No Building in the No-Build Zone

Every once in a while, we make it into the news. Check out this article in this week's Gazette concerning the Town of Somerset's proposal to build a new pool house next to the creek.

www.gazette.net/stories/09162009/bethnew200422_32535.shtml

The Town's proposal for renovation places a new building within 50 feet of the stream bank (where the handicapped parking is for those who know the site). The 600 square foot structure would house a kitchen and storage room. A basement is also suggested for this new building. The old pool house would remain on the same foot print, but be considerably renovated. Copies of the plan are on the Town website.

The background on this project is that some 35 years ago, the Town of Somerset built a pool and pool house right next to the creek. The entire facility is located in what today is called "the no-build zone", a 150 foot stream buffer. If the building was proposed today, it couldn't be built in this spot as no buildings are allowed in this important environmental feature. (btw, I'm not sure how the 150 foot buffer came to be a law, but you can be sure that environmentalists fought hard for this, especially given the strength of the developer lobby!)

Today, the Somerset Pool House is in grave need of renovation. There is considerable structural damage and the floor of the women's locker room is in danger of collapsing into the pump room located directly below. The County will not prevent Somerset from renovating the pool house despite its location creek side nor will it make the town remove the building, but the County will be monitoring the environmental impact of the proposed renovations and requiring that the new project conform to present day stormwater management requirements. At the meetings with County officials that I attended, they also emphasized that the Town should try to mitigate the impact of the impervious surfaces of the pool and pool house by creating as much new pervious surface as possible.

In my humble opinion, I fail to see how putting a new building as close to the stream as possible can be considered in the spirit of mitigating the environmental impact of the facility. Even more critical than the 150 foot buffer is the first 50 feet. The new building would be smack in this 50 foot area. Although there is a parking lot there now, putting the new building next to the creek would take out an area of landscaping which provides some stormwater management. More important, this landscaping strip allows some recharging of the ground water which is essential to the health of several large trees located on the stream bank.

The Town has the opportunity to make this an environmental show piece and mitigate some of the damage that was done 35 years ago. There are other ways to renovate the pool house. I would like to see the town consider other options that would either not increase the footprint of the building (like a second floor), or would site the new rooms further from the creek on surface that is already impervious. There is amply room on the pool deck which is already an impervious surface to put a 600 square foot building.

The Little Falls Watershed Alliance has requested a meeting with the Town to discuss the project and how to mitigate the effects that it has on the Little Falls Branch. Hopefully, we will get some answers to my concerns.

Sarah Morse