image description
The original plan proposed a small rain garden and depressions to capture and infiltrate water as well as reduce impervious areas and increase plantings on site.

Pittsfield Conservation Commission OKs Supportive Housing Proposal

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A permanent supportive housing proposal was OK'd by the Conservation Commission last week.

On Thursday, the panel issued an order of conditions for the construction of a three-story, multi-family dwelling and associated site improvements on 107-111 West Housatonic Street.

Berkshire Housing Development Corp. intends to build a 28-unit permanent supportive housing complex, which combines affordable housing and support services to build independent living skills and connect people with health, treatment, and employment resources.

The effort is part of a $6.5 million American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) allocation along with eight similar units on the second floor of Zion Lutheran Church's hall.

The application was continued at the commission’s last meeting due to concerns about stormwater drainage. In. September, it was approved by the Community Development Board.

The original plan proposed a small rain garden and depressions to capture and infiltrate water as well as reduce impervious areas and increase plantings on site.  It did not include underground storage or recharge chambers.

"The initial design plans didn't have the recharge chambers so it just really, after a small storm event, would just discharge over the top of the rain garden, and [Project Engineer Charlie LaBatt] described it as country flow or sheet flow onto West Housatonic Street into the catch basin," Conservation Agent Robert Van Der Kar said. "So that's less likely to happen now. I think that's probably, from an existing condition standpoint, it’s a betterment considering that the current condition just sheet flows off onto West Housatonic Street.  So the applicants trying to manage as much stormwater on site as possible. I think it's a good effort there."

Labatt explained that the plan was revised to include an infiltration trench that is a 30-inch diameter perforated pipe in a three-and-a-half by three-and-a-half foot stone bed along the downgradient side of the new building.


The 108-foot trench goes along the northwest and west side of the proposed building and is connected to the rain garden and catch basin.

"So what will happen is is surface runoff from the parking lot, roof runoff from the buildings will, at least from the east side of the building, will go to the rain garden and flow through a catch basin into the infiltration trench," LaBatt said. "Roof runoff from the west side of the building will go through like a filter strip and then into the infiltration trench."

He added that they sized it to provide 180 to 100 cubic feet of recharge volume in excess of the impervious area with one inch over the top.

"Ultimately, when everything fills up, if you have a storm event in excess of this recharge volume the rain garden like previously stated, will fill up and overflow and then head to what has been the traditional drainage route for all runoff on this site which unfortunately is the municipal system at the corner of West Housatonic Street and Henry [Avenue]," he concluded. "But we will be capturing enough to cover more than 90 percent of the annual storm events in the area."

In the previous meeting, there was a discussion about the depth of the rain garden and it was made slightly deeper in the revised plan.

In other news:

  • An order of conditions was issued for a notice of intent application from Bousquet Sports for the construction of two new buildings additions and additional parking areas at 100 Dan Fox Drive.  The former Berkshire West is planned to be expanded by 10,000 square feet with an option for a future enclosed swimming pool of about 4,500 square feet.  It is part of Mill Town’s three-property acquisition in 2020 which also includes Bousquet and the former Lakeside Christian Camp in Richmond.  Bousquet and Camp Arrow Wood are up and running.
     
  • The commission continued an application from Williams College for the construction of a new boathouse, parking area, driveway, and curb cuts at 5 Onota Lane.  Concerns were raised by abutters related to stormwater draining and work encroaching on their property.  The commission will have a site visit on Saturday.

Tags: affordable housing,   ARPA,   conservation commission,   stormwater,   

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

EPA Lays Out Draft Plan for PCB Remediation in Pittsfield

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Ward 4 Councilor James Conant requested the meeting be held at Herberg Middle School as his ward will be most affected. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency and General Electric have a preliminary plan to remediate polychlorinated biphenyls from the city's Rest of River stretch by 2032.

"We're going to implement the remedy, move on, and in five years we can be done with the majority of the issues in Pittsfield," Project Manager Dean Tagliaferro said during a hearing on Wednesday.

"The goal is to restore the (Housatonic) river, make the river an asset. Right now, it's a liability."

The PCB-polluted "Rest of River" stretches nearly 125 miles from the confluence of the East and West Branches of the river in Pittsfield to the end of Reach 16 just before Long Island Sound in Connecticut.  The city's five-mile reach, 5A, goes from the confluence to the wastewater treatment plant and includes river channels, banks, backwaters, and 325 acres of floodplains.

The event was held at Herberg Middle School, as Ward 4 Councilor James Conant wanted to ensure that the residents who will be most affected by the cleanup didn't have to travel far.

Conant emphasized that "nothing is set in actual stone" and it will not be solidified for many months.

In February 2020, the Rest of River settlement agreement that outlines the continued cleanup was signed by the U.S. EPA, GE, the state, the city of Pittsfield, the towns of Lenox, Lee, Stockbridge, Great Barrington, and Sheffield, and other interested parties.

Remediation has been in progress since the 1970s, including 27 cleanups. The remedy settled in 2020 includes the removal of one million cubic yards of contaminated sediment and floodplain soils, an 89 percent reduction of downstream transport of PCBs, an upland disposal facility located near Woods Pond (which has been contested by Southern Berkshire residents) as well as offsite disposal, and the removal of two dams.

The estimated cost is about $576 million and will take about 13 years to complete once construction begins.

View Full Story

More Pittsfield Stories