by Frank Schroth

Last night the Board of Selectmen extended the demolition date for the Hendries building — and no, that is not an April Fool’s joke. The new deadline, which is the 6th extension, is April 30th. At this rate one might think it’s likely to become a candidate for the National Register of Historic Places.

The board also received a public safety update from Chief Wells regarding the incidents of last week: the discovery of an IED (improvised explosive device) found at a Milton home on Craig Street and the lockdown at Milton High and arrest of an armed individual. The chief credited all involved — the officers of MPD, Superintendent Mary Gormley and the high school staff, and the Boston Police with whom Milton has a strong relationship. He said, “Preparedness is key.”

The Board of Appeals met last night to continue a hearing on a comprehensive permit application (40B) for 711 Randolph Avenue (Meg Lane). Tbe board heard testimony from Chief Grant (Fire), Chief Wells (Police), Joe Lynch & John Thompson (DPW Director and Town Engineer), and John Kiernan (Chair of Conservation Commission).

There were principally two concerns, one voiced by Mr. Kiernan and another by everybody else. Mr Kiernan was concerned with impacts to wetlands. In fact, the Conservation Commission denied a permit for the site, because it did not conform to the town’s wetlands bylaw. Specifically, it would impact a non-disturbance zone. The applicant is seeking a waiver from the Board of Appeals of the local bylaw, so it is possible the issue may become moot. Regardless, the applicant will need to abide by the state wetlands laws. That may be a challenge. Kiernan identified the following issues regarding wetland impacts: a) management of storm water discharge b) encroachment on non-disturbance zones c) the potential presence of a vernal pool and d) the effects of widening the road and or sidewalk.

The widening of the sidewalk segues to the concerns expressed by the other officials who appeared before the board, which all relate the fact that “they are putting a tight project into a tight space.” The Fire Chief said that a box call will bring 4 vehicles on site and effectively prevent anyone from entering or exiting the area for the period that the fire department is on site. The tight situation will require for fire trucks to back out onto Randolph Avenue to exit.  The tight quarters came up over and over. DPW director Lynch voiced same concerns regarding ability of school buses to navigate the site. He (like Mr. Kiernan) questioned if the soil and storm water management strategy could handle the volumes that will result and said there may be a need to adjust timing to coordinate with town sewer operations. Safety is also a concern imposed by tight area. There is a single road in and out and as Chief Wells noted it results in cars, without the benefit of signalization, attempting left hand turns onto a 4 lane state highway. Cars will queue up, patience will run thin, and public safety will be an issue. “It’s just not safe to do this,” he said.

The catch-22 in this is that to make it safer requires widening the road and/or sidewalk. However, if you widen the road and sidewalk you will increase impervious surface and most likely increase wetland impacts. (There is another issue regarding a 5000′ line of delineation. This is a line which, if exceeded, triggers another set of regulations. This is not something this observer completely understands; however, it appears the developer is attempting to stay within it.)

There really isn’t anything that can be done about signalizing the entrance and exit as the parcel is too close to the signal at Randolph and Reedsdale. The one solution which needs to be confirmed, is whether a condition can be imposed that requires all drivers to make a right hand turn when exiting the property.