Somerset council approves permit for additions, two HVAC units and tree removals at 5401 Uppingham Street

The Somerset Town Council on March 10 approved a continued building-permit application for 5401 Uppingham Street that allows a one-story front addition, a two-story rear addition, installation of two HVAC units and removal of two trees.

Town staff told the council the application (filed in November) would create about 1,020 square feet of new impervious surface and that Bayland’s stormwater engineer gave conditional approval after reviewing an infiltration-based stormwater plan. The staff presentation reported the added impervious area would generate roughly 250 cubic feet of additional runoff in a 1-year storm and that the proposed infiltration feature has about 450 cubic feet of storage capacity. The town arborist, Dr. Bevan, said the two trees proposed for removal—a 6-inch dogwood and a 12-inch breadbud—are healthy but would be cleared to install the stormwater management feature; he recommended replanting two ornamental trees or water-tolerant species such as river birch or swamp oak.

Architect Lou Veil, presenting for applicants Wonyoung Kai and Wu Yong Chang, described an infiltration trench serving about 2,900 square feet of on-site drainage and explained roof, patio and yard runoff would be directed into the trench with engineered sand and stone subbase media. Veil said the design is intended to meet the town’s nonstructural site-design preference under town code section 1-12-4(g).

Several neighbors spoke during the public comment period. Barry Gottfried said he favored renovation over demolition: “I hope the council will approve projects like this rather than tear downs because this is the kind of thing that I would like to see happen at my end of Somerset.” Joanne Staller, who lives at 5407 Greystone and met with the applicants, said her earlier concerns were resolved after reviewing the updated diagrams: “Our initial reservations were all answered.” Resident Kumar Vaswani asked that presentation slides be added to the record and submitted suggested permit conditions to help school buses and emergency vehicles, including a modest shift in worker arrival time; town staff confirmed the slides would be appended to the record and described preconstruction coordination with enforcement.

Council deliberations focused on neighborhood logistics—parking, deliveries and a nearby designated school-bus stop on Greystone—but members noted staff and the contractor had already met for preconstruction planning. Council President moved to approve the current application for Wanyang Kai and Wu Yong Chang for the property at 5401 Uppingham Street, including the additions and HVAC, and to leave the two trees removal condition as presented; the motion was seconded and passed by voice vote.

After the approval the council moved to enter a closed session to consult with counsel under General Provisions Article 3-3-05(b)(7) for legal advice about variance-hearing procedures.

The record for the hearing was closed before the council’s deliberation; staff will proceed with the permitting steps consistent with the council’s vote and any conditions recorded in the permit file.