Developers present revised 219 Littleton Road redevelopment with stormwater fixes; site visit set

The Westford Conservation Commission on March 25 heard a detailed update on the proposed redevelopment at 219 (also referenced as 419) Littleton Road, where project engineers and architects described stormwater detention chambers, porous‑pavement recharge cells, a rain garden and an on‑site wastewater treatment facility designed to meet Massachusetts stormwater standards.

Katie Cruise of Hancock Associates told commissioners the design reduces overall impervious area by roughly a half acre and uses underground plastic chamber basins and porous pavement cells to provide recharge where groundwater depth allows. "We tried to approximate about the same amount of water that goes to each wetland," Cruise said, describing efforts to avoid altering connected wetland hydrology. She and the project team said they had met with peer reviewer Tighe & Bond and revised models to account for a slightly larger storm event at the reviewer’s request.

Architect Bridget Doherty (Arrowstreet) and landscape architect Sean Sanger (Copley Wolff) outlined measures to preserve existing tree stands, use planted rain gardens where possible and place pedestrian pathways and amenities away from sensitive wetland edges. The team said porous pavement will be vacuum‑maintained on a recurring schedule to preserve permeability and that maintenance can be performed year‑round when weather permits. "If maintenance is done on a schedule, they'll last about the same as typical pavement," Cruise said.

Commissioners and staff requested clearer plan callouts for existing woodland edges, a planting schedule and a maintenance plan for porous pavement and the infiltration systems. The commission agreed to a joint site visit for commission members, staff and the planning board on April 7 to mark building corners and key walkways in the field; the public hearing was continued to April 8 to allow for follow‑up materials and draft orders of conditions.

Next steps: the applicant will provide the requested planting and maintenance details, responses to Tighe & Bond's porous‑pavement questions, and painted field markers before the April 7 site visit. The commission will review those materials at the continued hearing on April 8.