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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1979 Department Review DEF SUB NORTH ANDOVER FIRE DEPARTMENT 124 Main Street North Andover, MA 01845 June 19, 1979 Planning Board 120 Main Street North Andover, MA 01845 Subject: Sub-Division: Cambell Forest Gentlemen: The plans for this Development seem to be in order with the exception of (1) Hydrant that we (Fire TDe ,t® ) would like installed at Lot #39 (intersection of Road "A" & "B ) . Remaining hydrant locations to stay as indicated on plans® Very truly yours, Board of Engineers I X I'll, "James E. Fief raid Dana N. Fisher Stewart P. Wilson NORTH 9 BOARD OF HEALTH Julius Kay, M.D.,Chairman NORTH ANDOVER ti R. George Caron MASSACHUSETTS Edward J. Scanlon 01845 4 °°° d"•I. a"AcwuSE" TEL. 682-6400 June 29, 1979 Nojaidover PlarmijigBoard r North Andover miss. Osnpbellrest Bear Sire This Board hae reviewed the plans .for the above-mentloned subdivision and have n,o comments k°eh °t iii ividunJ. lot Pmst uses all regulations pertaining to septic SYMMS before a permit vill be issued. My tru31 yoursq iJulius keys, D. k si ymm �r Y � JOHN P. THOMPSON, CHAIRMAN RAYMOND J. CANTY GEORGE H. SANFORD, CLERK q0RT#j 00 6,6 0 TOWN OF NORTH ANDOVER, MASS. 0 1.041 I BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS SAT5 WATER, SEWER, PARK, PLAYGROUND AND SCHOOL GROUNDS DEPARTMENTS CM5 SUPERINTENDENT AND ENGINEER JOSEPH J. BORGES1 July 2, 1979 Mr® William Chep"lls , Chairman PlannW Board 120 Main Street North Andover, Mnss , 01845 Dear Bill: Tn reply to your letter of June 6, 1979 concerning the sub- division plans of Campbell Forest , we have the following recommenda- tions to make: We estimate the cost of an eight Inch ductile iron cement lined water Pipe , seal coated inside, tar coated outside on Road "A" at $34,000. This is for 2314 feet of eight inch pipe installed 15 feet from the property line with five feet of cover below the finish grade of the street ® Eddy breakflange hydrants to North Andover Specifica- tions are to be installed at stations 4 *559 9 + 09 14 + op 18 + 65 and 23 + 10. These hydrants should be installed with six inch Mueller or equal gate valves ( open left) complying with AWWA specifi- cations L500 52T with sliding type cast iron gate boxes marked "WATER" . eight inch Mueller or equal gate valves ( open left ) will be requested at the intersection ofCampbell_ Road , 10 + 00, 17 + 20 and 17 + 30. We estimate the cost of an elqht inch ductile iron cement lined water pipe , seal coated inside , tar coated outside on Road "B" at $30,000. This is for 2130 feet of eight inch pipe installed 15 feet from the property line with five feet of cover below the finish grade of the street . Eddy breakflqn7e hydrants to North Andover specifica- tions are to be installed at stations 5 + 209 9 + 65, 13 + 80 and 18 + 20. These hydrants should be installed with six inch Mueller or equal gate valves ( open left) complying with AWWA specifications L500 QT with sliding type cast iron gate boxes marked "WATER" , eight inch Mueller or equal gate valves ( open left ) will be required at the intersection of Campbell Road stations 10 + 0 and 21 + 30. JAC All nr whp abnvp work—must p9mm thn IWRKo nnd prpsnurp testo, pvrfnrmnd in nccnrdnncp with nnnOon 13 if AWWA stund"rd 600 .r 'j mh a I ! hp nh I o" inn to d W no on rdnn(�(­ v,CJJ­� A vwA Mn I Aund a rd Pro cedurt "", rnp disinfonhing wntpr mains , Unnnntr publin Whility nnd propprty Omnym Nnurnnnp nn woll qY " ntvpvt wmOnj hond in an nmount'', WWWOVY tn the HMMY Mveyor will hv rpquLred Vnr the wirk cnMphpIT Rnad . Vrry truly ynurn , ROARO OP PURLTO WORW`I� h J."RnryonT , Sunt ,, CONSIERVATION COMMISSION NORTH ANDOVER, MASSAC1IUSl;TTS O1845 �MNbaa,a 0RT 4 E'• APRIL%M .:V hA e i b r�bPrsP'*�a July 2 , 1979 North Andover Planning Board Town Hall North Andover , Massachusetts 01845 RE : Campbell Forest/off Campbell Road Dear Sirs and Madam: The North Andover Conservation Commission is in receipt of your request for comments regarding the above captioned subdivision now before the Planning Board . On the basis of observations by Conservation Commission members , discussions by the Conservation Commission , and information compiled by our consultants , we wish to make the recommendations contained herein . The Planning Board is aware of the extensive wetland areas contained on the site . As an aid in delineating the wetlands the Conservation Commission has had the wetland areas mapped by IEP . A plan has been provided for your assistance showing the wetlands delineated in accordance with the Wetlands Protection Act (M . G . L . Chap . 