Conservation Commission Faces Angry Residents Over Proposed Washington Street Auto Body Shop-August 8, 1979

South Norwood Homeowners Voice Fears of Pollution and Flooding Near Hawes Brook as Public Hearing Pushes Back Against Rick’s Auto Body Plan

Outspoken and angry South Norwood residents packed a conservation commission meeting last night to fiercely oppose a proposed auto body shop at the corner of Washington Street and Alandale Parkway. For nearly two hours, roughly 20 neighborhood residents and the commission locked horns over environmental and flood hazards tied to Richard Spicer’s plans for Rick’s Auto Body on East Hoyle Street. The project calls for a 52-by-52-square-foot shop with 17 parking spaces on a vacant half-acre corner lot situated well within 100 feet of Hawes Brook, which runs behind Alandale homes and flows east beneath Washington Street.

Representing the applicant, Donald B. Myers of Norwood Engineering Co. outlined built-in safeguards, including a six-inch perimeter berm to prevent runoff and gas traps in drainage basins. Commission Chairman Bettina S. Cottrell noted similar engineering features had succeeded elsewhere, while member Maurice S. Baker recommended mandating holding tanks for solvents. However, residents remained deeply unconvinced. District 6 Town Meeting members Frances A. Phipps and William F. McCoy urged the commission to outright reject the project, with McCoy testifying, “I’ve lived with this flooding.” Resident Anna Fahrenholt echoed those fears regarding backyard water problems, while attorney Philip H. Macchi—whose office sits across the street—was applauded when he reminded the panel that the Wetlands Protection Act empowers them to prohibit hazardous uses. Although commission members assured the public they were sympathetic, Chairman Cottrell indicated the board would need an “extremely good reason” to completely ban the shop and will likely vote on a formal order of conditions at its next meeting on August 21.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger