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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAPPLICATION E JOYCE :�1AW TOWN NOR`N° NDOVER TOWN OF NORTH ANDOVER MASSACHUSETTS Nov 27 00 AM '35 PLANNING BOARD APPLICATION FOR SPECIAL PERMIT NOTICE: This application must be typewritten Victor L. Hatem, Trustee 127 Turnpike Street Applicant: of October Lane Trust Address: North Andover, MA 01845-5095 1. Application is hereby made (a) For a Special Permit under Section -, Paragraph of the Zoning Bylaw. 2 . (a) Premises affected are land X and buildings numbered Lot #1, Dale Street. (House number 475) (b) Premises affected are property with frontage on the North South X East _ West side of Dale Street, known as No. 475 Dale Street. (c) Premises affected are in Zoning District R-1 and the premises affected have an area of 43,1974 sg. ft. and frontage of 150.00 feet. 3 . Ownership: (a) Name and Address of owner (if joint ownership, give all names) : Peter L. Hatem, Trustee of the October Lane Trust 177 Tl�rnnika St. , Nnrtb Andovpm- MA n1R45 Date purchase Previous owner (h) If applicant is not owner, check his interest in the premises: Prospective purchaser Not Applicable Leasee Other (explain) 4 . Size of proposed building: 32 feet f ront: 59.3 feet deep Height: 2 stories: feet. (a) Approximate date of erection after Permits are obtained (b) Occupancy or use (of each floor) singe fami-Ly rest ence (c) Type of construction wood frame 5 . Size of Existing Building: N/A feet front: feet deep Height: stories feet. (a) Approximate date of erection (b) Occupancy or use (of each floor) 6. Has there been a previous application for a Special Permit from the Planning Board on these premises? If so, when January 28, 1991 (withdrawn at the Board's request) 7 . Description of purpose for which Special Permit is sought on this petition: to construct a single-family residence in the Water- shed Protection District 8. Deed recorded in the Registry of Deeds in Book Page or Land Court Certificate No. N/A Book Page 9 . The principal points upon which I base may application are as follows: (must be stated in detail) . See Attached I agree to pay for advertising in newspaper and postage fee for mailing legal notices to "Parties n ' (Petitioner' s S gnature) Victor L. Hatem, Trustee of the October Lane Trust Every application for action by the Board shall be made on a form approved by the Board. These forms shall be furnished by the Clerk upon request. Any communication supporting to be an application shall be treated as mere notice of intention to seek relief until such time as it is made on the official application form. All information called for by the form shall be furnished by the applicant in the manner therein. Every application shall be submitted with a list of "Parties in Interest" which shall include the petitioner, abutters, owners of land directly opposite on any public or private street or way and abutters to the abutters within three hundred (300) feet of the property line all as they appear on the most recent applicable tax list, notwithstanding that the land of such owner is located in another city or town, the Planning Board of the Town and the Planning Board of every abutting city or town. LIST OF PARTIES IN INTEREST NAMES ADDRESS See Attached List Add additional sheets if necessary Any question should be directed to the Planning Office A1.2 Principal Points upon which Application is Based This lot was created in 1985 as part of the Coventry subdivision. A preliminary subdivision plan was filed in May, 1985 . The definitive subdivision plan was approved by the Planning Board on December 16, 1985 . The Planning Board endorsed the plan on , 1985 The property was subject of litigation with the North Andover Conservation Commission which began in May, 1991. The litigation concluded in Essex Superior Court in May, 1995 . The Conservation Commission's appeal of a Superseding Order of Conditions issued by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is pending, but the issue is expected to be resolved along the same terms as that of the Superior Court litigation. The lot is subject to the provisions of the zoning bylaw in effect when the preliminary subdivision plan was submitted. The eight-year zoning freeze provided by MGL c. 40A s. 6 , and MGL c. 41 s. 81Q, is extended by the period of any litigation involving the right to develop the property. Under the zoning bylaw in effect in 1984, no construction is to take place within one hundred ( 100) feet horizontally from the edge of tributaries of Lake Cochichewick except by special permit. The applicant believes that the current plan meets the conditions for a special permit listed in Section 10 .31, par. 1, Items a. through e. , of the 1984 bylaw. Specifically, the single-family home proposed for the site is: a. An appropriate location for the residential use proposed; b. Will not adversely affect the neighborhood; c. Will not be a nuisance or serious hazard to vehicles or pedestrians. Further, d. Adequate and appropriate facilities will be provided for the proper operation of the proposed use, viz. , the dwelling will be connected to town water and the site is sewered; and e. The proposed single-family dwelling is in harmony with the general purpose and intent of the bylaw. Enclosed with this application is a Water Quality and Quantity Evaluation report from William R. Arcieri, Senior Water Quality Scientist of Normandeau Associates. He concludes in the report that there will not be " . . .any adverse effect on the water