131 , Section 40 , as amended ) . Enclosed is a report , prepared by the same consultants , outlining the statutory interests which are significant to the wetlands contained within and in the vicinity of the proposed subdivision . Specificallythe Conservation Commission would like to bring to your attention the value these wetlands have with regard to groundwater, flood control and storm drainage prevention . As a value for groundwater recharge the wetlands play a role in "maintaining the quantity and quality of water into Boston Brook" , a value which may be diminished if the wetlands are altered or filled . In addition , and perhaps more important to the Planning Board , is the loss of flood control and storm drainage prevention caused by the altering and filling of wetlands on the site . During January , 1979 flood waters were noted flowing over Campbell Road in the vicinity of the proposed subdivision . Altering of the on- site wetlands may increase this flooding problem . Considering ( (� ( i l r M Planning Board FROM'i' QQ9,s,ery4ti,on. Commi,ssi.Qn DATE : JUly * 2 ; 1979 RE : Campbell Forest PAGE : Two this , the Conservation Commission would recommend that the Planning Board require a complete assessment be made with regards to the impact that on-site alterations will have on water resource values , including flood control , both on-site and downstream in Boston Brook . Further , the Conservation Commission recommends that the Planning Board condition the release of any bond or covenant on the obtaining of a Certificate of Compliance from the North Andover Conservation Commission with regards to any Order of Conditions issued by the Conservation Commission under the Wetlands Protection Act . Members of the Conservation Commission hope to be at the hearing for this subdivision . Please return the plan when you are finished using it . Very truly yours , .. ......... Vincent S . Turano , Ph . D . Chairman ' ST/dlp enc : a/s NORTH OF �0 Z. OFFICE OF MGHWAY SURVEYOR 19 384 OSGOOD STREET TOWN OF NORTH ANDOVER, MASSACHUSETTS 01845 9SSACHO WILLIAM A.CYR TELEPHONE 685-0950 Highway Surveyor July 2, 1979 Mr. William Chepulis, Chairman P-1-anning Board 120 Main Street N. Andover, MA 01845 Re: Campbell Forest Dear Bill: I have waked this site and also gone over the submitted plans and make the following recommendations: All drainage,,pipe will. be R.C.P. with a minimum of 2 ft. of cover on pipe sizes 1811 or over and 3011 of cover on pipe sizes less than 18" . No metal or squashed pipe should be allowed within subdivision drain- age systems. Two additional catch basins should be located at approximately Station 10+50 on road B. Manhole on road A between station 19+00 and 20+00 to be made a catch basin. This is a very delicate drainage area. All drainage should be tied into a continuous drainage easement throughout this entire subdivision to insure that future drainage will not be altered or. diverted. 1. Cape Cod berm to be required where and when deemed necessary. If berm is required paved road width and gravel base would have to be widened two feet in total -to accomodate berm base. 2. No house drainage systems will be allowed to drain into street. All such drains (if any) will be incorporated into street drainage with a permit being required and Town specifications being met. 3. Culder sac to be 1001 paved radius, with required land area to be under ownership of the of -the developer of the road network until such time as the road is extended. At that time, ownership of the surplus land in the culdersac area could be deeded back to abutters. Most of the other conditions we require are spelled out within the submitted plan. I would suggest that if this subdivision is to be ap- proved that we move with as much haste as possible so that we might July 2, 19"19 Campbell Forest Page 2 straighten and. apgra,de 41e 2300 I.f. of C )mpboll Road b(Aween Salem St, and Lyons Way. We will never got a better working solution to the betterments we have proposed for this area, than we will within this slimiers working sc tsor)- I v-'M, be at, your, meeting Monday evening to further explain this matter. Ver,y tnfl y yom.'s, It G C hUlliam A. Cyr, Hit hvaay Surveyor 'WAClj /X C 0%E Eti.VIII ir'N CI OfAM I SS I Oki t a March 23, 1981 Mr. Ashvin Patel Executive Office of Environmental Affairs P'EPA Unit I-..; .=AKL 100 Cambridge Street I3oston, HA 02202 Dear hr. Patel: The North Andover Conservation Commission, and its consultants, Sasaki Associates, have reviewed the Draft Environmental Impact Aenort for the Campbell forest subdivision in North Andover. Enclosed with this letter is a copy of the .review done by Sasaki Associates. After our review, and that of Sasaki Associates, it is felt that this Draft EIR does not adequately address the scope which was developed by the EOEA, HEPA Unit. We also feel that the Draft Elk makes assumptions which are not valid hydrologicly. At our Harch 18, 1981 meeting, the Commission voted to accept the review done by Sasaki Associates an representative of our comments. Therefore, our comments beyond what is contained in the Sasaki review, are as above. . 