Newton subcommittee approves Chapen Road drain extension on 3-2-1 vote

NEWTON -- July 28, 2025, Newton subcommittee votes 3-2-1 to advance a contested 482-foot main drain extension on Chapen Road. The Other Committee approved petitioner Betsy Harper's request to extend a city drain from a manhole near 16-17 Chapen Road easterly to the end of the street, a condition of a Board of Survey-approved two-lot subdivision at 132 Homer Street. Councilor Gentile made the motion, saying he trusts Associate City Engineer Don Dagleian's record of diligence; two members opposed and one abstained. Attorney Dennis Murphy, representing abutters, argued Newton's own stormwater rules incorporate state handbook standards that the petitioner's engineers have not fully met, while the neighbors' engineer John Chessia called Lot 3 "a problem lot" that collects runoff from roughly four acres and said he saw no viable path to putting a house there. Residents described decades of flooded basements and standing water, with Josh Goodman of 37 Chapen Road demanding to know who would pay for remediation if the approved system fails. The item goes to the full City Council no earlier than August 11.