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Consultants present 50% green-infrastructure design for Greenwood Avenue and Bay Avenue parking lot
Summary
Coastal Resources presented a 50% design for rain gardens, dry wells and a step-pool conveyance system to slow and infiltrate stormwater on Greenwood Avenue and the Bay Avenue parking lot; staff will collect comments and advance a 100% design with completion expected in December 2025.
Katie Scott of Coastal Resources presented the town’s 50% completed green-infrastructure design for Greenwood Avenue and the Bay Avenue parking lot, telling the council the plan combines interconnected rain gardens, dry wells and educational plantings to reduce runoff and improve water quality.
"Green infrastructure is low cost, low maintenance and can improve wildlife habitat and water quality," said Katie Scott, an engineer with Coastal Resources, who said the design is under town review and that a final, 100% design and landscaping plans are expected after staff comments, with anticipated completion in December 2025.
Scott described site-specific hardware and planting strategies: two interconnected rain gardens and two dry wells near the library parking lot to cope with compacted surface soils and a seasonal high groundwater depth that limits excavation; a "step pool" stormwater conveyance system for steep sections of Greenwood Avenue that uses a series of weirs and pools to slow flows; and buried French drains at the parking-lot perimeter feeding into dry wells to increase infiltration. She said educational signage and native, keystone plants are part of the program.
Council and residents asked practical questions about tree species and placement, access for service trucks, potential sidewalk uplift from roots and whether the features would change neighborhood traffic patterns. Donnie Bell, director of public works, confirmed project placement would maintain a 12-foot access for trucks and noted the design team intended smaller native trees with modest drip lines.
Scott cautioned the measures are designed to reduce runoff from smaller storms, not to stop flooding from large storm events. "It should help infiltrate, slow the water down and help infiltrate," she said, while noting larger storms will still exceed system capacity.
Next steps: staff will collect written comments on the 50% design, Coastal Resources will complete the 100% construction documents including erosion-control and planting plans, and the town will review cost estimates and final landscaping prior to construction. Scott cited EPA guidance and recommended readings on native-plant resiliency for residents who want background materials.
The presentation generated technical questions but no formal council action; the design will return for review and final approvals as planning continues.
