Applicant lowers house 5 feet at 14 Hollow Ridge; board tentatively schedules July 7 hearing

An applicant team led by attorney Jerry Tordella, engineer Joe (KSCJ/KSCJ referenced), architect Alicia Cuchio and landscape architect Richard Laughafler presented a focused revision to the board for 14 Hollow Ridge: lowering the house 5 feet and redesigning some site work to reduce impacts.

Tordella said lowering the elevation required adding a yard drain to mitigate additional pitch toward the house, adding a north-side stairwell from the basement and installing a sewer ejector pump for basement plumbing. The team reported a net fill of about 226 cubic yards, a reduction in earthwork of almost 2,900 cubic yards and a reduction in total disturbance of about 1,700 square feet compared with the prior design. "We've really been able to eliminate a lot of the retaining walls or cut them back," Tordella told the board.

The landscape and mitigation plan was revised to add native plantings and expanded mitigation for wetland-buffer disturbance; the team said the proposed mitigation is about 1.5 times the permanent disturbance. The health department reapproved the septic layout and granted a fill waiver for the lot's expansion area, the team said.

Board and staff requested the applicants to show the original clearing-and-grading limit line alongside the proposed line on the landscape plan, to reconcile tree numbering between the survey and plans, and to provide a comprehensive resubmission addressing Jeff's checklist items. The applicant asked the board to tentatively schedule a public hearing for July 7; the board agreed and set the July 7 date, with a submission deadline for materials of June 15.

Next steps: the applicant will prepare a complete set of resubmitted plans addressing staff comments, including clarified tree numbering, truck-trip and spoil-management information if necessary, and any outstanding checklist notes.