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Developers propose 5-foot culvert to stabilize open drainage canal under Roy’s Market buildings
Summary
Developers told the Peterborough Select Board they found undermined foundations and rotting timbers where an open drainage canal runs beneath buildings on Main and Depot Streets and proposed installing a 5-foot-diameter culvert encased in flowable fill; Public Works recommended an independent stormwater review and legal review of liabilities.
Developers presented renovation plans Feb. 3 for several downtown properties occupied by Roy’s Market and told the Peterborough Select Board an open drainage canal under the buildings has caused foundation undermining and rotting timbers. They proposed installing a 5-foot-diameter culvert encased in flowable fill to contain stormwater and mirror work previously performed by Hoyle Tanner and Associates under public rights-of-way.
The plan, described by Chad Branon of Fieldstone Land Consultants and Chris Anderson of Hope Properties, would add ADA-access ramps, outdoor dining and improved pedestrian connectivity between Main Street and Depot Square while addressing structural defects including a 15-foot stretch with no piping and a cracked granite slab beneath an adjacent insurance building.
Public Works Director Seth MacLean said preliminary conversations with the applicants began in September but had lapsed. He told the board the town should commission an independent third-party stormwater evaluation of the area and that the town attorney must review complex questions about property ownership and liability at both local and state levels before staff would return with a recommendation.
The presentation did not include construction timing, permit requests, or a cost estimate for the culvert work. Developers referenced previous culvert installations on Depot and Main Streets as the model for the proposed mitigation. The Select Board did not take a formal vote on the proposal; MacLean and Town Administrator Nicole MacStay were tasked with arranging the engineering review and legal analysis and returning to the board with next steps.
