ENVIRONMENTAL

How is the Village preserving the wetlands that border the site? Are any wetlands being filled or destroyed?
The developer retained LEC Environmental, an independent environmental consulting company, to flag the wetlands surrounding the site. The Village will not encroach onto any of the wetlands and will respect a 25 foot no disturb setback and 50 foot no structure setback from all of the wetlands. The only exception to this is that the previous owner constructed a replicated wetland on the site as a penalty for filling in an original wetland. That replicated wetland is not functioning. The developer plans to replace this failed replicated wetland elsewhere on the site with a new properly designed and constructed wetland area which is twice the size of the failed replication area.

What environmental contamination has been found on the site and will all of the existing contamination be cleaned up?
The developer has performed environmental testing on the site and has identified various contaminations. The developer has committed to properly clean up and/or mitigate all such contamination in accordance with all procedures and techniques as dictated by state environmental laws and regulations, all at the developer's cost.

What environmentally friendly "green" techniques will be utilized in the Village's construction?
The developer is committed to building an environmentally sensitive development. The Village will be constructed to high energy efficiency standards and will include healthy building materials. Most importantly, the developer will ensure that correct insulation and windows are installed, compact florescent bulbs are utilized, mechanical equipment is not oversized, and Energy Star appliances are mandated. Utilizing these measures will significantly conserve energy, thereby reducing reliance on electric and gas supplies. Some of the buildings will also be LEED certifiable and the design team will explore renewable energy. The Village will also incorporate low impact development stormwater techniques to mitigate runoff and facilitate recharging into the groundwater.

How will storm water be managed so that oil, grease, and other contamination do not pollute the wetlands?
Storm water from roofs and other areas which produce clean, pristine runoff will be directed to a storm water system that includes drywells, perforated piping set in beds of crushed stone, and basins for direct groundwater recharge. Runoff from paved areas will pass through a variety of methods which clean the water by removing impurities. These methods include catch basins fitted with deep sedimentation sumps and oil hoods, vegetated swales, rain gardens, forebays, and water quality basins. All such techniques will meet all DEP recommended "best management practices".

Will fertilizer, pesticides, and salt be used? How are those prevented from entering the wetlands?
Any use of fertilizer, pesticides, or salt will be carefully controlled and monitored, and will be under the jurisdiction and subject to the requirements of the Newbury Conservation Commission. Materials to be used, quantities, spread rates, etc., will all be submitted to the Conservation Commission for its review and approval. As above, all runoff from the site will be channeled through a series of water purification devices and water quality basins to ensure that it is clean before it enters any wetland areas.

Will the rock ledge at Route 1/Middle Road be preserved?
A portion of the ledge will be preserved, subject to safe grading requirements and the need for proper sight lines for the reconstruction of the Route 1/Middle Road/Hanover Street intersection.

Will there be a conservation restriction to guarantee that the land not being developed will be preserved in perpetuity?
Only approximately 34 acres of the total 99 acre site are being developed (of the approximately 34 acres being developed, only 15 acres will be buildings and pavement). The approximately 65 acres that are not being developed, which includes both wetland and upland areas, will be placed into a conservation easement that will prohibit any development on that land in perpetuity. The mechanism for creating the easement will be defined as the development process progresses.

How is flooding both on the Village site and along Middle and Highfield Roads being addressed?
The stormwater management system is being designed to ensure that there is no increase in runoff from the fully developed site compared to the existing, undeveloped site. This will be accomplished by utilizing a variety of the latest low-impact development stormwater management techniques, including direct groundwater recharge, vegetated swales, rain gardens, and bio-detention basins. Excess stormwater will be stored in the bio-detention basins on site to prevent flooding on other properties. The design of this system, including all of the hydraulic calculations required for the design, will be submitted to the Newbury Conservation Commission for its review and approval. To ensure full compliance with this criteria, the Conservation Commission will engage an independent engineering firm (the cost of which will be reimbursed to the Town from the developer) to review the design, verify all the calculations, etc.

The development cannot solve existing flooding problems which are caused by topographic and other conditions unrelated to the Village site, but it will be designed to ensure that the Village will not cause or aggravate any flooding problems.

Are there any endangered species on the site?
The developer submitted a request to the Commonwealth's Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program (NHESP) to provide a determination regarding endangered species on the site. NHESP determined that there are no endangered species on the site. Please refer to the environmental report on this website to read NHESP's determination.