Taylor Cove Project Awaits DEP as Site Activity Spikes

The arrival of construction equipment and loud activity has neighbors in the River Street area once again wondering the status of the Taylor Cove condo project and the appeal to the Department of Environmental Protection.

The that they could not use a past permit from an abandoned project to perform work on the Taylor Cove project condo project. Developers appealed the decision and now all parties are waiting to hear how the DEP will rule.

But, nonetheless, recent activity at the 93 River Street site is concerning neighbors in the area and raising questions of the legality of work currently being done on the site.

Abutter to the project Frances Wheeler recently reached out to Conservation staff recently in regards to work being done on the site.

"I can no longer hold back, since there’s bigger equipment (which I saw) and louder noises (which I’m listening to now as I write) coming from the site," said Wheeler in an email to the Conservation Department.

Conservation Commission staff member Linda Cleary said they are still awaiting word from the DEP but are hopeful that they will rule in favor of the town. In the meantime, she said that the work being done may be outside of the jurisdictional area and allowed.

Also, the permit in question, originally received for a project called Victoria Place, expires next month.

Taylor Cove Recent History

In July, the Conservation Commission on the Taylor Cove condo project to keep developers from performing work on the dirt-covered site before necessary permits are attained. The developers were attempting to perform site work using a permit for a now-abandoned project, "Victoria Place", that did not receive overall approval from town permitting boards. The Conservation Commission did not agree the they could use the permit, originally obtained for a single family house development called Victoria Place, to perform site work.

The developer appealed the decision to the Department of Environmental Protection back in the summer and the DEP is still working on the case. However, town officials say that this is positive because it means the state is taking the time to study the case more thoroughly. Specifically, the state is looking at how wetland boundaries have changed on the site, which would dictate where developers could build and not build.