32C-107 36 Smith Street-Certificates of Compliance Request
Conservation Commission
210 Main St., Room 11
City Hall
Northampton, MA 01060
October 7, 2015
RE: RE: RE: RE: Ralph’s Blacksmith Ralph’s Blacksmith Ralph’s Blacksmith Ralph’s Blacksmith
Certificate of ComplianceCertificate of ComplianceCertificate of ComplianceCertificate of Compliance
Dear Members,
Please find enclosed an application for a Certificate of Compliance for two
(2) Order of Conditions issued in 1985 and 1986 for work at 36 Smith
Street.
A new Notice of Intent has been filed for proposed work at this same
address and it came to our attention that there were two Order of
Conditions issued for the same address which were never closed out or
finalized. In order to comply with current regulations, we are seeking a
Certificate of Compliance for the previous two Orders so that the new
Notice of Intent can be reviewed.
Since we were not involved with the previous permits/work, this letter is to
acknowledge that it appears that the work as noted in the previous
Order(s) were generally completed. However due to the lack of permit
plans and project specifics, there is some uncertainty if all of the
Conditions have been completed or not.
From what we can determine, it appears that both Orders of Condition
were for additions to the existing building on the east and/or west sides.
Conditions outlined in the permits also required all foreign materials
dumped into the old Mill River bed to be removed and for the area in the
“northeasterly corner” to be regraded and restored, both of which appear
to have been completed though the specific boundaries are somewhat
unclear. Additionally, the permit(s) conditions require all disturbed areas as
a result of construction to be stabilized and restored to their original
condition. Without knowledge of the pre-existing conditions prior to these
permits, it’s impossible to confirm compliance however the current site on
the north side of the building and those areas towards the resource areas
are currently stable and predominately vegetated.
As part of the new Notice of Intent that was recently filed, we have
attempted to address any deficiencies from the previous Order(s) to the
best of our knowledge and ensure that areas toward the old Mill River are
Ralph’s Blacksmith
October 7, 2015
Page 2 of 2
an improvement over the existing conditions and restored to be in
compliance with current regulations.
If you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact our
office.
Sincerely,
The Berkshire Design Group, Inc.
Jeffrey D. Squire, R.L.A.
Landscape Architect