This meeting will be held fully electronically.
Interactive (audio & video): https://www.gotomeet.me/SBCity/drb-2021-06-01
Telephone (audio only): (646) 749-3112; Access Code: 505-316-581
Subject: BlackRock Construction's Final Plat Application ,the last stage of seeking approval to build a residential development of 32 duplexes and 10 single family homes at 550 Park Rd (# SD 21-06 , aka the Wheeler Parcel, corner of Dorset Street and Park Road. NOTE: BlackRock application is the first Agenda item for discussion at this meeting.
1. It is urgent for residents to attend what may be the last public meeting for this project, to show community interest and support, combined with multiple written Public Comments submitted to the DRB over many months. The DRB staff recommends that the Board discuss this project and then close the meeting (rather than continue it to a future date to allow time for the further discussion and public input.) The June 1 Agenda places BlackRock as the first topic ion June 1, and lists no time for public oral comments although this might be allowed. Once the Board "closes" the hearing, the DRB issues a written decision on whether to approve or deny BlackRock's final plat application within 30 days.
2. DESIGN ISSUES: Successive DRB reviews of the home designs of the intended homes have sent BlackRock back to the table to create alternatives that meet the required criteria. DRB Staff finds that some requirements are still not met. But now, mysteriously and abruptly, staff recommends to the Board that BlackRock be allowed to "compensate" for some unmet design requirements by agreeing to lower the prices of the development's homes. Is this an allowable (legal) for the DRB to introduce a new, unmentioned topic (pricing) to replace an established criterion for design that has been under long debate?
3. BLASTING, ROCK GRINDING, AND MASSIVE LEDGE REMOVAL would extend for perhaps two to three months throughout much of the construction site, affecting residents nearby as well as traffic flow, and those who expect to use the public Rec/Bike path and walking accesses on this site. Only recently, in mid-April of this final plat submission, were the DRB staff, Board , and public told by BlackRock about this potentially hazardous and extreme ledge, even though BlackRock knew about it a very long time before. There has therefore been insufficient time to investigate, digest, and ask questions. Recall the extreme noise (with public outcry) of BlackRock's last summer's month of drilling and jack-hammering all day long when removing ledge from their nearby "Long Drive" development, by nearby Golf Course Road. Will the Board take into account this burden on many residents in deciding whether to approve or deny this 550 Park Road final plat application?
4. BlackRock refuses to give any estimate of how long the noisy blasting/removal process would take, because that could cause people to have "expectations." The Maine Drilling Company hypothetically estimates a duration of up to 2 months of blasting; but now, for some unexplained reason, the DRB staff suddenly proposes allowing an even longer period—up to 3 months for blasting, 2 blasts per day, within an undecided work- day/ weekly schedule perhaps from 8 am-5 pm (or 7 pm?) Mon-Fri and Sat, with no work on Sundays and holidays. BlackRock has applied for up to 5 years (2021-2026) for project completion. Why allow so many years for a relatively small project like this, without explanation? Does BlackRock expect to work through winters, basing its construction site "office" at a Zooey Drive access to Park which is dangerously close to a nearly blind curve and slope from which Park Rd/Golf Course Rd residents enter and exit? Can BlackRock stop and resume his project at will without a valid reason?
5. Other unresolved matters: How to resolve an apparent debate about the crucial SBLDR that sets the performance standard for about Mandatory Vibration for Blasting? Why is there no seismic monitoring of vibrations suggested for the south of Park Rd where many neighborhoods exist (86 homes in Gleneagles and Inverness HOA's alone, plus many more.
To Sum up: Many residents from the neighboring Southeast Quadrant have been closely following this project and respectfully suggest two main options:. (1)That the Board continue, rather than close, the process for this final plat application beyond June 1. This allows additional research, public input, and full assimilation of these and other unresolved issues by DRB staff and Board, with input by the public and, if warranted, additional objective advice by technical and non-technical consultants as well. Alternatively, (2) We propose that the Board close and then exercise its option to reject the Final Plat application.
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