The Peabody Conservation Commission on Nov. 12 approved an Order of Conditions for remediation of 24 Carla Street, a riverfront parcel the city acquired in 2019 and plans to fold into the Peabody Riverwalk. The project is designed to achieve regulatory closure under the Massachusetts Contingency Plan and prepare the site for passive‑park use.

Joe Spencer of Weston & Sampson described the work as excavation and off‑site disposal of impacted soil — “up to 2,500 cubic yards” with an 18‑inch minimum cut across the site and deeper, targeted removals where polychlorinated biphenyls and lead concentrations are higher. Spencer said the team will install geotextile fabric and place clean borrow on top, seed the surface with a New England conservation mix to stabilize the site and follow MCP protocols for any dewatering.

Commissioners pressed for site safeguards during construction. Chair Michael Rizzo and others said they wanted limits on how trees near the river wall are handled; the commission adopted a condition that large‑caliper trees — defined on the record as those over about 8 inches — within 20 feet of the retaining wall be cut and ground, not grubbed, to avoid undermining the wall. The permit also requires a rodent‑control approach that avoids second‑generation anticoagulant poisons; members asked for an integrated pest‑management plan to be submitted and reviewed prior to construction.

The motion to issue the Order of Conditions with these additional, site‑specific terms passed on a roll call vote of 6–0. The commission asked to receive copies of key deliverables — the site’s Release Abatement Measure (RAM) plan, risk‑based disposal plan, bills of lading for soil transport, and the completion report — so staff can monitor compliance. Spencer said an LSP will be on‑site during excavation and trucking, and that the team will supply the documents requested.

The commission also discussed erosion and dust controls, including continuous quantitative dust monitoring listed in the NOI and anti‑tracking, wheel‑wash and catch‑basin measures. Construction is expected to be bid this winter, with work aimed for early spring and formal Riverwalk construction targeted for 2027.

The commission closed the public hearing and voted to issue the Order of Conditions 6–0; applicants must submit the rodent plan and the LSP deliverables before work begins.