The proposed Cranberry Highway 40R development saw significant progress during the Rochester Conservation Commission meeting held on December 15. After a roughly yearlong process to receive commission approval, the Notice of Intent Application filed by Steen Realty was unanimously approved by the commission members.
Phil Cordeiro, representing Steen Realty, came before the commission to notify members of his progress with the Rochester Planning Board. The Planning Board closed the public hearing on the development during its last meeting, allowing the project to come to a vote for a final decision in early January.
Cordeiro explained the alterations made to the plan to effectively adhere to the Planning Board’s conditions. The majority of these changes involved proposed work that did not fall under Conservation Commission jurisdiction. The changes included updates to the existing sewer system on the site, additional landscaping to benefit abutters to the property, and the inclusion of building designs on the plans.
Cordeiro’s business with the commission was primarily related to a waiver for stormwater calculations on the site. Commission members previously expressed their reluctance to approve the plans until Cordeiro received a required waiver from the Planning Board. Their apprehension was predicated on the possibility that, without the waiver from the Planning Board, Cordeiro would ultimately need to undertake a redesign of the plans in order to adhere to requested conditions.
With Planning Board approval and all of the requested waivers granted, Cordeiro found himself in a stronger position to advocate for Conservation Commission approval of the plans. “We have continued this hearing for a while now. This project was filed last December,” said Conservation Agent Laurell Farinon. “Since he has provided sufficient information, that the project is in compliance with stormwater standards. My recommendation is to close the public hearing,” Farinon told commission members.
A motion to approve the plans carried and Steen Realty will have the authority to begin work on the site, officially pending the approval of a draft decision from the Planning Board.
The Conservation Commission moved to discuss a Notice of Resource Area Delineation filed by Ryan Young. Contention around the delineation has been steadily increasing as abutters to the proposed wetlands notified the commission that the area portrayed in the proposal did not coincide with their experience living in the area.
Chris King of Atlantic Design Engineers, Inc., representing the resource area delineation, explained that a site visit took place on December 7 to allow Farinon and Amy Ball of Horsley Witten Group to walk the site lines and review the proposed wetlands delineation.
King and the commission members agreed that the current flags delineating the wetlands area were accurate, but confusion remained relating to potential flooding areas and vernal pools. King sent a letter to the commission members on the day of the meeting in the hope of dispelling some of the concerns relating to those issues. Unfortunately, due to a lack of sufficient time to review the arguments put forth in the letter, the commission could not make comments on the issues it addressed.
Conservation Commission Vice-Chairman Daniel Gagne recommended that the commission grant a partial approval of the wetlands delineation to allow King to begin the process of a formal Notice of Intent application, but several commission members expressed their reluctance to issue a partial approval. The commission decided that a continuation of the meeting was in everyone’s best interest in order to give all parties ample time to review topics put forth in the letter provided by King.
The next Rochester Conservation Commission meeting is scheduled to be held remotely on January 19 at 7:00 pm.
Rochester Conservation Commission
By Matthew Donato