Uxbridge planning board approves special permit to create four rear lots on Henry Street with drainage and easement conditions

The Town of Uxbridge Planning Board on a roll-call vote approved a special permit to create four rear (retreat) lots at 128 Henry Street, subject to two conditions intended to protect an adjacent property and local drainage.

Attorney Rob Canapic, speaking for the applicant, told the board the filed plans remove a previous "non-buildable" notation and seek endorsement of four rear lots. He said the applicant will execute an express access and utility easement for the owner of 18 Larkin Avenue (the plan labels the easement as about 3,517 square feet) and offered a stormwater condition tied to permit issuance.

Board members and residents focused discussion on two points that emerged at earlier hearings: access for the Larkin Avenue property and potential runoff to Larkin and Blackstone streets. Canapic said the easement will be recorded and proposed the following condition before any building permit for Lot 1R: submission of a drainage analysis and certification, prepared and endorsed by a licensed Massachusetts professional civil engineer and prepared in accordance with the Massachusetts Stormwater Handbook, demonstrating that the proposed improvements will not increase peak runoff to Larkin Avenue. The board indicated the analysis would be subject to peer review by the board’s consultant.

Several neighbors, including Gregory (from 82 Henry Street) and Paul Bridal (4 Blackstone Street), said runoff already causes standing water and damage on Blackstone and asked how additional development would be kept from worsening conditions. The applicant and board members responded that tonight’s action creates parcels only; driveway design, septic permitting and any changes that could affect grading or drainage will be reviewed separately when individual site plans, septic applications and building permits are submitted, and that the proposed condition is intended to prevent additional peak runoff from the specific Lot 1R.

The board voted to approve the special permit with the two conditions: (1) an executed and recorded full access easement in favor of 18 Larkin Avenue; and (2) submission, prior to issuance of any building permit for Lot 1R, of a stormwater/runoff analysis and Massachusetts civil engineer certification demonstrating no increase in peak runoff to Larkin Avenue, subject to peer review. The motion passed by roll call.

The board’s approval creates the lots; further site-specific approvals and reviews will be required for house siting, septic permits and driveway construction.