SOUTH DEERFIELD — Town planners have given themselves more time to decide on proposed senior condominiums after residents expressed safety concerns at a public hearing Monday night.
After some discussion, the Planning Board and developer Mark Wightman agreed to continue the hearing April 3 — extending the board’s 90-day deadline for approving the project.
During public comment, the project was met with some controversy. Among objections raised, Mountain Road resident Anake Wulfkuhle expressed and reiterated safety concerns.
“I implore you to reject the variance requests and deny approval of this project,” Wulfkuhle read in a statement to the board, referring to a variance request for the subdivision’s two entrances, which the Site Plan puts 285 feet apart, instead of the town-required 600 feet.
The subdivison calls for 35 residences and 70 individual units on 22.8 acres off Sugarloaf Street and beside Mountain Road. If approved, the condominiums would have a 55-and-older deed restriction and price tag of about $300,000 each.
Addressing safety concerns, Civil Engineering Consultant Sara Campbell said “the recommended site distance is 155 feet for a 35 mph speed, and we have quite a bit more. As long as the sight triangles are kept, and they don’t plant bushes or anything like that, I don’t see any reason not to grant the waiver.”
In a letter, town Police Chief John Paciorek Jr. agreed, writing, “I have parked and monitored traffic flow. … The line of sight on Sugarloaf is superior to other projects I have monitored.” Paciorek wrote, “I have no reservations from a safety standpoint regarding this project.”
According to a recent study by the state Department of Transportation, about 7,000 cars travel both ways on Sugarloaf Street per day. Campbell said subdivisions usually increase traffic by about 10 vehicles total per unit on any given day.
Campbell added, “It’s not overwhelming. You’ve got plenty of sight distance. In my opinion, it looks like a reasonable design as far as traffic goes.”
Other concerns expressed by a few of the roughly two dozen residents in attendance centered around potential drainage problems.
Describing how the project deals with stormwater runoff, Campbell said of the ground, “In general, it’s pretty sandy stuff — suitable for infiltration.” To that end, the project outlines three shallow retention basins, connected by piping. Water coming off the street will go through an oil and water separator first.
“These are fairly flat. It’s not something that looks like a pond,” Campbell explained, adding that the basins are “maybe a few feet deep, it’s mowed. You won’t even know it’s there until it rains.”
There is access to water drains onto Sugarloaf Street, which then flows down to Route 116. The project’s engineer, Tony Wonseski, representing SVE Associates, said drainage infrastructure along the street will be bolstered to better handle the increase in flow.
Campbell noted that designs are based on standards “set across the country.” She also said houses on the other side of the road shouldn’t be affected by stormwater runoff because the ground is higher there.
Meanwhile, Wightman said the project has already received interest from potential buyers, with 13 people expressing serious interest.
As far as a timeline, he said, “this is a project that’s going to take five to seven years to sell out, I anticipate.”
Wightman noted that buyers won’t be interested if the project isn’t safe or doesn’t handle stormwater runoff well. He added, “From a particularly personal perspective, it doesn’t make any sense to do the wrong thing.”
Another concern that was discussed was a potential increase in salt and chemicals such a project might bring. A formal comment letter from the South Deerfield Water District said a plan to prevent water contamination should be developed if the project moves forward.
Before voting to continue the hearing, Planning Board Chairman John Waite said “Water has been an issue since day one; there are still some questions about that. Safety has been an issue since day one; there are still questions about that.”
You can reach Andy Castillo
at: acastillo@recorder.com
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On Twitter: @AndyCCastillo