Needham commission requires Notice of Intent for 73 Curve Street after applicants provide additional details

The Needham Conservation Commission voted on July 9 to issue a positive determination of applicability for work proposed at 73 Curve Street, concluding that the application as submitted lacked sufficient detail on grading, retaining-wall top elevations and potential buffer-zone impacts.

Applicant representatives added a retaining-wall detail, erosion-control measures and topo information to the plan during the continued hearing. Commissioners and staff, however, said the drawings were unclear in places: grade labels and proposed top-of-wall elevations were difficult to read and it was not clear whether both proposed walls would share the same top elevation. Staff recommended beefed-up erosion controls given steep topography — specifically a combination of 12-inch compost sock, silt fence and heavier erosion controls rather than the filter sock or compost straw wattle shown on the plan — and noted that DEP would typically expect a Notice of Intent for the scale of buffer-zone alteration discussed.

Homeowner Elizabeth Russell described the proposal as two staggered 4-foot walls with roughly 4.5 feet between them to reclaim yard area; the applicant said existing crumbling block and a gentle slope motivated the proposal. Commissioners said they had too many unanswered questions and suggested the applicant file a Notice of Intent with more detailed grading, wall top elevations, and stormwater/impervious-area clarifications. The commission then moved and voted to issue a positive determination of applicability, effectively requiring the applicant to submit an NOI with the additional information before work in the buffer zone could proceed.