The Acton Board of Health meeting on October 14 largely focused on wastewater disposal compliance at Gould’s Plaza, 250-270 Great Road.
On October 7, the Acton Health Department issued a Notice of Noncompliance to East Acton Plaza, LLC, owners of Gould Plaza, for failure to mitigate two long-standing issues: 1) the need to have the two hair salons in the development connected to a wastewater holding tank (to collect wastewater contaminated with, for example, hair dyes); and 2) the need to upgrade the subsurface sewage disposal systems (SSDS) to include nitrogen reduction technology, given their location in Zone 2 and proximity to Zone 1 groundwater protection zones.
Brian Lafferty, representing East Acton Plaza, LLC, said that a proposal to address the issues cited in the Notice of Noncompliance would be submitted to Matthew Dow, Acton’s Environmental Health Director, by Friday, October 17. Given that, the Board voted to continue the discussion until the next meeting, scheduled for October 28.
Meanwhile, in September, the Acton Select Board approved a Use Special Permit for VIBE Hot Yoga & Pilates to be located at 254 Great Road, within the Gould Plaza development, with the stipulation that details of wastewater issues be resolved with the Board of Health.
The new yoga studio represents a new use for the space, with a need to quantify water usage and wastewater disposal. The Building Code/Plumbing Code determination is that the facility needs two showers (one for men, one for women), although the business owner, who also attended the meeting, disputes the need for showers at all. She stated that she owns two comparable businesses, in Westford and Chelmsford, one with no showers and one with two showers that are seldom used.
The major question put to the Board was what criteria to use to assess water usage and wastewater flow for a yoga studio. Mr. Lafferty said there is no comparable business listed in the Massachusetts Title 5 Commercial Property Table, so he suggested that water records for comparable businesses could be used instead. Another suggestion, he said, was to calculate usage as that of a theater or auditorium, which would be on a per-person basis (3 or 5 gallons per person).
“Our basic position is that a yoga studio doesn’t fit into anything in the flow rate calculations for Title 5,” he said.
Chairman Mark Conoby said that the Health Department had determined that the proper designation of the yoga studio is as a gymnasium. According to Title 5, a gymnasium’s wastewater flow would be calculated at 25 gallons per day per participant.
Mr. Conoby further advised that if the development wanted to move ahead using water records instead of the gymnasium design criteria, they would need records from comparable facilities and submit them to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection for approval.
Mr. Lafferty agreed to move ahead with that plan and will seek records of facilities that are comparable both in terms of square footage and participant numbers.
Other Business
Penny Funaiole, Health and Family Services Director, reported that the Health Department was collaborating with other agencies on several programs to address elder care and “tightening up communications and outreach so police and medical communications are smoother.”
- Safe Return is a program whereby the Police Department can be notified in advance of residents who may wander from home.
- File of Life provides a way for residents to put all of their medical and emergency contact information in one location, so that first responders will be able to find it quickly.
Ms. Funaiole also said the department is filing requests for transportation funding and hoping for new opportunities for the transportation system.
Public Comments
A resident attending the meeting said he had sent the Board an email about septic systems regulations at a statewide level. When regulations are set at the local Board of Health level, there is a likelihood that they won’t be universal, he said. He cited a Boston Globe editorial arguing for uniform regulations, and he encouraged the Acton Board of Health to support a move to more state-level regulations for septic systems.
Chairman Conoby said that regulations are supposed to be based on unique features of the community, such as the type of soils in the area. “There have been a lot of changes over the years, but the chances of having 351 communities agree is pretty small.”
Patricia McTiernan is the Acton Exchange’s beat reporter for the Board of Health.
