The Conservation Commission on Tuesday voted unanimously to continue the hearing on a proposed commercial office building off Lumber Street until Oct. 7 after reviewing plan changes and proposed new language.
REC Hopkinton proposed a one-story office and retail building off Lumber Street. The 3.46-acre site is fully vegetated and undeveloped. It is bordered by apartments to the northeast, Lumber Street to the west and Independence Place to the north.
Consultant Tom Schutz represented the applicant. He explained that several modifications to the site plan were made since the notice of intent (NOI) application last came before the commission in August. They included changing eight flags to update the wetland delineation and the addition of a wetland line across Lumber Street. This put the project and a sidewalk extension into the buffer zone.
As a result, the building was moved outside of the no-build zone, he said. It will remain 2,400 square feet. The access drive was slightly widened to allow for trash pickup access. Cedar posts with placards will be placed around the limit of work area. About 7,200 square feet of work will be in the no-build zone to accommodate the stormwater infiltration system.
The tree clearing plan showed that 57 trees will be removed, but none within the bordering vegetative wetland. Mitigation will include the planting of red maple, spruce, service berry and creeping juniper trees that are native to the area. An invasive species management plan was submitted.
Peer review consultant Bob Sykes from Pare Corporation went over issues he believed required additional action. One concern was a perimeter infiltration trench around the site.
Site engineer John Federico responded that “infiltration trench” was somewhat of a misnomer. He said the area will be grassed and ultimately “restored to some type of woods.”
Said Federico: “This trench is primarily just there to help attenuate some of that water, slow it down a bit.
“We’re not sure if ‘infiltration trench’ is going to be the most appropriate term there,” he continued, saying it was better characterized as a “subsurface trench.” He added that he will make language modifications to the plans.
Sykes noted that a special permit is required for the project being located within the water resources protection overlay district. Also, more than 2,500 square feet of impervious area for the parking lot was proposed.
Federico said the project will go before the Planning Board now that most commission comments have been addressed. The utilities will be underground, as will the septic system.
Member Ed Harrow questioned if the stormwater management plan would impact any additional water flow to the Hopkinton Sportsmen’s Association’s property on Lumber Street. Federico will review this concern before the next meeting.
COC withheld for tennis court
The commission declined to issue a certificate of compliance (COC) for a tennis court built at 42 Greenwood Road because the required shrubs were not planted on the property as specified in the remediation plan.
No vote was taken, but conservation administrator Judy Day said she would reach out to the applicant to clear up an apparent misunderstanding about what should be done to replicate the cleared area.
In May 2023, the commission approved the building of the tennis court in a 6-0 vote. The home court was proposed so that tennis player Parnaz Kaur, then a sixth grader at Hopkinton Middle School, would have a space behind her home to perfect her game. It is in the buffer zone bordering vegetated wetlands.
“The approved plans included 135 shrub plantings in this area between the wetlands and the tennis court,” Day said.
Day cited a memo from wetlands consultant Joe Orzel. In it, the applicant stated that Day’s predecessor, Kim Ciaramicoli, “gave permission” to the applicant to use a seed mix instead of the shrubs. There was no written documentation on file to show that a conversation had taken place between the applicant and Ciaramicoli.
Said Day: “According to the approved plans, the work does not appear to be in compliance, because we’re missing a very significant amount of restoration planting that was a large part of approving the tennis count and impervious surface going in at the site.”
Orzel, who attended the meeting, said the applicant told him that Ciaramicoli said “meadow seeding would be sufficient” due to the unavailability of shrubs. The homeowner was not in attendance to comment.
Day reached out to Ciaramicoli and was told that she “had no memory of saying that.”
Chair Melissa Recos said the shrubs needed to be planted so the commission could issue the COC.
“It’s not typical that we do verbal changes,” she said. “That’s something that I believe an agent would typically bring back to the board for discussion.”
Day said she would clarify this with the applicant, as well as a previous easement agreement with the Hopkinton Area Land Trust (HALT).
Hearings continued
Before the meeting started, Recos noted the continuation of several scheduled hearings. The main one was for the proposed parking lot expansion at the UniBank/Starbucks plaza, located at 85-89 West Main Street.
Also continued was the Trails Committee hearing regarding the continuation of a trail at Chamberlain Street and Loop Road.
Support letter approved for DPW’s CPC request
The commission approved submitting a letter drafted by Day to the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) requested by Department of Public Works Director Kerry Reed. At the last meeting, Reed asked for support for funding for a conceptual design for area improvements to Ice House Pond. It is located next to the Golden Pond assisted living facility near the Berry Acres conservation area on West Main Street.
Commission seeks 2 new members
The commission is looking for new members to fill two vacant positions.
Why are we approving clearing undeveloped land for additional commercial space when we have so many empty commercial buildings in town?