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Public hearing on 16‑unit Hartford Avenue project continued after neighbors raise septic and stream concerns
Summary
A developer representative presented a revised plan for a 16‑unit building on Hartford Avenue with a reduced footprint and a nitrogen assessment; residents and an attorney urged sewer connection and expressed concerns about Salmon Brook proximity and septic effluent. The commission left the public hearing open for additional engineering revisions and third‑party reviews.
The commission opened and continued the public hearing on a proposed 16‑unit apartment building at 37 Hartford Avenue after hearing technical updates and public concern about water‑resource impacts.
Rebecca Lee of R. Levesque Associates told commissioners the revised plan reduced density substantially from prior filings, and that the project team submitted a nitrogen dilution evaluation that estimated total nitrogen about 7.12 mg/L (below a 10 mg/L threshold noted in draft state guidance) and a sewer‑extension feasibility study. She said septic and design reviews are underway with the local health district and state reviewers.
Several members of the public spoke in opposition or concern. One resident cited the site's proximity to Salmon Brook (a watercourse with Wild and Scenic references in the record), urged use of the existing Hartford Avenue sewer connection, and noted prior flood and groundwater behavior on the adjacent farm road. An attorney for an abutter asked the commission to require a third‑party soil scientist review — recalling a similar earlier application that required independent review. Kate and the town engineer flagged grading, slope stabilization, and runoff control questions and recommended additional detail in revised plans, plus an invasive‑species remediation element in the landscaping plan.
Given the technical submissions that arrived shortly before the meeting and the public concern, commissioners left the hearing open and continued the matter to allow town staff, the applicant, the town engineer and potentially third‑party reviewers to address the outstanding technical and environmental issues.
