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Planning Board continues review of propane storage plan at 31 Beaver Street after retaining‑wall failures
Summary
The Milford Planning Board continued review of an amended site plan for Slick City Propane at 31 Beaver Street after engineers found shimmed sections and a partial failure in a retaining wall; the applicant agreed to provide structural and geotechnical reports and the Board set a continued hearing for June 2, 2026.
The Milford Planning Board on May 19 continued its review of an amended site plan for Slick City Propane’s proposed propane storage at 31 Beaver Street after the Town Engineer identified structural problems with retaining walls around the site.
Town Engineer Elizabeth Mainini told the Board that shims were used to level higher sections of one wall and that one wall (referred to in the discussion as wall #3) had partially failed. Mainini recommended withholding approval of the propane amendment until a structural engineer inspects the footing and the construction materials and until the engineer signs off on repairs and future wall construction.
Board member Marble Mainini III said “shims do not belong in those walls” and urged that the wall be rebuilt from the footing upward so the structural engineer can observe the full reconstruction. Christopher Wilson pressed that the base material must be reviewed and approved before further wall construction proceeds.
Rich Gordon of Bay State Engineering, who the transcript identifies as the property owner, told the Board his team believes operator error and improper fill contributed to the failure and that a stockpile of excavated material topped with snow likely worsened the condition. Gordon said his team is “committed to doing whatever the structural engineer says” and pledged to hire a geotechnical engineer and to work with the structural engineer on reconstruction “more than by the book.”
The Town Engineer explained there are four walls in the current plan and that an electrical duct bank abutting wall #4 provided additional lateral support that wall #3 lacked. She also said the applicant may add a designated snow‑storage area to the plans to avoid future stockpiling next to walls.
Motion and next steps: After discussion, the Board voted to continue the amended site‑plan review for 31 Beaver Street to the Planning Board’s next meeting on June 2, 2026, while the applicant secures the requested engineering reports and oversight. The motion to continue was made by Marble Mainini III, seconded by Christopher Wilson, and passed by roll call (Calagione absent; Mainini yes; Morais yes; Wilson yes; White yes).
The continued hearing leaves approval contingent on: a structural engineer’s signed review of footing and wall base material, a geotechnical report requested by the Town Engineer, and any plan revisions to address snow storage and base‑course materials.
The Planning Board did not vote on the propane amendment itself at the May 19 meeting; the Board explicitly deferred final action pending the engineering documentation and site corrections.
