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Richmond committee seeks waivers for Brown's Court park upgrades; board flags stormwater, noise and maintenance details
Summary
A volunteers' committee asked the DRB to approve site-plan upgrades at Brown's Court — pickleball courts, parking, relocated shed and ballfield tweaks — and requested waivers for parking surfacing, striping and some drainage requirements; staff emphasized stormwater, driveway widening for commercial access, and noise modeling remain outstanding. The board closed the hearing for deliberation.
Volunteers and town staff asked the Development Review Board for preliminary approval of site‑plan changes at Brown's Court, a long‑used town recreation property, that would add pickleball courts, relocate a storage shed, formalize a gravel parking area of roughly 28–30 spaces (including two ADA spaces), and make modest adjustments to softball field dimensions.
Duncan Wardwell, assistant to the town manager, said the pickleball courts have a selectboard contract in place and the current application seeks approvals and a series of waivers for parking surfacing/striping, certain signage, and aspects of stormwater and drainage design. "We also have you know other kind of elements like within the parking area the pickle ball court The Botch Court..." he said while describing the overall site plan and proposed improvements.
Committee members emphasized existing community use of the area and said the proposal largely formalizes longstanding activity while improving safety and access. The committee requested waivers to allow a gravel lot rather than paved surfacing and to waive striping requirements because the plan intentionally retains a pervious surface to reduce runoff.
Town staff relayed several technical constraints the board must weigh. Staff flagged that drainage requirements for parking areas are codified (detention, infiltration or equivalent) and that stormwater control may not be fully waivable depending on the scope; they also said the access may be regulated as a commercial driveway and therefore require widening to a hard standard that is not typically waivable. Staff further noted the absence of site‑specific noise modeling for the pickleball courts and asked whether the applicant’s data adequately demonstrates compliance with town noise limits.
The committee described mitigation measures it intends to use: six‑foot fencing around the courts; planting arborvitae as a living sound buffer positioned adjacent to courts; posted hours (open at morning and close at dusk); no lights or generator lighting; and a contingency to install a sound‑attenuation barrier if neighbors complain. On maintenance, committee representatives said the selectboard has been provided a maintenance budget and the town intends to contract maintenance or rely on the volunteer network; staff asked for written maintenance agreements or contracts to document long‑term responsibility.
Residents asked about gate plans, emergency access and overflow parking; the committee said no permanent gated closure is planned (to preserve school and public use) and the design allows emergency access. Staff reminded the board that landscaping cost credits require documented invoices or contracts if the committee intends to count prior tree work toward the landscaping obligation.
After public comment and staff questions about stormwater, driveway width, landscaping specifics, and long‑term maintenance, the board moved to close the hearing and enter deliberative session. The motion passed "all in favor;" the DRB has 45 days to make a decision and may require additional engineering, documented maintenance commitments, or clarification of waiver scope before final action.
