Developer granted waivers to fill isolated wetland for Barefoot Road industrial project

A developer seeking to build a light-industrial building near Route 290 won key conservation waivers from the Town of Northborough on Dec. 8, clearing an early regulatory hurdle while sparking questions from staff about stormwater pretreatment and options to replicate wetland functions.

The applicant team — represented by attorney Adam Baldarelli of Fletcher Tilton and developer Quentin Hart of Accord Development — asked the Conservation Commission for waivers to alter an isolated vegetated wetland they reported as roughly 10,700–10,965 square feet and to build a single-story, roughly 60,000-square-foot industrial building on the site. The commission voted to close the hearing and grant waivers from local regulations 4.1, 4.2 and portions of 5.3, subject to conditions and subsequent review of stormwater controls.

"We're proposing development of a light industrial building of approximately 60,000 square feet," Quentin Hart said in the presentation, describing the footprint and the team’s effort to identify mitigation areas. The application, the team said, includes about 16,043 square feet of mitigation planting and surface stormwater measures, which it described as delivering a mitigation ratio of roughly 1.5-to-1 compared with the isolated wetland area the project would alter.

Dr. John Rockwood, the project wetland scientist, told commissioners that two seasons of site observations found no vernal-pool biology and that the site "is a flooded red maple swamp and the surrounding uplands are oak pine maple forest," characterizing the area as a common cover type in central Massachusetts. Rockwood concluded the site was not a priority habitat and recommended the proposed mitigation and stormwater treatment would avoid significant cumulative effects on wetland values.

But town conservation agent Vincent McNally pressed the team for technical detail before final construction permits. "What I'd be looking for is to see, that those stormwater treatment mechanisms, the LID meets the pretreatment requirements," McNally said, noting that some rain-garden-style surface measures require pretreatment to avoid pollutants reaching groundwater.

During discussion, staff and commissioners also asked why the applicant did not pursue replicating the wetland on-site in a consolidated area rather than scattering mitigation plantings and treatment across the parcel. The applicant said the mitigation approach is designed to replicate the wetland’s hydrologic and vegetative functions close to the disturbance and to improve infiltration through a mix of rain gardens and subsurface infiltration systems.

The commission voted to grant the requested waivers and to issue work conditions, with the caveat that the applicants return with detailed stormwater management and land-disturbance permit materials showing pretreatment, separation to groundwater, and compliance with MassDEP infiltration standards prior to land-disturbing work. The motion passed on a roll-call vote.

Next procedural steps for the applicant are to submit the detailed stormwater management design and any land-disturbance permit materials; staff indicated those filings will be reviewed for MassDEP compliance and that pretreatment and performance specifications will be key conditions of any later approval.

Commission members said the vote reflects a balancing of the town’s master-plan goals for infill commercial development along a highway corridor with the local bylaw’s protection of isolated vegetated wetlands. The commission recorded that objections about alternatives and pretreatment were considered and will be addressed in subsequent permit review.

The commission closed the hearing and noted the applicant will return with the stormwater and construction details required for the next stage of approval.