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Engineers defend variances, steep‑slope treatment and bioretention buffering on Scarborough Road
Summary
Applicant engineers told the board that steep slopes on the site are primarily manmade, that soil erosion controls and SED certification address slope impacts, and that two landscaped bioretention basins replace a continuous 30‑foot Scarborough Road berm where a sanitary sewer easement prevents planting.
Dynamic Engineering consultants testified that the site (Block 4020 Lot 1) is roughly 23 acres and that the team performed detailed civil and grading analysis while responding to municipal reports. "There's a pretty large sanitary sewer easement that runs along the vast majority of Scarborough Road that prohibits us from putting up a berm and other landscape plantings," Josh Sewald said, explaining why the design uses above‑ground bioretention basins with substantial landscaping as visual screening.
Sewald described the site's steep slopes as largely manmade stockpile‑ and grading‑related features rather than a natural bluff and said the project has SED (soil erosion and sediment control) certification and measures to prevent negative erosion consequences during and after construction. He also walked the board through the planning test for variances (C1/C2), arguing benefits (senior housing and redevelopment objectives) outweigh the limited detriments for several requested deviations. Municipal professionals asked for clarifications on buffer dimensions, lighting and street‑tree waivers; Sewald and the applicant agreed to revise plans and provide itemized responses for resolution compliance.