4 It is the recommendation of the North Andover Conservation Commission that this Draft EIS be found inadequate, and that the applicant be requir- ed to prepare a new Draft EIR. An amendment of this Draft will result in a final EIR with improper engineering assumptions, errors in the hydro- logic calculations, and above all, a final EIR which does not address the scope developed by 14EPA. We will await to hear ,your decision regarding the Draft EIR. Sincerely, for the North Andover Conservation Commission, i Names R. Lafon 'Chairman I Campbell Road North Andover, Mass, 01845 July 16, 1979 North Andover Planning Board Town Hall North Andover, Massachusetts 01845 RE: Campbell Forest Dear Members of the Planning Board: After much thought, study and careful deliberation, we wish to go on record as having very serious concerns as to whether the planning endeavor outlined for Campbell 'Forest is comprehensive enough to protect the adjacent wetlands and our property as well . The major issues from our point of view are those of responsibility and ultimate accounta- bility. What recourse do we have if things don't work out as they appear on paper? Mr. Gelinas confirmed on more than one occasion that our longstanding fear that our property will indeed be jeopardized by the subdivision is well founded. To quote Mr. Gelinas, we "are not in a good position. " This is apparently based on the fact that there will be greatly increased run-off as a result of clearing the lots abutting the pond. Mr© Gelinas then went on to say that of course the developer cannot be held accountable for this increased run-off which jeopardizes our property because he has no say in the positioning of the houses once the lots are sold. This becomes the province of the Conservation Commission who is apparently deemed our ultimate protector. It was hardly reassuring to learn that there have to be the most stringent of conditions imposed by the Conservation Commission on the lots abutting the pond with regard to minimal clearing of trees, size of lawns, roof run-off etc, Implicit in such' stringency is a clear message that there is no margin for error and guaranteed compliance on the part of the builder (s) is crucial to the preservation of our property, The acknowledgment by Mr. Monteiro that the Town lacks the resources to closely monitor such a subdivision and thus relies on the abutters and/or interested neighbors to report violations further confirms our vulnerability. Another issue is that Campbell Forest is not just any old parcel of dry land that anyone can successfully develop, it is a very specialized undertaking. Granting approval of this subdivision of huge areas of wetland on the basis of one engineer's calculations and opinion as to optimal lay out of lots, drainage etc. is wrong. The fact that this singular opinion is rendered by the developer's engineer who can hardly be expected to have an objective point of view is even more wrong. In our opinion, it is most unfortunate that these subdivision proposals cannot be evaluated in totality at the public hearing with a dialogue between the Planning Board, Conservation North Andover Planning Board -2- Commission, Board of Health etc. because the present system of arbitrarily separating each group's responsibilities which are obviously closely interrelated would seem to fragment and mitigate against any group's having as complete a picture as possible on which to base a well founded opinion. In the logical progression of things, it would be our conclusion that the Town of North Andover must be held ultimately accountable if the subdivision is not comprehensive enough to protect the wetlands and our property for it is the Town who grants the permission for it all to begin. OBJECTIONS 1) In his presentation Mr. Gelinas stated unequivocally that our pond will be unaffected by the proposed drainage system as designed by him. A curious omission was the lack of elevation figures for our pond, its depth, sources and outlets, boundaries during wet versus dry season, some of which occur on our property and some of which occur on the property of TDJ Corporation® Being intimately familiar with the topography of the land abutting this pond, we simply cannot accept the idea that this development as proposed will not affect our pond on the basis of one opinion, that of the Developer's engineer. We feel that all of the calculations, elevations etc, should have been available in final form at the final public hearing and the plan on which the Planning Board will base its decision should have been available, 2) The point was made by Mr. Gamache and publicly confirmed by Mr. Monteiro that this is a delicate subdivision that will need constant monitoring, yet the Town of North Andover does not have the resources to do so, Mr. Monteiro further intimated that the onus is on the abutters to ensure compliance with orders of conditions on the part of the developer and builders. This is an untenable situation at best since obviously the eye of a trained expert is essential to spotting violations. How can the Town of North Andover approve a subdivision of a crucial watershed area of such magnitude that it will require constant scrutiny yet not be able to police and then place the burden on the abutters? 