WAKEFIELD — The topic was engineering at last night’s Zoning Board of Appeals hearing on the controversial 100-unit Chapter 40B affordable housing project proposed for 129 Nahant St., the former industrial site of Precision Honing.
The developer’s civil engineer Scott Cameron covered a wide variety of site/civil topics including storm water runoff, utilities, potential blasting and snow storage/removal.
Cameron said that the overall rate of runoff from the site would be reduced and no stormwater runoff or melting snow would enter any neighboring properties. He said that catch basins and underground treatment systems would handle groundwater on the site.
In terms of utilities, Cameron said that a new fire hydrant would be installed near the front of the site. He said that closed circuit cameras will be used to inspect sewer connections to the site and any defects will be fixed by the developer.
ZBA member Chip Tarbell said that he would like to see a cross-section of the site so it can be determined if it’s possible to lower the building further. Cameron said that the location of the sewer connection and the groundwater levels would dictate how much lower the building can go but agreed to provide the cross-sections.
ZBA member Joe Pride asked Cameron if he anticipated any blasting or chipping of ledge on the site. Cameron admitted that both are possibilities. Pride noted that those processes would be an issue for neighbors.
ZBA member Kasumi Humphries expressed concerns about the parking layout and the ability of cars to negotiate the narrow travel lanes when delivery or trash trucks are on site.
Board member Mickey Feeley also had questions about the parking layout and traffic flow around the building.
In response to another question, Cameron said that snow melt from the designated snow storage areas would flow back onto the site. The developer’s attorney Jason Panos added that snow will be trucked off the site and will only be pushed into the snow storage areas util it can be removed from the site.
ZBA chairman Tom Lucey expressed concern about the large percentage of impervious surface on the site, noting that it was not consistent with the neighborhood or the rest of the town.
Lucey reiterated a concern he has expressed repeatedly at earlier meetings regarding the looming Sept. 11 deadline for the board to issue a decision on the project.
“There’s still a lot to do and not a lot of time,” he said.
When the hearing was opened to the public, Victoria Turner of Wilson Road expressed skepticism regarding Cameron’s claim that a “sheen” seen in groundwater samples from the site was attributable to a naturally occurring chemical in the soil. She wondered if it was actually from an oil tank that had been removed from the site.
Turner closed with a comment on the overall size of the project, calling it “enormous.”
Other neighbors also reiterated concerns about the size of the project.
Lucey urged Panos to think about extending the board’s time to render a decision on the project since there are only two more board meetings before the current Sept. 11 deadline. The timeline can only be extended with the developer’s agreement.
The board continued the hearing to the Aug. 14 ZBA meeting.