ownership Cost”.
I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to reside on the East Side of EMR where the community has found kind and generous folks willing to support open space. Although I wanted to plant rare conifers on available land, I was quickly discouraged by the fact that at 1/2 million dollars an acre, one has to be in the 1% bracket to have spare change to pursue a hobby in horticulture. In my mind, Portsmouth does not need further development since yearly water restrictions, pollution alerts, harsher environmental laws, and eroding coastlines should dissuade the economic experts and developers from continually pursuing speculations for personal gain. I believe in an approach that everyone can participate in following the principle of a “Permaculture” very much active in New England, except Rhode Island. Perm culture embraces sustainability with emphasis on organic farming and gardening, somewhat of a challenge for golf course owners with fertilizer and herbicide run-off into our water systems.
I hope this message finds open minds to promote “continuous improvement” of qualify of life opportunities for our Portsmouth Township, the “City of Trees”.