quality of Lake Cochichewick as a result of the finished project. " The primary water quality concerns associated with this project relate to nutrients, particularly phosphorus and nitrogen, potentially contributed from various sources. Mr. Arcieri's report contains a detailed explanation of how each of these added nutrients will be handled. Further, under the North Andover Conservation Commission's Order of Conditions, soil erosion measures, including the required hay bale/silt fence barrier should be more than adequate, given the reduced amount of disturbed area. An earlier application to the Planning Board for a special permit contemplated a house with a footprint, seventy (70 ) feet wide by thirty-four (34 ) feet deep. The house was oriented across the lot, reaching toward each of the wetlands. The current proposal--which has been approved by the Conservation Commission --is for a structure with far less impact. It calls for a footprint only thirty-two (32) feet wide by fifty-nine (59) feet deep. Other lots in Coventry have obtained special permits for the construction of single family homes within one hundred ( 100) feet of a lake tributary. [See special permits granted for Lots 2A and Lot 3A] Moreover, at least twenty-six (26) special permits for construction of single family dwellings within 100 feet of a tributary of Lake Cochichewick or a wetland in the Watershed Protection District have been granted by the Planning Board from 1982 to the present, many substantially closer to the lake or a major tributary. G208032 Normandeau Associates NORMANDEAU ASSOCIATES 25 Nashua Road Bedford, NH 03110-5500 (603)472-5191 (603)472-7052(Fax) July 20, 1995 Atty. Peter Hatem 127 Turnpike Street North Andover, MA 01845 RE: Lake Cochichewick Watershed Protection District; Proposed Lot Development at Lot #1, Dale Street Water Quanity and Quality Evaluation Dear Atty. Hatem, This letter report represents a Water Quality and Quantity Evaluation associated with the above-referenced project consistent with the Special Permit requirements for proposed developments within the Town' s Watershed Protection District. The purpose of this Evaluation was to assess whether the proposed project would have a significant negative effect on the water quality of Lake Cochichewick. In performing this evaluation, Normandeau Associates reviewed the proposed site plan(dated April 12, 1995) , conducted a site visit, reviewed the Order of Conditions prepared by the North Andover Conservation Commission(NACC) as well as the revised Watershed Protection Bylaw(Oct. 24 , 1994) and the Lake Cochichewick Watershed Plan(IEP, 1987) . The proposed project consists of constructing a residential dwelling on a one acre lot located on Dale Street which is in the upper headwaters of the Batell ' s Brook subwatershed. The site is about 1. 3 miles from Lake Cochichewick as the stream flows. Runoff generated within the property drains into bordering vegetated wetland along the eastern and western edges of the property which outlet into a large wetland area on the other side of Dale Street and then eventually into Batell ' s Brook. soils onsite in the upland areas have been mapped as part of the Canton-Charlton complex which are described as a well-drained soils with relatively low runoff potential (SCS, 1981) . The backside or southerly edge of the property essentially coincides with the major drainage divide between the Lake Cochichewick and the Fish River watersheds. The Batell ' s Brook subwatershed consists of 368 acres which make up 13 . 4 percent of the total watershed to the Lake (IEP. 1987) . At the time the Watershed Plan was developed, the principal land uses within the subwatershed consist of forested, residential , and pasture areas which comprise roughly 47 , 26 and 14 percent of the subwatershed area, respectively. Without accounting for any additional residential development that occurred in recent years, the proposed project, using the entire lot area, would add about 1. 0 percent to the total residential area within the subwatershed. Corporate/Northeast RMC Environmental Services Southeast and California Bedford, NH Middleboro, MA Spring City, PA New Ellenton, SC Hampton, NH Peekskill, NY Drumore, PA Greenville, SC Yarmouth, ME Lakewood, NJ Brattleboro, VT Richmond, CA A division of Thermo Process Systems Inc.,a Thermo Electron company - NORMANDEAU ASSOCIATES page 2 As shown on the site plan, only about 15 percent of the lot area or 6, 500 sf will be disturbed to accomodate the structure footprint(1, 613 sf) , paved driveway(1, 200 sf) and associated grading. The house will be connected to the municipal sewer system through a new force main that will be installed along the north side of the Dale Street right of way and will tie into the existing sewer main several hundred feet east of the site. The primary water quality concerns associated with this project relate to the added nutrients, particularly phosphorus and nitrogen, potentially contributed from various sources. Phosphorus is of concern because of its effect on the eutrophication process in the Lake. Nitrogen, in the form of nitrate-nitrogen, can be of concern if drinking water contains levels above 10 mg/l. Since a septic system is not required with this home development, one principal source of nutrients has been eliminated. The remaining sources relate to the potential nutrient contributions from lawn fertilizer and soil erosion. Based on water quality sampling results presented in the Watershed Plan, the annual phosphorus inputs from the Batell's Brook watershed is estimated to be 103 pounds(lbs) or about 8 percent of the total load to the Lake. Based on literature values, contributions from residential areas are expected to range between 0. 