Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Pool Permitting Wetland Buffer topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Conservation commission conditionally approves above-ground pool at 77 Briarwood Lane, requires backwash pit and proof of legal ad
Summary
The commission granted a conditional Request for Determination approval for an above-ground pool at 77 Briarwood Lane, contingent on receipt of the required legal advertisement and installation of a 3-by-3-by-3-foot crushed-stone backwash pit to prevent discharging pool backwash into the detention pond/wetland buffer.
The Fall River Conservation Commission on Monday conditionally approved a Request for Determination (RDA) for an above-ground swimming pool at 77 Briarwood Lane, with two explicit conditions: the applicant must provide the legal advertisement placed in the newspaper, and the property must install a 3-by-3-by-3-foot crushed-stone pit for pool filter backwash rather than piping backwash into the nearby detention pond.
Conservation agent Dan Aguilar described the site: the proposed 27-foot-diameter in-ground pool equipment and a 3-by-3 concrete pad would fall within a buffer zone because a detention pond sits between the work area and the vegetated wetland. Aguilar said all pool equipment must be more than 25 feet from the wetland and that a backwash pit is a “normal” measure to prevent effluent from entering the pond. He recommended granting a conditional approval if the applicant submitted the legal advertisement showing public notice.
The commission moved and seconded a conditional approval requiring submission of the legal ad and the specified crushed-stone backwash pit. The motion passed by voice vote. Aguilar reported the applicant’s representative had not been present at the time of the hearing but expected to email the legal ad to staff the following morning.
The commission also clarified permitting jurisdiction: the conservation commission approval addresses resource-area concerns; the applicant must still obtain any required building department permits for the pool.
Next steps for the applicant are to provide the copy of the legal advertisement and to install the prescribed backwash containment feature; staff will continue monitoring the site for vegetation establishment and silt removal in the wetland area noted in an earlier site visit.
