The Planning Board at its meeting Monday night raised some concerns to the design team for the proposed Charleswood Elementary School regarding its responses to peer review comments on the traffic and stormwater management plan.

Chris Eberly, project manager for Vertex, the owner’s project manager, described the latest version of the plans for the 176,000-square-foot school for Grades 2-4. He sought the board’s feedback before submitting formal responses for the building that will be located at 147 Hayden Rowe Street.

Traffic flow was the overriding concern of the board. Consultant Michelle Kayserman noted that unlike past projects in town, the contractor has not been involved in the design process and is yet to be chosen.

Eberly clarified that because it is a publicly bid job, the team can include what it would like the contractor to do. By law, the contract has to go to the “lowest responsive and responsible bidder.”

“We are somewhat tied to the winning bidder’s approach to how they will address the site,” he said. “But we don’t have the flexibility that a private developer has.”

Chair Rob Benson said there were concerns about changing the wooded land to a construction site that would eventually become a school between two wetlands.

Vinod Kalikiri from VHB, the project’s traffic engineer, described the use of two traffic loops. The inner loop would be able to hold 19 buses, more than originally planned. Parents would travel counterclockwise around the site in the outer loop. About 85 cars would be able to queue there. Benson was concerned that parents coming in would block the buses trying to leave. Kalikiri said he understood why this could be considered “a choke point.”

Lane width is being taken into consideration as well as traffic calming measures that will impact Hayden Rowe Street. There also will be a new traffic signal at the Marathon School driveway.

Kalikiri noted that there was a crash analysis from the state Registry of Motor Vehicles for the past five years, noting that 2020 was an obvious anomaly due to the pandemic. The peer reviewer requested that crash data from the Hopkinton Police Department also be included in the analysis.

After the project is completed, there will be traffic pattern monitoring, he added.

Planning Board member Lucia Lopez questioned whether the speed limit would be altered.

Said Eberly: “It’s not within the project’s ability to change the speed limit on Hayden Rowe.”

The school zone speed limit, including the driveway and the traffic lanes, would be under the purview of the Select Board, Kalikiri said.

Ashley Cullion Traverse of the development team added that comments from the Planning Board and Conservation Commission are incorporated into the plan. One feature she emphasized as a “positive change” was adding more plantings to the area near the north parking lot, including evergreen and shade trees. To the south, near the parent drop-off section, more plantings are being added to the plans as well.

The hearing was continued until the next meeting on Sept. 23 so that the response to the peer reviewer’s questions can be analyzed.

Benson Road proposed subdivision issues revisited

The Planning Board continued the hearing on the proposed subdivision of land at 0 Benson Road when it became clear that both sides were resolute in their opinions expressed at the last meeting.

Property owner Wayne Comeau’s proposal revolves around a parcel he owns to the south of his home at 0 Benson Road. In a 2006-07 subdivision project approved by the Planning Board at that time, he had agreed to donate this parcel to the Hopkinton Area Land Trust (HALT) in exchange for an extension of a dead-end road. The land was to remain conservation land.

Comeau said previously that he had forgotten about executing the promised HALT donation for years. HALT no longer wants the land and sold it back to Comeau for $1,000. Comeau now would like to build a home on the parcel.

Attorney Karen Wolf represented Comeau. She explained that she believed that the gift was completed, and “HALT released us of that gift.” HALT never designed the greenway that this parcel included, she pointed out.

She added that Comeau has been paying taxes on the lot “as a buildable lot.”

Joe Antonellis, attorney for an abutter, countered that if Comeau was getting tax bills on the lot every year, it should have reminded him of his commitment to donating the land. He also reiterated that the land was supposed to be conservation land, which is why a dead-end was allowed to be extended.

Benson made it clear that he did not agree with Wolf’s opinion.

Said Benson: “It’s not able to be built on because of that decision.”

The issue will be revisited at the next meeting.

Wilson Street road damage discussion postponed

Principal Planner John Gelcich said the discussion regarding the damage on Wilson Street said to be caused by The Trails was being postponed until the next meeting. BETA Group, the peer reviewer, met with engineer Peter Bemis and owner Vin Gately to discuss options on how to resolve its questions.

Said Benson: “I hope the next time we discuss it is the final time we discuss it.”

Appointments made to ZAC, DRB

The board voted unanimously on appointing Stephen Conti, Sravana Krishna and Sudeep Maity to the Zoning Advisory Committee. Planning Board member Vikasith Pratty will remain the board’s ZAC liaison.

The board also unanimously appointed incumbents Curtis Smithson, Sue-Ellen Stoddard  and Jeanette Thomson to the Design Review Board, along with Jeff Doherty and Sohab Faramarzi. Krishna and Maity were voted to serve as alternates.