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HomeMy WebLinkAboutConsultant Review - 125 CAMPION ROAD 6/21/2005 III MILLI MET ATTORNEYS AT LAW June 21,2005 ROBERT W.LAVOIE RLAVOIE @DEV INEMILLIMET.COM North Andover Planning Board c/o Lincoln Daley,Planner 400 Osgood Street North Andover, MA 01845 Re: 125 Campion Road Watershed District Special Permit Response to VHB Report To the Planning Board: This letter is being forwarded in addition to a letter from our engineers,Richard F.Kaminski& Associates,to the VHB Report dated June 17, 2005. In accordance with the Planning Board's practices,VHB, acting as the Town of North Andover's consultant,has reviewed the Plan and Application submitted in connection with the Application for a Watershed District Special Permit under Section 4.136, along with the plans drawn by Mr.Kaminski(which are also the plans submitted and approved by the North Andover Conservation Commission). Just to clarify,our client,Richard Stoddard,purchased 125 Campion Road in 1992. As can be seen by the attached subdivision plan approved by the Planning Board in 1986. The subdivision was built out,but apparently the economic downturn in the late 1980s resulted in the subdivision roadways never being presented for street acceptance to North Andover Town Meeting. When Mr. and Mrs. Stoddard encountered extreme erosion after the winter of 2003/2004,they contacted the Town of North Andover and learned that the street drainage for Campion Road was designed and constructed to be piped underground, around their home,to a detention basin,which was designed basically to sheet flow down the hill towards the lake. Apparently, after almost twenty years in operation,it is been suggested that that"hard pan" finally wore through as a result of the many rain storms in the spring of 2004,with the result of large canyon like gorge approximately 8-10 wide opening at a point on the slope heading down towards the lake. When the Town of North Andover indicated that the Town would take no responsibility or assist in the repairs due to the fact that the street had never been formerly accepted for street acceptance,the Stoddards retained our services and the services of Mr.Kaminski's firm to seek approval for the project necessary to repair the drainage system. To that end, for approximately four months, we all participated in hearings before the North Andover Conservation Commission, leading to the issuance of the Commission's December 29, 2004 Order of Conditions. Given the project's location,the Conservation Commission was very careful in its review and approval process. Since the repairs involve work in the Watershed District, a Special Permit from the Planning Board would seem to be required to complete the repairs. {n834 7\7037?A0093744.1} DEVINE, MILLIMET 300 BRICKSTONE SQUARE T 978.475.9100 MANCHESTER, NH & BRANCH PO BOX 39 F 978.470.0618 ANDOVER, MA PROFESSIONAL ANDOVER DEVINEMILLIMET.COM CONCORD, NH ASSOCIATION MASSACHUSETTS 01810 NORTH HAMPTON, NH North Andover Planning Board June 21,2005 Page 2 Although the VHB Report is expectedly comprehensive,there is no real substantive design disagreement with the nature and scope of the project as prepared by Mr.Kaminski. The additional explanatory information and detail sheets will be supplied to the reasonable satisfaction of the Town Planner,with VHB's review of the same. With respect to VHB Item 5,the Order of Conditions as previously issued by the Conservation Commission was supplied with the application to the Planning Board for the purpose of demonstrating satisfaction with Watershed District Regulation 4.136.c.iii. However,to satisfy VHB's comment,we have requested that our wetlands consultant,Norse Environmental,prepare a separate letter for your file. That Norse Environmental letter dated June 20 2005 is attached hereto. In conclusion,we would respectfully request that the Planning Board issue the Special Permit at this time,and specify typical Special Permit Conditions, as well as any specific Conditions determined by the Planning Board as a result of tonight's hearing. In particular,we would respectfully suggest that a condition be inserted relative to satisfaction of the VHB Review Comments as follows: "The Applicant shall be required to cause its engineer to submit written materials in response to the comments contained in the VHB Engineering Review Memorandum dated June 17, 2005, to the reasonable satisfaction of the Town Planner in consultation with VHB." Now that the spring rains seem to have abated, everyone is anxious to get this project started and completed during the dry portion of the year. Previous winter conditions, and spring rains have lead to conditions not very conducive to operational safety on this slope. Now that drier conditions have returned,we would appreciate the opportunity of beginning work as soon as reasonably possible. Your conditional approval would be of great assistance in that regard. Thank you for your consideration in this matter. Very yours, ob xt W. a ie RWL/sal Enclosure {A8 347\70377\A0093744.1}