By DAN TOMASELLO

LYNNFIELD — The Planning Board unanimously voted on Aug. 31 to extend the completion date for an upper Main Street subdivision to the end of October.

Planning Board Chair Brian Charville recalled that he and his colleagues have been frustrated with the lack of progress being made on the Sagamore Place subdivision since January. Hannah’s View Estates, LLC owner David Deloury purchased Sagamore Place from former developer Angus Bruce in June 2020 after Bruce’s company, Brookstone Development, went into foreclosure. The subdivision includes four lots on Sagamore Place while the fifth lot is located off upper Main Street.

After Planning and Conservation Director Emilie Cademartori informed the board in late July that she and Town Engineer Patrick McAlpine were not happy with the lack of progress being made on the subdivision, the Planning Board threatened to pull Deloury’s $167,372 private bond and have the town to finish the subdivision’s work. The Planning Board gave Deloury until Aug. 31 to make progress on several areas or the board would pull the bond.

“That has led to things getting done,” said Charville.

McAlpine stated in a memo sent to the Planning Board that four Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ramps have been installed. He said streetlights have been installed along with the lights’ underground control box and ductwork. He also noted that street trees have been planted as well as loam and seeding for the landscaping adjacent to the sidewalks.

The town engineer said the finalized erosion control system, the as-built plans, the roof runoff recharge system, signage, crosswalks and warning signs have yet to be finished.

“In my opinion, the contractor has made a significant effort to bring the road towards acceptance,” McAlpine stated in the memo. “I understand there is a desire to postpone the final paving of the road. I am in favor of this proposal due to the ongoing, uncompleted heavy site work of the homes and the contractors’ progress. In my opinion, it is in the town’s best interest not to revoke the contractor’s bond and allow for the delay in paving.”

While Deloury was looking to have the road’s final paving completed by Sept. 12, Cademartori said large trucks will be delivering sod to the development’s homes over the next few weeks.

“If that can be pushed out to the last week of the month, I don’t think that will hurt anybody,” said Cademartori.

McAlpine agreed.

“It’s not in the town’s best interest to have the final paving done if there are still heavy trucks coming in,” said McAlpine.

In response to a question from Planning Board member Page Wilkins, Cademartori said three out of the five homes on Sagamore Place have been constructed and are occupied. She said two homes are still being built, one of which can be accessed through a different entrance off of Main Street. She suggested that contractors use the Main Street entrance once the final paving is completed.

“But that is up to them,” said Cademartori.

Charville inquired what would be a reasonable date to have the final paving completed.

Deloury Construction General Manager Chris Ryder said the contractor could complete the final paving by the end of September.

McAlpine stressed that Deloury needs to make sure the drainage system works properly as well.

“We will be out there and will engineer it,” said Deloury. “We will do whatever kind of shimming that needs to take place so the flow goes to where it’s supposed to be. It will be very meticulous when it gets done.”

Planning Board member Amy MacNulty said she saw a pool of water at the end of the Sagamore Place’s cul-de-sac during a recent visit to the subdivision.

“It was kind of startling to see that after five days of over 80 degree temperatures,” said MacNulty. “It’s pretty obvious there is a problem.”

Ryder said the water ponding issue will be rectified once the final paving is completed. He attributed the problem to a resident reconfiguring a driveway’s location.

MacNulty also inquired why there are “a significant amount” of stone walls located along Sagamore Place.

While Deloury maintained that the homeowners built the stone walls, Dr. Peter Prokopis, 6 Sagamore Pl., disputed Deloury’s assertion.

“It was never our intention to build the walls,” said Dr. Prokopis. “We had to because our home was not sited properly. It was because of the prior poor contractor and the way he sited the house. We had to bring the land to the house, which we had to do at an extraordinary cost.”

In response to a question from Charville, Cademartori said DPW Director John Tomasz, who is the town’s tree warden, approved the street trees’ locations. She said the tree locations had to be modified due to the locations of curb cuts and mailboxes.

“We moved things around and gave them a lot of leeway to try and find the best locations while maintaining the spacing that the tree warden wanted,” said Cademartori.

Dr. Prokopis expressed concerns about the locations of the street trees, which he fears could damage the underground electrical conduits as the trees grow and the roots spread out.

“All of the taxpayers in this town are going to have pay for that if they have to be redone,” said Dr. Prokopis. “I am very concerned about the subdivision’s electrical system due to where these trees are located. All of these trees have invasive root systems, and they are very close to electrical conduits on both sides of the street. I don’t know if the tree warden knew that. The infrastructure is at-risk”

While Cademartori said she was told the close proximity between the street trees and conduits “was not going to be an issue,” she said that cannot be confirmed until the finalized as-built plans are given to the town.

Charville said the Planning Board was open to supporting a “modification” to the street trees’ location that will need to be approved by Tomasz.

Claudine Prokopis asked when the crosswalks will be finished.

Cademartori said the crosswalks will be finished after the final paving is completed.

After the discussion, the Planning Board voted to extend the Sagamore Place subdivision’s completion deadline to Oct. 31. Planning Board member Ed Champy did not participate in the discussion because his company has worked with Deloury in the past.