Date: Fri 14-Mar-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

P&Z-Eden-Hill-Fire-Pond

Full Text:

P&Z Ponders Fire Pond Questions On Eden Hill

B Y A NDREW G OROSKO

Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) members plan to confer with the fire

marshal over his concerns about a water storage system designed for fire

fighting at a proposed subdivision.

Applicants Terry Lawrence Serke and Ruth Ann Potter are seeking P&Z approval

to re-subdivide an 18-acre parcel into six building lots on Eden Hill Road.

P&Z members were on the verge of approving the subdivision proposal March 6

when member James Boylan asked that members postpone action on the project

until Fire Marshal George Lockwood could be consulted about his water storage

concerns.

In his review of the proposed subdivision's water supply for fire fighting, Mr

Lockwood indicated his approval. But, he added, the proposed subdivision could

have a more suitable fire-fighting water supply.

Mr Lockwood said March 7 he doesn't like the location of a new fire pond on

the site. But the applicants meet the current town regulations on water

supplies for fire fighting, he added.

Relevant current regulations concerning water storage for fire fighting in new

subdivisions are vague, Mr Lockwood said. P&Z members approved those new rules

last September.

The Eden Hill Road application marks the first time fire officials have

reviewed a subdivision proposal with water storage for fire fighting in mind.

In his letter to the P&Z, Mr Lockwood states the current regulations do not

address the maximum allowable distances between a dwelling and the water

storage site to be used for initial fire suppression. The regulations allow

the use of either underground water storage tanks or ponds as water sources

for fire fighting.

According to Mr Lockwood's analysis, the fire pond the applicants have dug on

the site lies too far from Lots 1 and 2 in the proposed development. The

length of fire hose that a typical fire truck carries is less than the

distance between the fire pond and the home sites on those two lots, he said.

Also, the proposed driveway on Lot 6 appears to be too long in terms of fire

protection, he said.

Also, there's no guarantee that the newly dug fire pond will hold sufficient

water for fire fighting during the dry season, he said.

At the March 6 P&Z session, P&Z Chairman John DeFilippe said he would have a

problem endorsing a subdivision in which half of the building lots in a

subdivision wouldn't be served by a fire pond dug for fire protection.

P&Z member Heidi Winslow, who had made the motion to approve the

re-subdivision, pointed out that although Mr Lockwood has reservations about

the fire-fighting water supply, he did indicate his formal approval of it in a

letter to the P&Z.

Members then agreed to postpone action on the subdivision until they confer

with Mr Lockwood on the water supply questions.

This is the second time the applicants have sought P&Z approval for the Eden

Hill Road re-subdivision.

The applicants withdrew the first version of the plan in November, following

numerous criticisms of the project from nearby property owners at an October

public hearing.

When the developers reapplied, they became the first applicants subject to the

town's new regulations on providing water storage for fire fighting in

residential developments.