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Commission accepts after-the-fact notice of intent for 2 Central Street redevelopment; enforcement order withdrawn
Summary
After discovering work done within the 100-year floodplain, the commission accepted an after-the-fact notice of intent for a bank-to-restaurant conversion at 2 Central Street, found the applicant’s revised plans met compensatory-storage requirements and withdrew an earlier enforcement order; the commission added O&M and reporting conditions.
The Peabody Conservation Commission voted Jan. 9 to accept an after-the-fact Notice of Intent for the redevelopment of 2 Central Street, a former bank the applicant proposes to convert to a restaurant with an elevated outdoor seating deck. The commission also withdrew an enforcement order after the applicant demonstrated compensatory storage and other stormwater measures.
Attorney John Kelty, civil engineer Rick Salvo and wetland scientist David Calvin (senior wetland scientist) described how the redevelopment inadvertently proceeded into bordering land subject to flooding and how the design was revised to meet state standards. Salvo said test pits verified soil infiltration rates and that the proposed Caltech infiltration chambers and compensatory storage provided substantially more storage than was impacted: the team reported an impact of 71.8 cubic feet and compensatory storage of 626.5 cubic feet.
Commissioners asked detailed questions about how the proposed stormwater system would behave during extreme tide events, including an astronomical high tide that had previously blocked the North River. The applicant’s engineer explained that large-scale ocean-tide-driven flooding cannot be fully mitigated by on-site chambers but said the chambers provide additional on-site storage and that the design accommodates the 100-year storm.
The commission closed the public hearing and voted to issue an after-the-fact NOI with conditions requested by staff, including a standalone post-construction operations and maintenance plan and an annual maintenance report due Oct. 31 once the treatment train is online. The commission also recorded that the Department of Environmental Protection had assigned file number 550949 and that Department of Public Services (DPS) comments were under review, with the applicant prepared to address grease-trap sizing and other DPW items.
Why it matters: The action regularizes construction that had already occurred in a FEMA-mapped floodplain and ensures compensatory storage and long-term maintenance to limit additional flood impacts from the redevelopment.
Next steps: The commission will require the standalone O&M plan and annual reporting; the applicant will continue coordination with DPS and Board of Health on grease-trap sizing and finalize stormwater details.
