Maginnis letter3/28/24, 2:13 PM City of Northampton Mail - Public Comment re: 39 Day Ave development proposal
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ik=46b15cdcbd&view=pt&search=all&permmsgid=msg-f:1794792994155873822&simpl=msg-f:17947929941558738…1/1
Nathan Chung <nchung@northamptonma.gov>
Public Comment re: 39 Day Ave development proposal
Tammy Maginnis <tmaginnis@verizon.net>Thu, Mar 28, 2024 at 1:46 PM
To: "nchung@northamptonma.gov" <nchung@northamptonma.gov>
Dear Northampton Planning Board,
My property does not abut 39 Day Ave. Rather, I live near the bottom of the west to east slope of Day Ave, about 200 feet
from Bridge St.
First, I need to say that I was stunned to read on the postcard notification of tonight's meeting that this project proposes
seven additional buildings on a relatively small lot with an existing home already in place. The scale of the proposed
project seems oversized when I think of adding that many households to our tiny street. That reaction compelled further
review of the documents posted online.
I find things to appreciate in the proposed development plan such as energy efficiency details, consideration for traffic
calming on the street overall, and design elements that seek to mange stormwater runoff that inevitably increases when
one converts so much permeable surface to impermeable structures and pavement.
Because I live downstream of the subject property, however, my greatest concern is around the adequacy of the plans for
stormwater management. My end of the street frequently sees puddles extending halfway into the street. During
downpours, the pools of water extend across the entire street and take some time to drain. Storm drainage on Day Ave is
slower now, for some reason, than it was before new gas, water, sewer and storm drain lines were installed a few years
ago.
DPW comments from March 21, 2024 seem to suggest in the third bullet of the Stormwater section that elements of the
subsurface retention basin may not provide sufficient storage capacity to adequately offset the proposed loss of
permeable surface. I am not a technician, so perhaps I misunderstand the city engineer's summary on this point.
I did my best to wade through the even more technical Full Stormwater Report from March 16, 2024. One paragraph
jumped out at me; it is located in the section titled Proposed Drainage Conditions, which begins on the 14th page of the
140-page pdf file. The report states that the project is subject to Standards 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 of the Massachusetts
Stormwater Standards. The final paragraph in that section reads:
Standard 6 Recharge will not be accomplished due to proximity of the system
to seasonal high ground water, and lack of space on the site. When
discounting the lot set backs, and setback from foundations listed in the
Massachusetts Storm Water Manual, there is no space left to locate a
recharge system. (emphasis mine)
Again, I do not fully understand the technical implications of the cited paragraph, but the engineer's mention of proximity
to ground water and lack of space on the site do not instill confidence that this aspect of the project design has been
addressed to minimize additional flooding on Day Ave.
Please ensure that stormwater management is properly addressed in one way or another, either by condensing the
footprint of new structures, scaling back the number of new structures, or increasing capacity of the retention basin.
Thank you,
Tammy Maginnis
15 Day Ave