Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Hampden planning board approves common-driveway permit for Highland Circle with conditions
Summary
The Town of Hampden Planning Board approved a special-permit for a common driveway to serve three existing lots on Highland Circle and South Munson Road, subject to plan revisions, stormwater and maintenance conditions and required filings with town staff and conservation.
The Town of Hampden Planning Board on Feb. 12, 2025 approved a special-permit application to establish a common driveway serving three residential lots owned by Austin Graham on Highland Circle and South Munson Road, with the board placing conditions requiring revised plans and stormwater/maintenance documentation.
The applicant’s engineer, Will Walter of Alfred Benish and Company, told the board the submission covers a common driveway only and that three legal lots already exist. Walter said the driveway plan follows the Massachusetts Stormwater Quality Manual and includes a stormwater quality basin and erosion- and sediment-control measures. He told the board the plan will be revised to restore a gravel (previously proposed) surface for the driveway, which he said removes several peer-review concerns tied to added impervious surface.
Why it matters: the project drains toward a large wetland system and Temple Brook; peer review raised technical questions about hydrologic modeling and long‑term operation of stormwater features. The board’s conditions aim to ensure the driveway does not worsen runoff to the wetlands and that stormwater controls will be built and maintained.
Peer-review and outstanding technical items TimeBond’s peer reviewer, represented by Chris Rokos, said the board’s third‑party review found missing details and standard items in the stormwater submission (curb details, operation-and‑maintenance documentation, a construction‑period pollution‑prevention plan and specific basin construction details). Rokos said many items are standard inclusions in a stormwater report and recommended the applicant address them or request any targeted relief from the board.
Walter and Rokos discussed several technical points the reviewer flagged: whether an environmental‑impact study (EIS) is required under section 5.7 of the Hampden zoning bylaw; pre‑ and post‑construction runoff analyses; how drainage catchments were modeled; and whether portions of the site should be modeled with a different hydrologic soil group based on test pits. Walter said the design reduces peak runoff for most modeled storms and that the small modeled increase in a single subarea was 0.03 cubic feet per second for the 25‑year storm; he argued that, in the context of the roughly 400‑acre watershed he derived from GIS, the net effect is negligible.
Board direction and conditions The board agreed to approve the common‑driveway site plan for the driveway itself, subject to written conditions requiring the applicant to submit the revisions discussed at the meeting. The planning board asked the applicant to provide: - Revised plans addressing the third‑party review comments (curbing detail, basin construction detail, materials and seed mix, and catch‑basin layout clarity). - A construction‑period pollution‑prevention and erosion‑control plan to be placed on the construction drawing set. - A long‑term operation and maintenance (O&M) plan for stormwater features, including inspection and routine cleaning schedules and an estimated operation budget (to be recorded on plot plans that will accompany future building permits for each lot). - A driveway maintenance agreement to be recorded so ownership and maintenance obligations are clear prior to issuance of building permits for houses on the served lots. The board noted that Conservation Commission review may still require plan changes; the board’s approval will stand but any changes ordered by Conservation would require plan revisions and re‑approval.
What the board did not decide No subdivision approval or house plans were approved at this hearing. The board’s action covered the common driveway design only; each lot owner must return with plot plans (showing building footprints, septic design and other site details) when pursuing building permits.
Next steps The applicant must file the revised plan set and the required O&M and construction documents identified in the conditions. The board’s planner will confirm the revisions have been made before finalizing the permit.
