By Journal Staff
The Revere Conservation Commission (ConsComm) held its regular monthly meeting on Thursday evening, July 10, in the City Council Chambers. Chair Nicholas Rudolph and fellow members Brian Averback, Joseph LaValle, Bernardo Sepulveda, Amelia Viscay, and Thomas Carleton were on hand for the session.
The first matter on the agenda was a request for a Determination of Applicability from Karie Gavin for the demolition of a garage and the conversion of asphalt/pavement to grass at her home at 23 Frank Ave., a small street that runs between No. Shore Rd. and Mills Ave. in the Riverside section of the Point of Pines.
After a brief discussion with Ms. Gavin about the work to be done, the commissioners determined that the work would not involve a conservation issue and therefore issued a negative Determination of Applicability, which means that the ConsComm will not be overseeing the project.
“This will be a major improvement to the property,” said Rudolph.
The evening’s principal matter before the commission was a request for a Notice of Intent (NOI) from the City of Revere for the construction of a new Revere High School at 190 VFW Parkway. The site is the former Wonderland dog track.
Claire Hoogeboom, a Wetlands Scientist with LEC Environmental Consultants who has appeared before the ConsComm numerous times in the past year to obtain approval for the delineation of the wetlands and for the demolition of the remaining structures on the site (which is ongoing), presented the request for the NOI.
Hoogeboom was accompanied by a number of members of the team working on the project, including landscape architects and engineers. She presented charts that showed the many topographical challenges that will be involved with the project stemming from the site’s location near land subject to coastal storm flow; its proximity to the riverfront area; the presence of the Eastern County Ditch (which runs through the site); and the existence of what has become a freshwater pond on the old dog track.
She noted that the school, which will house students in grades 9-12, will have at-grade parking underneath it at an elevation of four feet, with the school itself elevated well-above (19 feet) the 100-year flood plain (which is 11 feet). There will be five tennis courts, a bank of EV charging stations, and two synthetic-turf, multi-purposed playing fields, one of which will have a geothermal heating system underneath it that will provide heat to the high school.
There also will be a wildlife mitigation area with osprey nests. In addition, there will be outdoor learning areas, courtyards, and boardwalk paths.
David Conway, who has been a Senior Project Manager at Nitsch Engineering for more than 30 years, discussed the stormwater report that consists of more than 400 pages. He noted that the biggest improvement to be made to the site will be the removal of the more than six acres of the present asphalt and concrete surfaces that will be replaced with permeable material.
Conway explained that this work will greatly assist in handling stormwater runoff and its treatment, while also improving overall resilience.
“I’ve done more than 200 schools since I began my career in 1992 and this will be one of the greenest schools I’ve ever worked with,” said Conway. “This is a project that we’re thrilled to be a part of.”
Conway also noted that the federal EPA will be monitoring the construction work. All of the treated water, which will undergo two filtration processes, will be discharged into the county ditch. “This project will provide a higher degree of treatment than most similar projects,” added Conway, who noted that the project is being required to meet higher standards than usual.
“The Eastern County Ditch may not look like a pristine area such as a Rumney Marsh, but we are treating it as if it were,” Conway added.
LaValle raised the issue of ensuring that the county ditch will be maintained and cleaned-out regularly to avoid back-ups from sediment — which historically has been a problem — to which Hoogeboom replied that the ditch will be monitored by federal, state, and local agencies in the future.
The commissioners briefly weighed the pros and cons of either delaying a vote to review the voluminous project or hiring an independent firm to perform a separate peer-review study.
“This is a lot of material to wrap our brains around,” said Rudolph. “I think more time is necessary to consider it.”
“I think this is overkill,” said Averbach. “I feel at this point that they already have undergone numerous reviews to this point. My personal opinion is that we should be good to go forward.”
Hoogeboom noted that the construction process is “tight” and that the city is looking to have approval from the ConsComm by August in order to begin the construction process this fall.
Former ConsComm Chairman John Shue then spoke to the commissioners about the lengthy process of obtaining an independent peer review which inevitably would push the approval by the ConsComm into September if not later. In addition, Shue noted that the ConsComm already had voted for a peer review — which was paid for by the city (which is the applicant) — for the delineation of the wetlands.
The members then agreed to continue the matter to its August meeting, though Brian Dakin, the project manager, noted that any delay beyond August could have a significant impact on the construction schedule and ultimately the opening of the school.
Next up was a request for a Determination of Applicability for the removal of a billboard at 907 North Shore Road. Greg Ziomex from Ultra Lum-Services presented the request on behalf of the City of Revere, which owns the property.
Rudolph said he was concerned about the potential impact on the wetlands in which the billboard sits. Ziomex explained that no trucks or cranes will traverse onto the wetlands and that the removal will be conducted by hand by cutting the structure into small pieces with a torch. He said the project will take about a day and the Fire Dept. will be on-site to monitor the project.
“The removal of this billboard structure will beautify this area,” noted Averbach, with Rudolph adding that he would like to ensure that each piece of the billboard structure will be removed as it is cut, rather than allowing the pieces to pile up in the wetlands.
The ConsComm then voted unanimously to approve a negative Determination of Applicability.
The next matter was a request for an NOI from Samuel Teka to add an addition to his single-family home at 74 Dunn Road. The contractor pointed out that the one-story addition will consist of 657 sq.ft. and will be constructed on pilings 11 feet above grade.
There were no opponents and the members unanimously approved the application.
“This is definitely going to be a great addition to your living space,” said Rudolph.
The next item was a request for a Certificate of Compliance (COC) for the work done at 26 Curtis Road by Adeel F. Assad. Atty. Anthony Guardia represented Mr. Assad. Guardia said there is an outstanding Order of Conditions (OOC) that had been issued by the ConsComm for an addition that was going to be built 20 years ago by Mr. Asad’s father, but the work never was done. The son, Adeel Assad, now is seeking to sell the property, but needs a COC in order to clear the title so that the sale can go through.
The commissioners unanimously approved issuing the COC.
The commission approved another request for a COC from Stephen Lakis for work done at his home at 102 Summer Street in which Lakis filled-in an existing pool (which now is a lawn area), removed a detached garage, and constructed a new retaining wall.
“The site is completely stabilized and the retaining wall has been installed,” said Rudolph, who performed a site visit at the property last week. “I do have some concerns about the spacing between the blocks on the retaining wall. but the entire project is a vast improvement over what had been there and Mr. Lakis has met the Order of Conditions.”
The commissioners unanimously approved issuing the COC.
The commission next took up another request for a COC for an “after the fact” patio in the backyard at 55 Sagamore St. The commissioners unanimously approved issuing the COC.
The next item was an application for an NOI from Maaza Showangizow for the demolition and construction of a new apartment space on the same footprint in the rear of his home at 660 Revere Beach Boulevard. Mr. Showangizow’s contractor presented the application. The site lies within a barrier beach and a flood zone.
The rear apartment space presently sits on the same foundation as the main home, but the proposal calls for the new apartment space to be constructed on pilings at a higher elevation than the present apartment. It will be separated from the main home, though connected by a rear porchway.
There were no opponents and the commissioners unanimously approved issuing the NOI.
The commissioners briefly discussed an enforcement action at 33 Maggi Road pertaining to “the construction of a fence and encroachment into resource areas without an Order of Conditions.” The homeowner did not appear and Rudolph said that the commission will need to follow-up with the homeowner.
