Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use Permits topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council approves permit for 5522 Greystone with drainage and planting conditions
Summary
After neighbor concerns about drainage and tree replacement, the Somerset Town Council approved permits for 5522 Greystone (deck, retaining walls, fence and landscaping) conditioned on a revised site plan showing a cistern discharge at least 15 feet from the front property line and completion of front-yard planting within 45 days.
The Somerset Town Council voted to approve building, wall and fence permits for 5522 Greystone on May 5, following an extended public hearing that focused on stormwater management, tree protection and neighbor impacts.
Staff and consultants described a site plan that includes hardscape, a cistern to capture rooftop runoff and a pumped discharge that must be routed away from adjacent private property. Eric Tid of Cash Engineering explained the civil design and said the underground cistern will hold runoff until it is pumped out; the engineer agreed to revise the site plan to show the discharge point pulled back 15 feet from the front property line and to add a notation directing the flow toward the public right of way and landscaped front yard.
Neighbors raised several issues during the hearing: lack of prior stormwater controls when the house was originally modified, concern about where pool/spa discharge would go, timing and duration of the construction, and whether required tree replacements were being honored. Staff and the applicant addressed many of the technical questions on the record and the council reopened the record to allow arborist input on the proposed replanting.
Conditions and next steps
The council approved the permit application with the following documented conditions: the applicant must file a revised site plan showing the pump discharge terminating at least 15 feet from the front property line and directed toward the front-yard landscaping; the applicant must complete the planting plan for the front yard within 45 days (subject to reasonable extension by council); and prior reforestation conditions recorded from earlier approvals remain in effect or must be formally modified by the council if the applicant seeks a change.
Engineering and plantings were the central technical issues. On the drainage question, engineering testimony stated the cistern/pump arrangement would produce intermittent discharges (pump capacity and cycle to be specified by the engineer) and staff required a revised plan showing the discharge geometry to reduce risk to adjacent properties. The council also required a bonding/replacement plan consistent with town tree-replacement standards where removals were unavoidable.
Eric Tid, Cash Engineering: "The underground tank will hold the water until it is discharged via a pump."
