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Residents urge town to hold 200-acre parcel near University Heights for conservation
Summary
At the Hooksett Conservation Commission meeting, resident Philip Fitanides and new resident Mary Jo Paterra urged the town to retain roughly 200 acres reportedly acquired after tax delinquencies and to consider a warrant article to prevent development, citing traffic and wetland concerns.
Philip Fitanides, a Hooksett resident who identified himself at the meeting, told the conservation commission he discovered a registry-of-deeds filing (recorded June 9, 2025) showing the town had taken ownership of parcels behind University Heights that he said total about 200 acres, roughly half wetlands.
"So the town of Hooksett now owns that property," Fitanides said, and he urged the commission to "put the brakes on 1000 homes that are supposedly gonna be erected back there" and suggested drafting a warrant article to let voters decide the property's future. He said the record listed the town tax collector and a balance of $14,542.35 related to the parcel's acquisition.
Mary Jo Paterra, who said she recently purchased a house abutting the property, told the commission she received no notice about the land's status and joined Fitanides in urging conservation protections. "I do believe that conservation land is important to communities," Paterra said, citing current traffic congestion on Hooksett Road and concern that an additional lane on Route 3 would not arrive until about 2031.
Commissioners responded that the Town Council has a separate public-hearing item on the council agenda and encouraged residents to attend that meeting to provide comment. The conservation commission noted the matter appears to be primarily a town-council decision but said it would monitor the planning process and share information with the planning board if appropriate.
