Residents from River Road, Marion turned out in droves for the public hearing of the proposed subdivision of Lot 20 during the regular Planning Board meeting on the evening of Monday, July 16. Both residents and board members shared their concerns with the subdivision’s representative, engineer Gregory Morse, who was requesting the board to grant four waivers from Marion bylaws.
“We’re proposing a two-lot subdivision,” Morse said. “We met with the board informally two months ago to go over these waivers and prepare the plans [for the public hearing].”
The first waiver Morse requested would reduce the right-of-way.
“Your rules and regulations require a 50-foot right-of-way. We’re proposing a 40-foot right-of-way,” Morse said.
After limited debate, the Planning Board granted waiver for the reduced right-of-way.
The remaining three waivers welcomed objections from the residents, who were largely concerned with the issue of drainage in the River Road neighborhood and the proposed installation of retaining walls.
The current plans for the subdivision would necessitate two reductions in setbacks for the catch basin for the new drainage system, which Morse declared would not exacerbate the neighborhood’s existing problems with flooding. A total of three new drainage systems would be installed, two for the new lots and one for the cul-de-sac that would serve as the shared driveway.
“We have two catch basins at the throat of the cul-de-sac,” Morse said, “which directs storm water to an infiltration basin. The location is set up to pick up as much water from the cul-de-sac as we can.”
One abutter of the proposed catch basin, Ted Gregory, questioned Morse about the effect that the catch basin would have on the flooding of his basement.
“The concern is going to be drainage,” Gregory said in his objection.
Another resident, Mildred Cooper, voiced similar concerns.
“I always have water in my basement and I don’t live at the bottom of the hill,” she said.
Morse replied that his calculations were based on the River Road area, but that he could perform more calculations tailored to the abutters of the proposed catch basin and include them with the revised plan.
Many residents, and the board members, were concerned about how the drainage system would be maintained, particularly because the current storm drains have not been serviced in almost 15 years.
“The road and the drainage system would be owned by a homeowner’s association that would be responsible for maintenance of the drainage systems,” Morse answered.
Resident John Beck, when voicing his concerns about the underground water flow, proposed another solution.
“What if you drained some of the water off the cul-de-sac into the center, where it’s grass?” Beck asked.
Morse estimated that possibly half or maybe even two-thirds of the run-off might fit into a catch basin at the center of the cul-de-sac, which he would research for the revised plan.
Cooper opened the discussion of the last waiver, which called for a reduction of the leveling area from 100 feet for a three percent grade to only 50 feet. Morse said this reduction would be necessary to maintain the grade between the abutting properties and would require installation of retaining walls varying between four and five feet high.
“It’s approximately 150 feet of wall,” Morse said.
While the Planning Board voted to grant the waiver for the right-of-way, it chose to hold off on the remaining three waivers.
“I’ll respond with a response letter and revised plans,” Morse said.
The public hearing for the River Road subdivision will continue on Monday, August 20 at 7:10 pm.
In other news, the Planning Board approved the ANR Plan for 223 Converse Road and permitted Rodger Tangeline, representing a property from Indian Cove, to subdivide under the bylaw exception for properties existing with multiple buildings.
“You have the absolute right to divide the property as you have,” Vice Chairman Patricia McArdle said, “but the consequences [I don’t know].”
McArdle advised Tangeline to consider the official subdivision process, even at a greater cost, to ensure that the lots are buildable.
“A lot of us would probably waive most of those requirements,” McArdle said. “You need to go through those avenues [town fire and police chiefs and building inspector] and again, we can’t guarantee it’s a buildable lot.”
In its last business, the Planning Board spoke to representatives from the Marion Energy Management Committee about the joint project of writing a solar bylaw to present at Town Meeting this fall. The Planning Board voted to meet at a later date with the same representatives and a third-party member with bylaw experience to draft the document. Each party agreed to bring to the table its concerns for permitting solar energy – largely commercial – in Marion, particularly because of zoning.
“The proposal is to make the [state] regulations Marion-friendly,” Energy Management Committee representative Jennifer Francis said.
The next Marion Planning Board meeting will be held on Monday, August 6, at 7:00 pm.
By Anne Smith
