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DRB approves stormwater upgrades for Riverview Commons mobile home park
Summary
At its May meeting the Richmond Development Review Board approved site-plan SP2026-004 for Falco Management to install gravel wetlands, two biofiltration focal points and conveyance swales at Riverview Commons to meet the state three-acre stormwater rule tied to the Lake Champlain TMDL.
The Richmond Development Review Board on Tuesday approved a site-plan application that requires Falco Management to add stormwater treatment at Riverview Commons mobile home park.
Chris Rivard, an engineer with Dubois & King, told the board the proposal — SP2026-004 — would install two gravel wetlands, two planted biofiltration “focal points,” grassed conveyance swales and plunge-pool outlets to stabilize discharge over the bank toward Governor Peck Road. “I was hired by the Department of Environmental Conservation’s stormwater program to design three-acre or stormwater treatment,” Rivard said during his presentation, explaining the work responds to the state’s three-acre rule implemented after the Lake Champlain TMDL.
The basins were described as relatively shallow (about 1–1.5 feet deep), with an 18-inch engineered planting soil for the focal-point bioretention areas and modular underdrain storage units beneath the planting media. Rivard said the features are intended to capture sediment in forebays, provide treatment before discharge and dissipate energy at outlet plunge pools to prevent erosion.
Board members asked about safety and ongoing upkeep. Rivard said fencing was not planned for the shallow gravel wetlands but could be added if the board required it; maintenance, including sediment removal and inspections, will be the responsibility of the park owner, Falco Management. He described yearly inspections (which the owner may perform or hire an engineer to complete) and a five-year state stormwater permit renewal that requires an engineer’s sign-off on a restatement of compliance.
Rivard said state permits for the project are largely in place: a construction general permit and a wetlands registration were issued, and Act 250 review is in progress. He noted the design currently falls short of a full 50% water-quality treatment in one calculation and said the board had a draft decision in hand while the state legislature considers related matters.
A board member moved to approve the proposal “as presented,” the motion was seconded and the board voted in favor by voice vote. The board said it will issue a written decision within 45 days, though members said they planned to issue it sooner.
Why it matters: the upgrades are required in part because the state and federal clean-water framework tied to the Lake Champlain TMDL has pushed older developed parcels to improve stormwater controls; mobile home parks constructed before modern stormwater permitting frequently must add treatment under the three-acre rule.
The DRB’s approval allows Falco Management to move to the next construction steps once the written decision is issued. The board did not record a detailed roll-call vote in the hearing minutes; the chair announced the voice vote as an affirmative “Aye.”
