Planning board approves 23 North Lake Road plan after debate over 11-foot retaining wall and stormwater approach

The North Castle Planning Board voted May 28 to approve the site plan, wetlands permit and tree removal permit for 23 North Lake Road after a detailed discussion about an approximately 10.5–11-foot retaining wall, wetlands mitigation and stormwater treatment options.

The meeting began this item with the chair and one other member recusing themselves and Vice Chair Larry Ruizi presiding. Architect Conrad Roncati described the revised design, saying the project includes an 8-foot structural wall with an aesthetic three-foot extension (about 10.5–11 feet at its tallest) and that the team had revised plans in response to prior reviews from the Architectural Review Board and the Conservation Board. Roncati also described a wetlands mitigation and maintenance plan intended to restore prior disturbances on the lot.

Town staff and board members raised concerns about a proposed subsurface retention system placed near the base of the wall (a Coltex-type chamber system). The town engineer and conservation board members suggested an above-ground bioretention approach—a rain garden or similar feature in front of the wall within the wetland buffer—would provide better water-quality treatment and avoid storing water immediately adjacent to a tall retaining wall.

Applicant engineer Calisto (spelled in the application materials as Calisto Burton) said the chamber system could be engineered to handle hydrostatic pressure, and confirmed that, with permits, some detention could be located in the buffer; he also offered alternatives such as moving detention to the east side or using dry wells where site conditions permit.

Conservation board member George Trappau praised the revised mitigation plan, calling it a "wonderful project" and saying the team’s invasive-species control and native-planting strategy served as a good example for the town to showcase.

Board members debated whether to adjourn for additional conservation board review or approve with conditions. The board resolved that the resolution would be amended to require that any rain-garden design be engineered and approved by the town engineer and that the conservation board sign off on the mitigation plan. The board then closed the hearing and voted to approve the permits as amended; the transcript records the vote as 'Aye.'