Hydrologist and town reviewers back baseline and post‑construction well testing; council seeks developer guarantees

Matt Mitchell, a hydrogeologist, told council he had "put together this report and found that there won't be any impacts," explaining that the stormwater mound "won't expand past" the development area and that private well depths in the neighborhood are generally deeper than the construction zone.

Town reviewer Kelly (Gateway) said the town had reviewed technical stormwater materials and recommended baseline well testing for adjacent downstream well owners "prior to any excavation work" and a second comparison test "prior to project close out," while noting that attributing later changes to this construction can be legally difficult. Council members pressed for stronger mitigation language; one council member said residents must be returned "back to where they were" and that a developer remedy could include drilling a replacement well that meets baseline standards. Staff and the applicant indicated willingness to include baseline/post‑construction testing in the developer agreement and to document Gateway’s recommendations in the engineering record.