3) We feel that we were completely misled by the Planning Board's comment that the Conservation Commission had hired an independent consulting firm in this unusual instance. This was in response to Susanne Meyer's question as to whether the Town Engineer had checked and confirmed the accuracy of Mr. Gelinas' figures and to her subsequent question as to whether there was an engineer on the Planning Board who could attest to the validity of those figures. It was subsequently stated by Mr. Chepulis, that Dr. Vincent Turano, Chairman of the Conservation Commission , is an engineer and eminently qualified in this regard. This lulled us into a sense of false complacency and reassurance that the Town of North Andover via the Conservation Commission was taking responsibility for obtaining an in depth second opinion by an engineering consulting firm and that Dr. Turano could render still a third opinion. On Wednesday, July 11, 1979, Dr. Turano made it very clear during our telephone conversa- North Andover Planning Board -3- tion that the Conservation Commission is not in any financial position to finance a complete and thorough investigation of all aspects of the proposed subdivision which we feel is essential. The Commission did solicit an opinion from Interdisciplinary Environmental Planning, but the intent of that investigation was merely to delineate the wetlands on the existing site plan, to record the wetland vegetation, and assess the value of the identified wetlands with regard to the Wei-lands Protection Act. This investigation had nothing to do with whether the lots are optimally laid out, the adequacy of the drainage, potential damage to adjacent properties etc. 4) All indicators now point to the Conservation Commission as our protectors -- the group with the power to impose all the necessary restrictions. As much as we respect the members of the Conservation Commission as a group of dedicated, intelligent, hardworking, and genuinely concerned individuals, our experience in this area of North Andover is that in the eyes of the developers and builders the Cease and Desist Orders issued by the Commission are not worth the paper they are written on because little or nothing happens when they don't comply, This observation is confirmed by the article on the front page of the North Andover Citizen, Thursday, July 5, 1979, entitled, "Town takes tougher stance with builders light with law, " We have personally witnessed a house being framed after the builder was ordered to cease and desist, How reassuring is that? Will the Town st:and behind the Conservation Commission and seek the necessary court injunctions? 5) Our property is jeopardized forevermore by the approval of this subdivision because it is our understanding that once the developer complies, the bonds to the Town are released® Are small individual builders required to post a bond to force their compliance with orders of conditions with regard to minimal clearing of trees, sizes of lawns, positioning of houses, etc? When a builder moves on after selling a house, what is to prevent the new homeowner from simply chopping down trees because he desires a better view of the pond? What if the homeowners on lots 2,3,4,5,6,7,and 8 prefer a larger lawn or their children want a baseball diamond? Can an order of conditions be placed on the purchaser of a home built on marginal land? Must we be forever at• the mercy of neighbors unknown to us? OMISSIONS 1) POND (that pond jointly owned by TDJ Corporation and Meyer's) This is not Meyer's pond as the developer's engineer would have everyone believe, but appears to be on 2/3 of the developer's property and 1/3 of the Meyers. Perhaps this pond is considered to be ours by the developer and he has seen fit to allow all problems pertaining to it to fall on our shoulders. We did not see any flow figures into or out of the pond from the natural run-off, No drainage figures were quoted although drainage pipes, catch basins, and inverts were shown on the plans from areas of the building lots #40, 41 ,42,43,44, 10,9,8, 6.5. We realize that this is dependent upon landscaping, roof size etc, However, if these figures are not available how are the final size of the drainage pipes calculated? North Andover Planning Board -4- No flow control out of the pond has been established by the developer's engineer. Please do not be short sighted in believing that we are in control of the pond drainage because of an old pipe and homemade ditch that was left behind by one of the previous owners and happens to be on our property, This pond comprises the other side of TDJ's drainage and is in need of professional evaluation, This is the time to do it, 2) HEADWALL INVERT INTO POND ON LOT #6 This is shown at an elevation of 106.0 