Sapphire Park to be built in 15-unit phases |
| GARDNER — The Conservation Commission approved construction that Sunshine Realty Trust requested to develop 56 house lots at Sapphire Park, located on Pearl Street and Shawn Avenue, Monday. Several meetings ago, the commission had determined that many of the lots the trust requested were in direct violation of the Wetlands Protection Act because they were within the 100-foot buffer zone around a protected wetland, something that engineer Charles Strickland said has been changed in the latest proposal. “At the last meeting there was some requests from the commission to resubmit our proposal with a 30-foot wetland offset line,” said Mr. Strickland. “And we have now submitted a more detailed breakdown of how these units will be constructed.” Construction at the property is limited to 15 individual units per year, and although the construction has now been approved, the commission requested more information about the phasing of the project. “The first phase will be Ruby Road, those will be the first 15 lots,” said Mr. Strickland. “I did not specify which units to allow for some flexibility, but 15 numbered units on Ruby Road is going to be the first phase of construction.” Commission member Richard Turcotte said the approval of the construction was based on local and state ordinances, both of which the proposal adhered to. “All the buildings are outside of 60 feet, their replication areas can compensate for the areas that have to be filled,” said Mr. Turcotte. “The plan meets the requirements of the local ordinance and it meets state guidelines.” Before the commission approved the proposal, they made sure to incorporate two special conditions that will allow them to better monitor the construction at the site. The first condition states that before construction of a second or third phase can begin, the commission or agent must approve the current phase of construction before they move on to the next phase. The second condition, which deals with replication areas on the site — areas where grass will have to be replanted — requires that the growth on those areas must meet with the commissions satisfaction, but will allow several growing seasons based on the month in which the units are completed. According to Conrad Donell, owner of the park, construction on the property will not begin for several months. “It will be a spring market,” said Mr. Donell. oboss@thegardnernews.com |
| Appeared on Page 1 on 9/9/2008 (Vol. 206 No. 213) |
No comments:
Post a Comment