The Revere Conservation Commission held its regular monthly meeting last Wednesday, July 12, in the City Council Chamber.
Chairperson John Shue and fellow commissioners Joseph LaValle, Robert Cassidy, Samantha Woodson, and Brian Averbach were on hand for the meeting.
The commission first took up the continuation of the hearing for the approval of a Notice of Intent (NOI) for the construction of a single-family home on land subject to coastal storm flowage at 18 Neponset Street, which is located across No. Shore Rd. from the Wonderland T parking garage.
Peter Blaisdell, the engineer for the project from the firm of Wiiliams and Sparages, appeared on behalf of the property owner. Blaisdell said that after a meeting with the Site Plan Review Committee, the project now will incorporate permeable pavers, and the off-street parking has been slightly reconfigured. He also noted that two additional trees will be planted on the property and that the deck will be smaller.
In response to a question from Woodman about wave refraction, Blaisdell said that it is not applicable to this property.
The commission unanimously approved the project, but with the added conditions that the foundation be a flow-through design, that indigenous trees be planted, that a dry well or rain garden be incorporated on the site, and that the ConsComm’s order be recorded with the Suffolk County Registry of Deeds.
The commission next took up a request for an extension of the Order of Conditions pertaining to the replacement of a 23kV electrical cable by National Grid (Mass. Electric).
Shue said only a little bit of work is left, but Mass. Electric is seeking a three-year extension to comply with the Order of Conditions. The commission unanimously approved the extension.
The commission granted three requests for Certificates of Compliance by the developer of Suffolk Downs for the completion of a number of preliminary construction projects on the site, including the demolition of the horse racing facilities and the installation of a bus stop and turnaround on Tomasello Drive.
However, four other requests for Certificates of Compliance pertaining to changes in the floodplain were continued until another time.
The commission addressed an enforcement action with the owner of 59 Ellerton Street, (which runs parallel with, and between, No. Shore Rd. and Arcadia St., just behind Revere Beach Blvd.) regarding the installation of an unpermitted asphalt driveway without a valid Order of Conditions where the property is land subject to coastal storm flowage and is located on a coastal dune barrier beach.
The commission sent a notice to the owner and the contractor about the issue. The home owner appeared on his own behalf and said he thought the contractor had pulled the necessary building permit, which is required by the city, which in turn would have triggered a review by the ConsComm. However, neither the owner nor the contractor pulled a building permit.
Shue suggested that the homeowner hire a consultant to come up with a possible solution, such as a drip edge, that can address the ConsComm’s concerns without requiring the homeowner to rip up his new driveway.
The commission’s next meeting is scheduled for August 2.
