ATHOL — A public hearing on a proposed eight-lot subdivision off Spring Street and Victoria Avenue continued Wednesday night with the engineer for the project presenting changes to the plan since an earlier meeting. The hearing began on July 17 before the town’s Board of Planning and Community Development. Chris Stoddard, of Stoddard Engineering, is developing the plan on behalf of V&J Real Estate of Athol. 

At the earlier meeting, residents of the neighborhood expressed concerns regarding several issues, including the capacity of the municipal sewer line, a short stretch of overhead utility lines, and the engineer’s plan to design the subdivision under Open Space Residential Design (OSRD) provisions. Plans call for construction of eight, three-bedroom, single-family homes. Using OSRD, the subdivision would occupy about a third of the 13-acre parcel on which it would be developed. The remainder of the property would be preserved as open space.

Hoping to allay fears that the town’s eight-inch sewer line would be overtaxed by the eight proposed homes, Stoddard told neighbors and board members that the line, according to his calculations, is capable of handling more than 350,000 gallons per day.

“If you back that out,” he said, “let’s assume every house has four bedrooms, this line could handle 815 houses. Right now, there’s only 48 houses on that sewer line. So, I think there’s enough capacity.”

When neighbors asked about the possibility of a break in the line, Athol Public Works Director Dick Kilhart explained that many of the sewer lines in town date back to the 1890s, so a break or backup is always possible. He expressed confidence that, should a problem in the line arise, it likely wouldn’t be caused by the addition of the new homes. Kilhart added that the Department of Public Works does regular maintenance on the municipal sewer lines.

Kilhart also said that problems occasionally arise in sewer lines because of improper disposal of household items.

“People flush disposable wipes and they’re not supposed to,” he said. “A lot of things show up in the lines, everything from diapers to towels to car parts. You name it; if it can be put down the toilet it goes down there. Where does it come from? That’s something we really can’t prove unless we can track it back to specific house.”

Regarding other matters, Stoddard said that all utility lines running to the subdivision would be installed below ground. He also said an existing fire hydrant currently occupying the northeast corner of Spring and Victoria would be relocated to the south side of Victoria Avenue. Stoddard said he had been told by the Fire Department that the hydrant needed to be no further than 600 feet from the home farthest away from the hydrant.

In addition, Stoddard said, plans to plant trees in the right-of-way along the proposed 520-foot cul de sac serving the development were changed to move them out of the right-of-way and onto the front yards of the home lots.

One issue that remains to be addressed is a request from the Athol Historical Commission that an archaeological survey of the parcel be done before work on the subdivision could begin. Board chair David Small said he wasn’t yet prepared to accede to the request. Small said he had received a proposal from Archaeological & Historical Services (AHS) of Storrs, Connecticut to undertake a survey at a cost of $16,500. If the Board of Planning and Community Development were to require the survey, the cost would be borne by the developer.

In its correspondence, AHS president Mary Harper said, “I think the survey level that is most appropriate is an intensive (locational) survey … This survey level is designed to locate all buried archaeological sites within the project area.”

At the July 17 meeting, Athol Planning and Development Director Eric Smith said the historical commission wanted the survey done since the location of the proposed subdivision is believed to be the site of the town’s original fort. Smart said the proposal will be taken up at a later date.

The public hearing was recessed with plans to reconvene at 7:10 p.m. during the board’s next scheduled meeting on Sept. 4. A site visit was also scheduled for 6 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 21, with a rain date of Sept. 28. A site visit to allow board members and neighbors to check out the location and topography of the proposed subdivision had originally been scheduled for July 31, but heavy rains forced its cancelation.