A Feb. 28 public hearing on the proposed Craftsman Village development revealed several concerns about the project, most notably plans for parking and septic, that may require the developer to alter the plan.
Craftsman Village is a proposed Chapter 40B housing development along Ayer Road near the Ayer town line. It includes 18 planned units, which would be 1,600-square-foot, two-bedroom homes. Five of these would qualify as state-defined affordable housing, costing $175,000, while the market-rate units would cost $400,000. The current design lays out the houses in four rows parallel to the road, with the front three rows containing five homes each and the rear row containing three. The houses would include two-car garages accessed from narrow alleys serving two rows each, all of which attach to a much wider shared driveway serving all 18 homes. (See the drawing below.) While the property includes some wetlands, all construction is nearly 100 feet away from them.
Revised site plan allows for three separate septic systems to handle the waste of the 18 units. (Source: Craftsman Village LLC and Weston Development Group Inc.) CLICK TO ENLARGE
As Zoning Board of Appeals Chairman Chris Tracey explained to the attendees, Chapter 40B developments such as Craftsman Village are eligible for waivers from many local building regulations, with the exception of regulations concerning public safety and the protection of wetlands. However, developer Mark O’Hagan expressed a desire to accommodate the desires and concerns of the town where possible.
Erin McBee, chairwoman of the Planning Board, voiced concerns about parking. The alleys between the rows are, by design, too narrow for parking, and the immediate area along Ayer Road does not offer many parking opportunities, This leaves parallel parking along the shared driveway as the only overflow parking option. She questioned whether a two-car garage would provide sufficient parking for each family, given that garages are often used for storing equipment other than cars. McBee further questioned how the parking would handle large gatherings such as holiday parties. O’Hagan agreed that the alleys and Ayer Road would be unsuitable for parking, but contended that parallel parking along the driveway should be sufficient for the needs of the development.
Interior schematics of a Craftsman Village unit.
(Source: Craftsman Village LLC and Weston Development Group Inc.) CLICK TO ENLARGE
Wells and septic questioned
Board of Health member Libby Levison also attended the meeting, where she raised concerns about the layout of the development’s wells and septic systems. The current plan divides the development into three separate lots, each of which uses a separate well and septic system. Massachusetts Title 5 water and septic system regulations require increasing levels of sophistication for systems serving larger numbers of people, with those serving more than 25 qualifying as a “community water supply,” which increases the engineering requirements. A two-bedroom house is counted as creating four persons’ worth of use, meaning that six such houses count as 24 persons’ worth of use, which is just below the 25-person cut off. Levison contends that dividing the development into three lots for water and sewer purposes is disingenuous, given that all 18 units share the same driveway and other utilities. The issue has already been forwarded to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and is awaiting review. O’Hagan and Levison each stated their expectation that the DEP would agree with their stance on the issue, and they vowed to abide by its ruling.
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Exterior schematic of a Craftsman Village unit.
(Source: Craftsman Village LLC and Weston Development Group Inc.) CLICK TO ENLARGE
Levison brought up another safety concern regarding a new Board of Health regulation requiring all new multiunit developments to include emergency backup generators. The current Craftsman Village plan does not include a backup generator, which Levison contends is a safety issue. Unlike most Harvard residences, the 18 homes in Craftsman Village will share septic systems and wells. This means that private, portable generators purchased by homeowners will not be able to restore those important functions, which, Levison contends, could pose a safety concern in the event of extreme weather, given that as many as 72 people might be stuck without basic amenities in a relatively small area. O’Hagan responded that the septic system’s temporary holding tank should be sufficient to hold two or three days of waste, and that other issues could be addressed with the purchase of private generators and the storage of water beforehand by homeowners.
The hearing has been continued to April 11 at 7:50 p.m. in the Town Hall Meeting Room.