31 and 0. 54 lbs/acre(IEP, 1987) . Using an average loading rate of 0. 4 lbs/ac/yr, the phosphorus load from this site would amount to about 0.4 percent of the total phosphorous contribution from the Batell's Brook watershed and 0. 03 percent for the entire Lake watershed. Given the minimal site disturbance, discussed above, and the lack of septic system inputs, loading from this particular site would be expected to be considerably lower and would have negligible impact on the Lake particularly with respect to the existing residential areas within the watershed. With respect to nitrogen, the point of concern is not so much the lake but at the property boundary where groundwater recharged onsite may enter a well used by an adjacent landowner. The NACC Order of Conditions requires that only low nitrogen content fertilizer(i.e. , generally considered to be less than 20 %) can be used. The nitrogen content in commercially-available lawn fertilizers generally ranges between 5 and 35 percent depending on the manufacturer and type of material. As an example, the SCOTTS TM Turf Builder generally contains 32 percent nitrogen with a prescribed application rate of about 16 pounds per 5000 sf of lawn twice a year (Spring and Fall) . NORMANDEAU ASSOCIATES page 3 For purposes of estimating a worst-case, nitrate-nitrogen concentration at the property boundary on a average annual basis, it was assumed that fertilizer with 35% nitrogen content was applied four times a year at 16 lbs per 5000 sf. (As discussed earlier, given the site plan layout only about 3700 sf would be available for lawn area after discounting for the driveway and building area) . This -translates into a total application of 22 . 4 lbs of N per year. Most of the applied nitrogen would be utilized by the vegetation or bound up in the soil. Previous studies have documented minimal nitrogen losses to groundwater from turfgrass fertilizer applications (Starr and DeRoo, 1981; Morton et al. , 1988) . A study conducted at the University of Rhode Island found that only 130 of the applied N was lost to the groundwater at an application rate of 28 . 5 lbs/ac/yr and under overwatering conditons (Morton et al. , 1988) . Again, to provide a conservative analysis, 50 percent or 11.2 lbs of the applied N is assumed to enter the groundwater. To determine an appropriate dilution volume, it was assumed that 50 percent of the annual precipitation(i.e. , 43 . 0 inches) evaporates or is transpired by vegetation, leaving 21. 5 inches to infiltrate into the groundwater or travel as runoff. The soil in this area has been mapped as the Canton-Charlton complex, which consists of well drained soil with relatively low runoff potential (SCS, 1981) . At a minimum, about 50 percent or 10 .75 inches of the available water would be expected to infiltrate into the groundwater. Additional recharge from watering is not included. As a result, given the assumed loss of applied N and the estimated groundwater recharge onsite, an average annual nitrate-N concentration at the property boundary is estimated to be 4. 6 mg/l. This concentration based on worst-case assumptions is well below the drinking water standard of 10 mg/l. In reality, with a low nitrogen content fertilizer, as required, a normal application rate of twice a year and a realistic assumption of plant uptake, the nitrogen concentrations in groundwater are likely to be a fraction of the above value that is based on conservative assumptions. In summary, given the size of the proposed development, its location within the watershed, the minimal amount of lot disturbance as presented on the site plan and the results of the nutrient loading analyses discussed above, I would not anticipate any adverse effect on the water quality of Lake Cochichewick as a result of the proposed project. With respect to soil erosion measures, I find that the proposed hay bale/silt fence barrier should be more than adequate given the amount of disturbed area proposed, provided the barrier is installed properly and maintained until vegetation is re-established. NORMANDEAU ASSOCIATES page 4 REFERENCES IEP, Inc. 1987. Lake Cochichewick Watershed Plan. Final Report. North Andover, Massachusetts. Morton, T.G. , A.J. Gold, W.M Sullivan. 1988. Influence of Overwatering and Fertilization on Nitrogen Losses from Home Lawns. Journal of Environmental Quality, Vol. 17, No. l. Starr, J.L. and H.C. DeRoo. 1981. The Fate of Nitrogen Fertilizer Apllied to Turfgrass. Crop Science, Vol. 21. U. S. Soil Conservation Service. 1981. Soil Survey of Essex County, Massachusetts, Northern Part. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call me. Sincerely, NORMANDEAU ASSOCIATES William R. Arcieri Senior Water Quality Scientist cc: Steve Stapinski, Merrimack Engineering LIST OF PARTIES OF INTEREST SUBJECT PROPERTY Map Lot Name Address 64 147 October Lane Trust North Andover, MA ABUTTERS 64 9 , 18, 20 Town of North Andover 120 Main Street 64 138 Grace I. Torrisi 9 Coventry Lane 64 139 Gina C. Daley 21 Coventry Lane 64 140 Ameen Realty Trust - 33 Coventry Lane Samuel J. and Beatrice Ameen, Jr. 64 141 Wollaston B. and 45 Coventry Lane Pamela E. Morin 64 146 John H. and 10 Coventry Lane Carol A. Obert 64 145 Duncan I. and 24 Coventry Lane Barbara MacKay 64 10A Thomas M. and 510 Dale Street Debra Murphy 64 11 Dennis P. Crowley 490 Dale Street