DEERFIELD — After months of discussions, the Planning Board unanimously approved the stormwater management and site plan for the city’s proposed North Main Street park last week.

With those approvals in hand, the city must now wait for the Conservation Commission to approve a Notice of Intent before proceeding with the bidding process for construction. The Conservation Commission was scheduled to meet on Thursday, but commissioners exercised caution and postponed the meeting remotely due to an incorrect call-in number being posted on the meeting agenda.

As the city pushes ahead with the project, which will be located near Frontier Regional School at 137 North Main St., for several years, attorney John McLaughlin, who represents Judith Rathbone, has argued that city officials are sidestepping green development bylaws passed June 2021. annual municipal meeting. The regulations state that an applicant cannot alter more than 40% of a property, but they do not specifically mention municipal projects. McLaughlin argues that municipal projects are implicitly governed by bylaws, but planning board chairwoman Analee Wulfkuhle said municipal attorney Lisa Meade determined that was not the case.

“Our legal counsel found precedent that you can’t implicate something that isn’t there; it has to be said,” Wulfkuhle said by phone. “We felt quite comfortable following the recommendation of legal counsel.”

Wulfkhule estimates that approximately 80% of the North Main Street property will be altered as part of the project.

The project narrative indicates that the city intends to build the park in phases, with the first focusing on walking trails, mixed-use fields, picnic areas, and planted vegetation. Future phases could include court lighting and an outdoor basketball court. The park is expected to be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and will hold sports games and practices for the recreation department, as well as outdoor concerts when a bandstand is built.

Residents approved an appropriation of $1.2 million at the June 2020 Annual Municipal Meeting for the acquisition of the parcel and the construction of recreation grounds, walking and biking trails, and parking. In October of that year, City Assembly Special Voters approved the use of an additional $1 million in Community Preservation Act funds to support the project.

Following the Planning Board’s approval, McLaughlin said he and Rathbone would “consider what we’re going to do” in terms of appealing the decision.

“I’m just disappointed that they didn’t discuss some of the issues that we raised,” he said.

Wulfkuhle said the Planning Council received little public input in the form of letters or public comments during public hearings, which began in January.

“We certainly tried to be fair and open to all considerations,” she said. “Hopefully we did our due diligence.”

The Planning Board had closed the public comment portion of the public hearing at the previous meeting, but left the hearing open so that board members could ask questions of the engineer and the lawyer representing the town.

The project is now awaiting approval from the Conservation Commission before a lengthy bidding process can begin, according to city administrator Kayce Warren. There is also an appeal process for the decision of the Planning Board and, if approved, the Conservation Commission, which will need to be resolved before the bidding can begin.