SC Crew House-CC Cover Letter.pdf
Landscape Architecture
Civil Engineering
Planning
Land Surveying
4 Allen Place · Northampton, MA 01060 · Telephone (413) 582-7000 · Facsimile (413-582-7005 · E-mail bdg@berkshiredesign.com
Northampton Conservation Commission
City of Northampton
210 Main Street
Northampton, MA 01060
October 21, 2016
Dear Commission Members,
On behalf of Smith College we are enclosing a Notice of Intent application
and associated plans for work related to a small second story addition to
the existing Smith College Crew House and an elevated accessible
boardwalk connecting College Lane with the Crew House and the new
addition as well as the lower lawn bordering Paradise Pond.
The building addition entails a roughly 175 square foot second story
addition to the existing structure. The addition will be supported by
structural columns installed at ground level and also include a second story
wood deck and gathering space directly outside the building. Additionally,
roughly 600 linear feet of elevated wood board walk is proposed on the
slope to the south of the building as a means of providing accessible access
to the second floor of the Crew House and the first floor elevation and
lawn area. The boardwalk will consist of a wood framed and decked
walkway supported below by either helical piles or concrete footings
depending on their location on the hillside. The steeper more inaccessible
locations will receive helical piles while the flatter portions of the site will
include concrete footings.
The entire boardwalk system will be installed like a typical wood deck
with gaps between each of the decking members to allow water to pass
through. Vegetation on the existing hillside will be largely removed except
for most of the larger shade trees. The majority of the existing vegetation
consists of invasive species including black locust, bittersweet, poison ivy,
and Norway maple. One of the primary goals of the project is to restore the
hillside to a more typical native woodland and will include new native
trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants/groundcovers. Erosion control matting
and barriers will be used during construction to avoid any potential erosion
on the hillside.
With regards to storm water management, a detailed Storm Water
Management Plan has not been provided with this application due to the
limited nature of the project. A Checklist for Stormwater Report has been
provided along with the following brief description of how this project
meets the required standards.
Standard 1: The project does not propose any new untreated storm
water discharges.
Standard 2: Peak rate attenuation has been achieved by dispersing
runoff through the use of the elevated boardwalk above existing
ground combined with the permeable nature of the boardwalk
system.
Standard 3: Recharge is achieved by ensuring runoff mimics
existing conditions through the use of a permeable boardwalk
system and vegetated hillside.
Standard 4: Water quality will be achieved by avoiding any
practices or elements which could potentially increase pollution.
Limited maintenance is required for the boardwalk aside from
possible snow removal which will be done by hand. No fertilizers
or pesticides are currently used on the lawn areas around the
building and that practice will continue.
Standard 5: This project is not considered a Land Use With Higher
Potential Pollutant Loads.
Standard 6: This project is not located near a critical area.
Standard 7: The Stormwater Management Standards have been
applied to the Extent Practicable because this project is considered
a Bike Path and/or Foot Path with a small portion of
Redevelopment.
Standard 8: The project plans include construction period pollution
prevention and erosion and sedimentation controls.
Standard 9: There are no permanent storm water controls proposed
as part of this project thus no Post Construction Operation &
Maintenance Plan is required.
Standard 10: This project does not propose any illicit discharges.
We look forward to presenting this project at the next available hearing.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey Squire, RLA
The Berkshire Design Group, Inc.