Gardner City planning board approves Emerald Street multifamily site plan with conditions

On July 8, 2025, the Gardner City Planning Board approved a definitive site plan for a two-building, six-unit multifamily development on Emerald Street, adopting ten conditions of approval and granting a waiver from the single-access driveway requirement.

Frank McPartland, the project engineer representing the applicant Steven Sini, told the board that outstanding plan-review comments had been addressed and that supplemental groundwater-mounding calculations show a projected mound of 0.22 feet at 72 hours for the proposed septic/infiltration system. "These calculations demonstrated a projected mound fitting the proposed system at 72 hours of a maximum of 0.22 feet," McPartland said, and added that the result is within the applicable DEP stormwater parameters as provided in the submitted stormwater report.

The site plan, prepared by Dyliss and Roy Veil Design Group Inc., depicts two residential buildings with three dwelling units each. The planning board granted a waiver, under the cited zoning provisions presented in the record, allowing six individual driveways with two off-street parking spaces per unit rather than the ordinance requirement of a single access driveway. The board’s finding noted that the proposed driveway configuration "do[es] not create undue congestion or hazards on or off-site," as read into the record by staff.

The board read and adopted ten conditions of approval. Key conditions require that: the applicant grant a drainage easement to the city for relocated storm drains prior to DPW acceptance of work; an operation and maintenance plan (O&M) for stormwater systems be submitted annually and recorded as part of homeowners association (HOA) governing documents; a construction-period pollution-prevention and erosion-control plan be implemented before site disturbance; the bituminous sidewalk along the property frontage be restored to Department of Public Works specifications and meet ADA transition requirements; required landscaping and street trees be installed before final occupancy and maintained by the HOA; and that the city engineer retain inspection authority over site and drainage installations.

Board members indicated they had reviewed the revised plans and stormwater calculations and had no further technical questions. Staff noted that the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) had already issued a special permit for the multifamily use and that the permit was currently within its appeal period.

A motion to approve the definitive site plan with the conditions read into the record was moved and seconded; members voiced their approval and no opposition was recorded.

The board directed staff to complete administrative filing, including obtaining the necessary signatures and notifying the clerk’s office when the appeal period begins.