Hearing Summaries
October 9, 2019: Tarrant Lane is Approved
At the Board’s October 9, 2019 hearing, the Board reviewed and discussed the draft decision and final approval package of documents filed by the Applicant. After doing so, the Board voted unanimously (5-0) to close the Public Hearing and grant a Comprehensive Permit for the Tarrant Lane project. The Board’s approval decision dated October 9, 2019 was filed with the Wakefield Town Clerk on October 21, 2019. On November 14, 2019, the Wakefield Town Clerk certified that no appeal of the Board’s decision had been timely filed. The certified decision was recorded in the Middlesex County (South) Registry of Deeds on November 15, 2019.
September 11, 2019: Final Review and Changes
At the Board’s September 11, 2019 hearing, the Board discussed the drafting of a final decision and the language of conditions pertaining to the project’s water supply, landscaping, site curbing, and project operations and management. Following this discussion, the Board voted to continue the hearing to October 9, 2019 for the completion of a draft decision and submission by the Applicant of a final approval package with finalized copies of all project documents, as revised to date.
August 14, 2019: Reviews and Continuations
The project was taken up by the Board at their June 26, 2019 meeting for a continued discussion of matters relating to civil engineering, stormwater management, architecture, and landscaping. That hearing was continued to July 7, 2019 for a discussion of the same matters and for the applicant to submit additional and supplemental materials requested by the Board. These matters were discussed further at the July 7, 2019 hearing, following which the Board continued the hearing to August 14, 2019 for the submission of additional materials, for an update regarding the status of the source of public water for the project, and for the applicant to submit proposed conditions of approval for the project. The applicant thereafter requested that the August 14, 2019 hearing be continued to September 11, 2019 to continue working on these open items.
June 12, 2019: Postponement
May 8, 2019: Civil Engineering and Stormwater Management
At the May 8, 2019 continued hearing on the Tarrant Lane apartment development, the developer’s civil engineer, Chris Sparages P.E., gave a presentation on site design/layout, utilities, lighting, and stormwater management. After discussion, questions, and comments by the Board and a period of public comments and questions, the Board voted to continue the hearing to May 22, 2019 at 7 p.m. at Wakefield Town Hall, 1st Floor Conference Room, 1 Lafayette Street, Wakefield, MA. This hearing will be devoted to a continued discussion of civil engineering and site design/layout.
April 10, 2019: Traffic and Safety
At the April 10, 2019 continued hearing on the Tarrant Lane apartment development, the developer’s traffic consultant, Giles Ham, P.E. of Vanasse & Associates, gave a presentation on traffic and safety, and offered recommendations for local roadway improvements, such as installing stop signs at the Hopkins Street/South Street intersection and working with MassDOT to optimize traffic signal timing at the intersection of South Street and Main Street (Route 28). On the basis of the traffic study that he conducted on 5 intersections on Hopkins Street and Main Street (Route 28), Mr. Ham concluded that the project, as proposed, would be safe and would not create significant increases in traffic volume or delays over existing conditions.
Also in attendance at the hearing were Wakefield Police Department Lieutenant Steven Skory, who is the Chair of the Wakefield Traffic Advisory Committee (TAC), and Matt Kealey, P.E., PTOE of VHB, who conducted a peer review of Mr. Ham’s traffic study on behalf of the TAC. Lieutenant Skory and Mr. Kealey made several recommendations for the project in a letter dated January 2, 2019, all of which have been incorporated into the project. At the hearing, they offered several additional suggestions, such as installing new sidewalks on Hopkins Street south of the I-95/Route 128 bridge to improve pedestrian access.
After discussion, questions, and comments by the Board and a period of public comments and questions, the Board voted to continue the hearing to May 8, 2019.
March 27, 2019: Architectural and Site-Plan Revisions
At the March 27, 2019 continued hearing on the Tarrant Lane development, the developer’s attorney, Jesse D. Schomer, provided an overview of recent project changes and introduced project architect, Robert Schaefer, who presented revised architectural drawings and renderings, and a revised conceptual site plan. These plans showed further architectural revisions of the plans presented on March 13, 2019, including a further reduction in height of the Hopkins Street side of the proposed Building 1 and a further reduction in the number of apartments to 173 – a reduction of 9% based on the 190-unit plan originally proposed.
Following discussion, comments, and questions from the Board, Attorney Schomer introduced project landscape architect, Elliott Brundage, who gave a presentation regarding the proposed landscaping for the project, including a landscaping plan and photographs of tree species proposed to be planted.
After the presentation of the proposed landscaping and the Board’s discussion, comments, and questions, the Board opened the hearing to public comments about architecture and landscaping. After taking public comments, the Board voted to continue the hearing to April 10, 2019.
March 13, 2019: Architectural and Site-Plan Revisions
At the March 13, 2019 continued hearing, the developer presented revised architectural drawings (building elevations, building floorplans, and unit layouts), revised building renderings, and a revised conceptual site plan showing a reconfiguration and reduction in height of the proposed buildings. Based on this project redesign, the number of apartments has been reduced from 190 to 175. Following discussion, comments, and questions from the Board and the public, the hearing was continued to March 27, 2019.