Marblehead urged to protect bike path during Lead Mills development

MARBLEHEAD-Town environmental consultants have told the Board of Appeals to take steps to protect a bicycle path and Wyman Woods when they issue a permit for the construction of condominiums on the former Chadwick Lead Mills property.KSS Realty, the firm that wants to build the project on the Salem-Marblehead line, has offered another compromise proposal to the appeals board, a 45-unit design with 12 affordable units. The board is scheduled to meet again Nov. 26 to discuss the construction.GZA GeoEnvironmental Engineers of Norwood has submitted a revised engineering study of the cleanup that will be needed on-site before construction can be completed, since the property is contaminated with lead and other chemicals.The Conservation Commission is scheduled to meet tonight to discuss the cleanup proposal.GZA said in its report, which reached town offices this week, that the appeals board should consider adding a condition to its permit that will require a permanent solution for both the bike path and the woods.Woodward & Curran, the cleanup company, is offering to remove some lead-contaminated soil from both areas, but the cleanup will not be as intensive as the cleanup in the construction area and its aim will be to protect construction workers, not the public.W&C based its proposal on the belief that the use of those properties will be restricted by a government agency and would never be used for homes.In addition to house construction, GZA said the lots should not be used for activities involving young children (less than 5 years old), and agriculture, and the consultants recommended that the appeals board require KSS to comply with that activity ban.The consultants also recommended that W&C compile a cost estimate for remediating the bike path and Wyman Woods at the same level as the rest of the property.?If this estimate is relatively low ? W&C should consider including this additional remediation,” the report said.