Planning board postpones decision on Belfor restoration generator at 185 Oakland after neighbor objections

The Birmingham Planning Board on Jan. 20 postponed consideration of a proposed whole‑building diesel generator at 185 Oakland Avenue to Feb. 26, 2025, after extended discussion about siting, screening, noise and fuel‑storage safeguards and an adjacent neighbor’s public objection to the chosen location.

Planning staff said the application included manufacturer specs and a preliminary landscape plan but lacked a detailed site plan showing exact placement, distances to adjacent structures and coordinated landscape screening. Staff recommended postponement until the applicant submits a detailed site plan and a refined landscape/screening plan.

Dan Bertolini of Arrow Heating & Cooling represented Belfor Disaster Restoration and said the specified unit would produce 72.3 decibels at 23 feet at full‑load operation, discharge upward through a top‑mounted exhaust and be diesel‑fueled with a 48‑hour run‑time tank. He said the tank is a double‑walled above‑ground tank with an alarm sensor; the generator sits on a concrete platform with stairs and service walkways. The unit’s footprint is roughly 23 feet long by 8.5 feet wide and about 10.5 feet tall including sound attenuation. He said routine test runs would be approximately 15 minutes and could be weekly or biweekly.

Neighbor Matthew Brown, who lives immediately adjacent on Ferndale Avenue, told the board the proposed location effectively places a “massive commercial generator in what is effectively the front yard of everyone on the street,” and said the siting would seriously harm the street’s aesthetics and residents’ livability. Brown told the board he would prefer the unit be placed closer to the rear parking lot, even if that requires losing parking spaces.

Planning staff and the fire marshal asked the applicant for additional information on fuel‑spill mitigation given nearby catch basins and on whether state tank permits apply; staff also asked for a site plan showing existing trees to confirm screening will be effective. The fire marshal indicated top discharge is typical and had no immediate siting objection but asked that spill mitigation and tank permitting be addressed.

Given those outstanding materials and neighbor concerns, the board voted to postpone final site plan and design review for 185 Oakland to the Feb. 26, 2025 meeting and requested a date‑certain resubmittal with a coordinated site plan, detailed landscape screening proposal and confirmatory information from the fire and building departments.