140 Tremont Street
Stephen Longmuir presented a Request for Determination of Applicability to enhance an auto body repair facility at 140 Tremont Street, Melrose. The project description is constructing additional facility to the auto body repair, and right now is coming under the exemption status not within floodplain. He supplied the commission with maps of the area and this particular address now comes under the FEMA location. A follow up letter was received from Joseph Lynch, Deputy Civil Engineer from the Engineering Div. of the City of Melrose, and was read as follows:
"Dear Conservation Commission Members: I understand that the MCC is about to consider a request for Determination of Applicability regarding the proposed project at 140 Tremont Street. Specifically, I believe the question being asked of the Conservation Commission is if the proposed project lies within the FEMA 100 year floodplain, a jurisdictional resource area. Attached is a copy of a portion of a flood insurance rate map firm for this locus. According to the firm, the subject property lies within Zone A10, a 100 year floodplain. However, the accuracy of the map floodplain of Ell Pond, as well as many other areas within the City of Melrose has recently been questioned. My department is currently considering a map change through FEMA with the concurrence of the City Emergency Management Agency. Such changes will ultimately include a relaxation of the current map 100 year floodplain at Ell Pond. I have also attached for your reference the map that has been compiled based on actual observed flooding during the actual 100 year storm events. I am sure you all recall the storm event in the associate flood of October 20, 21 and 22, 1996 and June 13, 14, 15 in 1998. Both of these storm events were, in fact, 100 year storm events. You may also recall, and the attached map will show you, that the actual flood stage in the vicinity of the 140 Tremont Street events were contained to low lying areas at the football field. The floodplain of Ell Pond never reached, nor could ever reach the flood level depicted on the firm's note. The entire first floor to middle high school would have to be under 4 ft. of water to reach map flood elevation. Therefore, it is my conclusion that the firm's note at the vicinity of 140 Tremont Street at Ell Pond is inaccurate and the MCC should consider the historically observed 100 year floodplain and documents when rendering its determination."
Alderman Anthony Salamanca, 227 East Foster Street: I am not representing Mr. Longmuir. I am here as a friend, just stating that the City Engineer and Mr. Boisselle were down there and in your boots actually staking out the limits of the floodplain.
Bob Boisselle: That is correct, I was with Joe Lynch on that day and we did a number of tours of the city just to see how the floodplain maps were working.
Alderman Salamanca: I believe this is an accurate map and I think you were in agreement with it at that time.
Bob Boisselle: Yes, I was in agreement of the observations at that time and what is on this map.
Alderman Salamanca: Given that letter and being an alderman in the city, I just want things to be fair and I think the FEMA map is incorrect and that the second map that you are looking at that has been prepared by the city, which the city will go forward with to update our FEMA map, is the one that we should be looking at and I think that this project is not in the floodplain and therefore should render a negative determination on this.
Bill Dailey: What is the actual work that is being discussed.
Bob Boisselle: At this time is to construct additional facility and auto body repair.
Stephen Longmuir: It has been an existing auto body facility for a number of years now. We are thinking of putting an addition on in the spring and flood insurance is $1700 a year. I am trying to save some of the overhead and get this straightened out. I have been there ten years myself and it has never been flooded. I talked to a neighbor, who has been there thirty-five years in a residential home, and he has never been flooded. I just want to get out of the flood zone and maybe put an addition on in the spring.
Nancy: You need to have a FEMA map change before you get a break on the flood insurance, is that correct?
Stephen Longmuir: I believe so. I just want to start in the right direction.
Paul: I just want to check and make sure that we have the authority of the commission to base our determination on something other than the FEMA map.
Bob Boisselle: We have actual observation of one of the commissioners and by the City Engineer.
Nancy: We have gone the other way on a project before when the FEMA map wasn't enough and we have observations of the actual floodplain being a lot higher. Bob: Yes, that happened at Burnett St. and the FEMA map was short about 25 ft. and we observed that the water was flowing further down than what was on the map.
Voted: That 140 Tremont Street be declared a Negative Determination.
Hemenway Ave
Bob passed around photos of various projects. He informed those who were not present at the last meeting that they missed a presentation by Hemenway Ave. residents. Right now there are two trees in the middle of the street and they are finally out of the legal aspect. If they are bringing the trees down they also have to give some sort of notice. Bob will go by this week and see what is there. If those trees are down, there is a possibility of the road being surfaced again. The only question we have at this point is that one of the homes put in a new driveway and put up a little berm next to it. Bob went up during the storm this past week and looked at the little dike that was there and it seemed to be doing just the opposite, instead of directing the water down the street, it pulled it and it went to the right towards the wall and also the rest of it went to the driveway which showed in the photos that Bob passed around, where he had another what looked like 3-5 inches of rain in his driveway and very little going down the street. At this point, depending on what happens with the trees and what they are going to do to the street in resurfacing the whole street, the biggest question is the two manholes or drains at the end of the street just before the pipelines that were put in. If those two drains are open, the water that is coming off the hill and heading down the street which will be picked up by the drains and pushed out into the wetlands in front of Mr. Rose's home. From what Bob sees, the water is not pooling in Mr. Rose's front yard.
Nancy: Have we contacted the people who put in the new driveway?
Bob: He called me.
Nancy: But we have not formally contacted him.
Paul: Did he change the elevation?
Bob: That is my question to the Building Department and we are waiting for the reference to the Inspectorial Services and the Engineering Department concerning any questions regarding roadway and the input of the driveway. Right now this may be a new situation, depending on the site and the status of those trees when they come down and if someone is going to come in and do the whole new roadway itself. It is still a private way and until the city takes it over, it still is up in the air in just who is doing the work. The road is starting to fall apart at this point. Certain sections are cracking and disappearing.
Nancy: The road is within the buffer zone/resource area.
Bob: Yes, if they do construction on the roadway, they would have to come in to get some sort of determination with some additional conditions or to just be a short form of NOI.
