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Northfield conservation meeting shifts from parking proposal to slower, evidence-based process
Summary
At a joint meeting of the Conservation Commission and community groups, residents and commissioners agreed to gather engineering, stormwater and permitting details before the Select Board decides whether to site parking at Cheney Field; a small work group and follow-up to the Select Board were proposed.
David Mears, chair of the Smart Field Conservation Commission, opened the monthly meeting by saying the commission had already recommended against placing a permanent parking lot at Cheney Field without more public process and information and that tonight’s goal was to continue dialogue with accessibility advocates and residents.
Several residents and stakeholders urged the commission to slow the process and collect specific technical answers. Nancy Peck, a member of a local walking group, said the current state of Slate Avenue and Burrows Road makes access to the town forest difficult and suggested limited carpool parking near the slate quarry dirt pile as a targeted, small-scale option. Gerard (a Northfield resident) pressed the commission on safety and environmental issues, saying a civil engineer on the Select Board had warned the temporary access road ‘‘would not be safe for this traffic’’ and urging a formal stormwater study before any permanent parking is approved.
Mary, who reported recent contact with town staff, told the group that key equipment and tanks for the contractor had still not arrived and that remediation work in the contract may not happen until next spring, which members said provides additional time to gather facts. ‘‘We have more time than we thought,’’ Mary said, noting the later contractor timeline.
Commissioners and attendees emphasized the difference between the commission’s advisory role and the Select Board’s decision-making authority. Mears recommended compiling the questions captured on posters and in the earlier meeting and submitting them to the Select Board and town staff for formal responses. Laura Heleneubanks (joining by Zoom) asked for a clear commitment from the Select Board to provide advance notice when a decision deadline approaches and proposed a small, public work group representing interested parties to develop options.
Technical questions listed by participants included whether Act 250 or state stormwater permits would be triggered, what the contractor’s restoration obligations are, road maintenance and safety for narrow residential streets, and how access proposals would affect a 500,000-gallon water tank upslope. ‘‘There’s a serious stormwater concern,’’ Gerard said, adding that changing impervious surface and road grading could alter runoff for the whole town.
Multiple speakers proposed alternatives to a full Cheney parking lot, such as regulated, limited parking; scheduled shuttle service from the town common; periodic ‘access days’; and constructing an ‘‘easy up’’ switchback trail from the Shaw Center. Jeremy, representing the Town Forest Stewardship Committee, noted his committee had passed its own motion (separately) favoring permanent parking in town-forest areas other than Cheney Field and supporting temporary vehicular access to Cheney Field only for special events.
The group agreed on near-term steps: synthesize unanswered questions (regulatory, engineering and contractor timeline), forward them to the Select Board and town staff, and consider a work group or a joint meeting in September to review the answers. The commission will reserve time at its next regular meeting for further discussion and asked interested residents to send questions to the committee email list for collation.