and in line with the narrow strip which comprises Lot #6, a) The Planning Board should consider that the elevation of the headwall is not into the pond, bo into the wetlands adjacent to the pond at that point. By definition flooding will occur during any run-off onto that area with no provision for man made channels to divert it unless a coordinated egress from the pond is made at an elevation below this beadwall. This headwall could be underwater during periods of maximum flooding, b) Access to Lot #6. If access is to be provided by crossing the pond, it will have to cover the headwall invert to avoid the outer boundary line of our property. If access is not over the pond, thenwill the Planning Board approve one driveway to serve Lots 17 and 8? GENERAL REQUESTS TO PLANNING BOARD 1) As abutters to this development and pond, we request that the Town of North Andover, Planning Board solicit an independent engineering consultation at the expense of the Town to include a review of the lot layout, drainage as proposed, and the impact that on site alterations will have on the water table, quality of ground water, flood control, storm damage, water resource values and pollution, particularly on site and potential for same on adjacent properties 2) That the Planning Board take a long hard look at the large number of houses that are to be built in an area that is primarily wetland as it would appear that a number of these lots as they are laid out might be deemed unbuildable or that some houses ought to be constructed on two or more acre lots. 3) Calculate the area of the pond owned by the developer and the abutter, It is necessary to determine whet-her or not the developer does indeed own a greater percentage of the pond and adjacent wetlands in order to stipulate whether or not the developer must engineer the controls necessary to maintain the pond level at a level below the lowest elevation on our property, eg, the headwall egress from the pond to drainage pond on Lot #2, 4) Declare Lot �6 unbuildable as delineated on current subdivision plan because it is only accessible by filling in the pond or by the approval of a double service driveway. North Andover Planning Board 1) A drainage easement be established from the invert, outlet on the pond in the area of Lot �6 to the holding pond on Lot �2. This drainage easement shall include a headwall and drainage pipe to maintain the pond at a level not to exceed the lowest grade on our property and followin a straight line from the headwall to the holding pond in a width wide enough to accommodate proper drainage on the pond side of lots 2,3,4 and 5 to their highest elevation. 2) Building on lots 112.3,4,and 5 be approved as a site between Road "A" and the highest eleva- tion. 3) All holding basins, ponds, swales and drains be established by the developer prior to extensive land clearing and sale of lots to builders. 4) We would request that the Planning Board condition the release of any bond on the obtaining of a Certificate of Compliance from the North Andover Conservation Commission with regard to any Order of Conditions issued by the Conservation Commission under the Wetlands Protection Act, It was explained at the public hearing that if a man owns land, he cannot be prevented from doing with it what he wishes if he complies with the law, Well what about the man next door residing in his 36 year old house? Why can the newcomer do his thing at the potential expense of the man who owns the oldest house in the area which happens to have been constructed at the lowest elevation? It has always been our understanding that the town governement exists for the protection of the citizens and not the reverse. If the Town of North Andover will not solicit a second opinion in the form of an in depth review of all aspects of the subdivision either from a private consulting firm or from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Quality Engineering, then we respectfully request the following: 1) Grant Gilbert H. Meyer, Jr. and Susanne K. Meyer permission to trespass for the duration of the construction of the subdivision, particularly Lots #2,3,4,5,6,7® 2) That this permission to trespass (monitor) be written into the sales agreements between the developer and the builder (s) who purchase the lots. 3) That we be notified by certified mail one week prior to the perc testing of Lots �2,3,4, 5,161and 7 and that we or someone representing us be present at the testing. 4) That we be notified by certified mail regarding the clearing of Lots #2,3,4,5,6,and 7 knowing in advance the order of conditions imposed by the Conservation Commission as to how much timber can be removed. If the onus is really on the abutters to report the violations, then we need formal sanction by the Town, North Andover Planning Board -6- Sincerely yours, Susanne K. Meyer �m Gilbert H. Meyer, Jr®, D.M.D. SKM:skm cc Dr® Vincent Turano, Chairman, North Andover Conservation Commission