July 31, 2024 Planning Board Special Meeting Transcript - WEHI

43 (Pages 166 to 169) Page 166 1 a perimeter around the building to allow 2 construction, and firefighters will be able to 3 traverse around the building, they will just need to 4 drag hose or carry a ladder. It's not like they 5 didn't have access. Like, an urban site, you only 6 have access to one side of the building. This, you 7 will have access to four sides but with a vehicle on 8 two or three sides. 9 COUNCILMAN RUTHERFORD: Right, so, 10 just so that I'm clear, if firefighters need to 11 access the rear of the building, they will be able 12 to do so on foot, carrying heavy equipment, and they 13 have enough space to get back there; obviously, 14 response times matter, and that pinch point, you're 15 saying, will be no less than seven feet? 16 MR. APPEL: The pinch -- that pinch 17 point to the ridgeline is seven feet, so those 18 numbers that I was giving you was to that ridge -- 19 was to that line which was established by the -- by 20 the town or one of the consultants that was called 21 the ridgeline. I was giving you those dimensions 22 because it's just an arbitrary line, you know, it's 23 a -- but that's -- that's a line that everything had 24 to be designed around. 25 COUNCILMAN RUTHERFORD: And so that Page 167 1 space back there is still sloped going up toward the 2 top of the ridge? 3 MR. APPEL: It goes up and down. It 4 follows -- because whatever the natural topography, 5 so once we clear the building, it's in the a -- it's 6 not like on the front of the building that's a 7 straight line, the back of the building is going to 8 go up and down and follow the normal -- 9 COUNCILMAN RUTHERFORD: Yeah. So 10 that's what I anticipated. I am a little concerned 11 about that. I don't know how to capture that in a 12 condition, I don't know if we can capture that in a 13 condition, but my concern, sir, is that if there is 14 a need for firefighters to access the rear of the 15 building, you have a bottleneck at that corner of 16 Building D, which has been described as seven feet 17 from the building to the ridgeline, we have an 18 uneven surface, we have a very long building, and it 19 looks to me, as a layman -- I'm not a firefighter, 20 never have been; it looks to me like that's going to 21 take a considerable amount of time to get back there 22 safely, set up there safely and then handle whatever 23 the emergency may be. 24 MR. APPEL: So I'm going

it looks to me like that's going to 21 take a considerable amount of time to get back there 22 safely, set up there safely and then handle whatever 23 the emergency may be. 24 MR. APPEL: So I'm going to pose a 25 suggestion in here, and this is to the -- Mr. Page 168 1 Anderson, is can we create alongside the building 2 just to have a smoother transition grade-wise on the 3 ridge side or are we getting into areas that would 4 create disturbances that would cause other issues? 5 And that would be the -- the question of whether, as 6 long as there's adequate space... 7 MR. ANDERSON: The space that's graded 8 behind the building is already graded in a smooth, 9 continuous way. It might change in slope, but the 10 one thing that's relevant here is, if you go back to 11 the section that you had showing where the building 12 was with the trees, you can see you're at the top of 13 the hill. So we built just short of the top of the 14 hill, then there is still the top of the hill which 15 is generally very level and then it starts going 16 back down. Okay? So if you look at the exhibit 17 that Larry will bring up here -- 18 MR. APPEL: I thought I -- 19 MR. ANDERSON: You have it there 20 somewhere. Well, he knew all the numbers. 21 MR. KLEIN: Yeah, but we're talking 22 the other direction. 23 MR. APPEL: Either one is -- 24 MR. ANDERSON: So -- 25 COUNCILMAN RUTHERFORD: Go back one. Page 169 1 Go back. That one. 2 MR. KLEIN: Parallel to the back of 3 the building. 4 MR. ANDERSON: Yes, parallel to the 5 back of the building. So if you're talking about 6 firefighters, we have anywhere between seven at one 7 discreet point where you have 30 feet, it's like 30 8 feet of level area. Now, look at the slope of that 9 area immediately behind the building. That's not a 10 steep slope. 11 MR. KLEIN: Right. 12 MR. ANDERSON: Farther to the right is 13 where the steep slope actually occurs. You're at 14 the top of the hill, right to the top where it gets 15 level. You go up over the hill with your car and 16 you get to the top and all of a sudden, you go back 17 down the other side. This is at the top parts. So 18 -- 19 COUNCILMAN RUTHERFORD: So -- I fully 20 understand that. My concern is, so this is a 21 hillside, right? 22 MR. ANDERSON: Yeah. 23 COUNCILMAN RUTHERFORD: You're not 24 planning on sidewalks, paver or some other firm or 25 smooth surface back there, it is -- it

concern is, so this is a 21 hillside, right? 22 MR. ANDERSON: Yeah. 23 COUNCILMAN RUTHERFORD: You're not 24 planning on sidewalks, paver or some other firm or 25 smooth surface back there, it is -- it would be