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Conservation commission approves negative determination for DCR parking and sidewalk work at 136 Damon Road
Summary
The Northampton Conservation Commission approved a negative determination of applicability for repaving and a small expansion of the parking lot and sidewalk at 136 Damon Road (Connecticut River Greenway State Park), imposing conditions including sand-only deicing and snow storage outside the 100-foot buffer to bordering vegetated wetland.
The Northampton Conservation Commission on Jan. 22 approved a negative determination of applicability for parking-lot and sidewalk improvements at 136 Damon Road, the Connecticut River Greenway State Park headquarters, subject to conditions the commission discussed at the meeting.
Heidi Fisher of AECOM, representing the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, told commissioners the project would repave and reclaim the existing parking lot and sidewalks and expand the lot to accommodate four to five additional vehicles. She said the work is limited to the 100-foot buffer to a bordering vegetated wetland associated with the Connecticut River and that new paving for the added spaces would be located outside that buffer.
Commissioners pressed staff and the presenter on stormwater and winter maintenance. Commissioner Downey raised concerns that plowing and snow storage placed at the rear of the lot could concentrate deicing salts and other winter chemicals in the buffer; Fisher said she did not have details on current salt or sand use and that drainage features in place would not change with the limited repaving scope. Staff indicated the commission could attach conditions to a negative determination to reduce impacts on the wetlands.
After discussion the commission agreed to issue a Negative Determination (Category 3) with conditions including that only sand be used for traction during winter and that snow storage be located outside the 100-foot buffer to the bordering vegetated wetland. The commission completed a roll-call vote approving the determination unanimously.
The action allows DCR to proceed with the limited repaving and reclamation work under the stated conditions; the determination does not alter or replace any separate permits that might be required for future changes to drainage or grading.
What comes next: DCR (through AECOM) will proceed under the negative determination and the conditions recorded by the commission. If DCR later proposes stormwater or grading changes that affect drainage to the buffer, those new elements would require separate review.
