The Conservation Commission has given the okay for improvements to the Mary C. Burke playground, which will include a new splash pad.
Last Thursday night, the Commission held a public meeting on a request for a determination of applicability for the improvements to the playground at 300 Crescent Ave.
There was no public input during the meeting, although City Councillors Leo Robinson and Joe Perlatonda were in attendance.
The new landscaping at the playground will include maple and other trees.
Once final approvals are received for the project, the majority of the work will be done this fall, with the exception of some plantings next spring, according to representatives from CBA Landscaping.
•In other business, the Commission held a site plan review for a proposed nine-unit, three-story residential building project at 75-79 Spencer Ave. The existing building will be demolished and the project will be rebuilt from the ground up, according to Planning Director John DePriest.
The two lots together are approximately 10,000 square feet and the project would be built on slab with significant landscaping, the planning director said.
The proposal originally came in with 20 units, but was deemed not to fit in with the neighborhood.
Conservation Commission Chair Stephen Sarikas said he would like to see more trees and fewer shrubs in the landscaping plan.
The project will next go before the Zoning Board of Appeals.
While the proposed nine units means the project will not have to meet affordable housing guidelines, DePriest said the owners are potentially looking to purchase two adjacent lots on which they could build 12 units by right.
If that were to happen, DePriest said the developer would have to meet the 15 percent affordable housing guideline for all the units on all the adjacent lots.
According to the Chelsea assessor’s database, Lanzillo Flamino and Zepaj Marenglen of Middleton purchased 75 Spencer Ave. in May for $500,000 and 79 Spencer Ave. for the same price.