Powder Mill Square project
Complicated, but continuing project                  4/27/00
By Rebecca Lipchitz
   Planners are calling it the most complicated project they have ever considered. They also call it a potential asset to the town.
   Planning Board members issued this week a set of special permits to Northpoint Realty mist to allow construction of the Powder Mill Square Project, a combination apartment and medical office building, across from the Stevens Street post office.
   Planning Board chairman Michael Miller says the project is not only complicated by design, but sits in an environmentally sensitive area, the flood plain of the Shawsheen River, which is also highly visible in town.
   "This could be the most critical project we've ever approved," Miller says.
   Nearby residents, including tenants of buildings that would be removed if the project goes forward, have appealed the Conservation Commission's project approval. They are also expected to appeal the Planing Board's approval of the special permits.
   Planners drew up 44 conditions for the special permits, an unusually high number for this type of project, says Planning Director Steve Colyer.
   "There is a lot more detail (in the permit), because of the unique site, and its proximity to the river," he says.
   One particularly unique feature of the building is a flood-storage area built into the first floor of the medical office parking garage.
   In severe storms, the area is designed to hold flood water, and the building would have to be evacuated.
   The board issued three permits: one for Main Street access, one for a site plan special permit and one for a multi- family dwelling or mixed-use building.
   The set of 44 conditions applies to each permit, Colyer says.The conditions are grouped into categories: general conditions; traffic and street improvements; construction activities and site security, architecture and landscaping; use occupancy and management of the office building; use, occupancy and management of the residential building; and performance and security guarantees.
    While the Planning Board has the same scope of authority over this project as other special permits, the conditions emphasize the fact that the board can employ various methods of enforcement to make sure conditions are met. If conditions aren't being met, the board can order work to stop, or
can modify or revoke the special permit, Colyer says.
   "It's going to take some eyes," he says, but he expects that since many town departments will be involved with the development of the project, including planning and the public works, there will be "multi-faceted oversight."
   Many of the conditions were included to ensure "orderly development of the site," Colyer says.
   Conditions also include permanent requirements that the evacuation plans for each part of the building be included in each building's lease, the affordable rental units remain affordable, and the flood storage area be legally and physically maintained
   Annual Town Meeting next week will be asked to approve related Articles 62 to 64, granting easements to the town, which legally allows flood water to enter the building (articles 62 and 63), and an easement that allows for a widening of Stevens Street, creating a turning lane into the Post Office.
   The Powder Mill Square Project will require some homes along North Main Street, across from the Shawsheen Plaza, to be razed, and traffic lights in the area to be reconfigured.