Peabody commission approves pool and deck at 231 Linfield Street, with plantings and plan revisions required

The Peabody Conservation Commission on May 7 closed the public hearing and issued an Order of Conditions for work that will add a pool, a wooden deck and a low stone wall at 231 Linfield Street, contingent on revised plans and specific mitigation measures.

The action matters because portions of the proposed work sit inside the 200-foot riverfront buffer to Goldthwait Brook and bordering vegetated wetlands; the commission required on-site plantings and limits on how the lawn and fill are managed to offset impacts and protect downstream flood-prone areas.

Nicole Ferrara, environmental consultant with LEC Environmental Consultants, represented the homeowner-applicant, Jean Raimondo. Ferrara told the commission the application proposes a pool and an approximately 492-square-foot wooden deck extending the existing deck, and a 32-inch natural stone wall built on the existing grade. She said the pool and deck are “partially located within the riverfront area, but outside of the 100-foot buffer zone.”

Ferrara described wetland flags, an intermittent stream in an on-site drainage easement, and a bordering vegetated wetland to the north. She said the project keeps all work outside the mapped floodplain (Zone AE, elevation 88) and that the applicant will plant native shrubs along the lawn edge to meet riverfront-area performance standards. Ferrara told the commission that “we are proposing 16 shrubs. They will be, in groups of 3 to 5 and will be spaced 5 feet apart.”

Commissioners pressed for clearer drawings and conditions. The commission directed that the stone feature be labeled on the revised plan as a “32-inch balanced stone wall” (not a retaining wall), and asked the applicant to add a planting area on the plan with species names and quantities, a post-and-rail fence placed near the lawn edge (near wetland flags 7–8), and a survivorship guarantee for plantings. Commissioner Amanda Green asked that the planting area be shown “so we know we agree where the plants are” and the applicant agreed to add species and quantities to the plan.

Secretary Michael Vivaldi moved to issue the Order of Conditions with the modifications discussed; Commissioner Arthur Athas seconded. The motion passed on a roll call vote, 6–0. The commission’s action included the following explicit conditions: stockpiled material for any minor grading must be staged on the driveway (as noted in the application narrative), no chlorinated pool water drawdown for seven days without prior approval, installation of the agreed 10+ native enhancement shrubs with at least three species represented, a 75% plant survivorship requirement, and that the certificate of compliance will not be issued until the plantings are installed and invoiced.

The commission closed the hearing and approved the order “contingent on that revised plan being approved by staff,” the chair said; Ferrara said the applicant will submit the revised plans for staff review. The commission and staff also asked for 48 hours’ advance notice when work approaches wetland buffers so staff can inspect erosion controls and confirm limits of work.

The project will return for staff review of the revised plan before work begins; the commission recorded the approval as contingent on that review.