Water a new hurdle

State regulations vex building plans

The Sudbury Reservoir, one of Southborough's most scenic attractions, could become the greatest obstacle to the town's goal of boosting growth along Route 9 because of new state rules designed to protect drinking-water supplies.

A proposed 40-unit condominium complex near the reservoir, Woodland Meadows, has been bogged down with the town's Conservation Commission because of the new rules, which do not allow storm-water runoff to drain into drinking-water supplies or streams that feed them.

With about 820 of the 950 acres of commercially zoned land in Southborough along Route 9 and close to the reservoir, officials are concerned the rules could scare off other developers even as the town drafts a master plan envisioning more growth along the busy corridor.

"If there are additional regulations, we're going to have to look and see about development on Route 9," said Town Planner Vera Kolias. "That's tough. Route 9 is the obvious place to put more development."

Woodland Meadows is being proposed under Chapter 40B, the state law designed to encourage affordable-housing projects; it allows developers to bypass many local restrictions if roughly one-fourth of a project's units are sold or rented at below-market prices, and the community is below the state's affordable-housing target.

The project's developer, Robert Heavey of Natick, said he understands why the regulations exist, but he and town officials didn't know they were going to be in force when he applied to build the complex on Woodland Road late last year. Now he's dealing with an unforeseen hurdle, he said.

Heavey blamed the state for not properly alerting the public about the rules. "Their hearts were in the right place. I'm not going to deny that," he said. "But it's ludicrous what they're doing."

Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Joseph Ferson said the rules have been on the books since 1996 but were rarely enforced until the department streamlined storm-water management regulations, with the new rules taking effect in January.

Under the rules, storm water draining from properties within 400 feet of a reservoir or within 200 feet of a tributary feeding a reservoir needs to be diverted or collected in underground chambers or retention ponds, said Town Engineer John Woodsmall. Those measures are expensive, he added.

"You could have substantial additional costs depending on what you use," said Woodsmall. "Having a pipe to discharge near a stream is a lot cheaper than designing a pump system that pumps drain water uphill away from a stream."

Woodland Meadows is within 200 feet of an unnamed stream that flows into the Sudbury Reservoir, which is used by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority as an emergency supply.

Reservoir View Estates, a proposed subdivision of five houses on White Bagley Road, would also need to follow the regulations to receive final approval, Woodsmall said. But the subdivision is in the early stages of the site-plan review process, Kolias said.

Southborough's conservation administrator, Beth Rosenblum, said the rules might be cumbersome but defended their purpose, and said plenty of other towns are faced with dealing with them. "They're going to affect development all over the state," she said. "For the Commonwealth they're good. There's always concern these days about drinking water."

Rosenblum said Heavey owns more land than the 8 acres he is proposing to use for Woodland Meadows. He might consider moving the condo complex farther from the stream to create a wider buffer between his project and the water, she said. That way he could avoid the expense of rerouting storm runoff.

However, Heavey rejected that idea, saying he wants to reserve the right to develop or leave untouched the other 7 acres on his parcel. Meanwhile, his engineers were looking at ways to deal with the state regulations, he said.

"I'm not going to move the building," said Heavey. "The building is going to stay."