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HomeMy WebLinkAboutConservation Comm. 06/10/2024Town of Mansfield 6 Paik &)Y, [Mansfield, tYiassachusetts 02048 Conservation Commission , ............ ..... .............. ............ -....... ..... .... . - ......., ..... -. .... ,. .,.,........ _ Gallagher and Ms. Katelyn Gonyer, Conservation and Environmen al tanner Not Present: Mr. Robert Smith -MacDonald ✓; ! it Guests: Mr. Ryan Gillogly, Eagle Scout, Mr. Craig Cygawnoski, RIM Eggine'ering Mr:'PaulJodice, Jodice and Sons, James IV and Stephanie Parker, residents, and Ms. Sally Fehervari, Open Space Committee Minutes: Sharon Varricchione 1. Call the Meeting to Order: Mr. Michael Healey, Chair, called the meeting to order at 6:24pm. 2. Eagle Scout - Mr. Ryan Gillogly (Marie Strese) Mr. Ryan Gillogly from Troop 17 introduced himself and then stated that his project was to improve the Marie Strese Conservation Area with 1.5 miles of trails. The cost of the project would be covered through the Troop and donations. He would like to improve the muddy accessibility areas by reusing wood pallets to create raised walking areas. He planned to add two to three benches and six to eight bird houses for a bird watching area. Ms. Gonyer agreed that there is a need for the raised walking pallets as she has witnessed social trails starting to happen as people start to avoid the trail by walking around the muddy areas. She added that this conservation area does not have a lot of places to sit and therefore the benches are welcomed. Mr. Ryan was given approval to move forward with his project. 3. Conservation Area Trail Map Signs - discussion Ms. Gonyer shared the 4x6'Conservation Area Trail Map Signs with the Commission and explained that Ms. Slinko, GIS Coordinator, Ms. Varricchione, Conservation Administrative Assistant and herself spent a great deal of time mapping out the maps and working to make a unified template design which was approved by the Town Managers Office. Ms. Gonyer had Ms. Varricchione share Mr. Andrews from NRT (National Resource Trust) email comments with the Commission as they had no comments: • Comment 1: "1 still do not understand the logic of not showing the entire conservation area as in all our past maps. Anyone looking at the maps will assume the protected area is limited to the outlines shown which is not correct." Mr. Healey responded that the maps are clearly set up to show the trails. If they show the full area, this could potentially lead to people to look for other trails that are out there which they only want people to stay to the defined trails. Ms. Gonyer agreed and she continued to mention that the Non -Profit Gift Fund was paying for the signs and that they recently got an extension on the timeframe to be created and that DPW will be installing them when the time comes. Mr. Roth agreed to have the signs focus on the trail areas that you need to read and if you had the trails zoomed out then it would defeat the purpose of the signs. Comment 2: "Great Woods; part of the white trail is on NRT property. The white trail was dedicated to Harry B. Chase, Jr. and should be noted" Ms. Gonyer said they will note that on the map. Comment 3: "Mill Pond; why aren't the trails shown? We have maps showing the trails. I think the cemetery should be noted. Ms. Gonyer stated that she was unsure of a cemetery and that there were no trails. She explained that it is really just a scenic area. There are a couple of trails but they do not want people walking them as they lead to private residents. Comment 4: "Plymouth Street; most of the yellow trail is on NRT property. The only part that the Town owns runs along the soccer fields. This should be corrected. The two southern parking areas are usually blocked off by a gate. Ms. Gonyer acknowledged that part of the area is owned by NRT and that she will work with them to get their permission. • Comment 5: "Streee, Sweet, and Taylor's Hill look fine. As well as Corporal Hardy which was mentioned earlier". Ms. Varricchione added that Mr. Andrews thanked Conservation for doing these as the existing signage was dated. Mr. Hedlund asked if fishing was allowed. Ms. Gonyer stated yes and that they would note that on the maps that had fishing. Ms. Fehervari, 86 Longdale Road, stated she was from the Open Space Committee and that she loved these maps. She then said that Mr. Andrews in his email may have been speaking about the Canoe Heritage Trail which is opposite the Canoe River Camp Ground where the Leonard Cemetery was. Ms. Gonyer thanked her for the clarification. Mr. Healey pointed out that there is no parking available for the cemetery. Ms. Gonyer suggested they may need to hold on a few of the signs if they need to so that the parking can be figured out and that she would keep in touch with Ms. Fehervari and NRT. Motion: To approve the trail map signs with the additional changes and the changes that are agreed upon with NRT Passes: 5:0 (Roth/Gallagher) 4. Notice of Intent (NOI) DEP SE 211-1013, James IV & Stephanie Parker, 10 Dane Street (Map 19, Parcel 191), for the construction of an addition to a single-family house within 100 feet of the Bordering Vegetated Wetland (BVW). Mr. Craig Cygawnoski, from RIM Engineering explained that the owners of the house, Mr. and Mrs. Parker were looking to increase the size of the house which puts part of the addition within the 25-foot No Disturb Zone (NDZ). Mr. Brad Holmes, Wetland Specialist was bought in to verify the wetland area that Mr. Cygawnoski had flagged from a previous plan. He then noted that there was 387 square feet of disturbance of the 25 foot buffer zone. They are proposing a fence that would run along the buffer zone to prevent further disturbance. They have plantings with three different zones to help with mitigations. Mr. Jodice, designer/contractor, stated that the owners bought the house in 2011 and, over the years, the wetlands were further away and now the wetlands are closer and impeding their future plans. He explained to the Commission that with the way the house was set up that it needs to be built off the right side of the house where the wetlands now are and he hoped that they would see that and also understand how they also want to protect the wetland. Ms. Gonyer explained that area to the right was a shallow sloping transitional wet area and that wetlands can migrate over time. She stated that she thought a fence or a permanent structure would be a good idea along the limit of work and that the plantings would be very beneficial. However, she mentioned that a knotweed management plan may be more beneficial than wetland mitigation plantings. Knotweed is difficult to get rid of because once you cut it, it will grow underground and surface elsewhere. She then stated if they stick with a management plan, over a few years, they should be able to re -colonize the area. Mr. Healey mentioned once you disturb the Knotweed, you can make it worse but likes the idea of excavating the first 18" or so of Knotweed and roots to a safe area (with a barrier to prevent spread of knotweed) to later burn it. Mr. Roth asked if they could control people from selling the house before the invasive species were managed. Ms. Gonyer stated that there would be an Order of Conditions recorded against deed and you need a clean title in order to sell. Mr. Healey said that these are the first applicants to apply for a variance under the Bylaw since the revisions approved at Town meeting in 2015. He summarized the work within the 25-foot NZD. He explained that the standards are going to be a lot higher and more complicated, not to mention the possible cost. Ms. Gonyer stated that the Order of Conditions for a variance like this would need to be clear and drafted ahead of time for the Commissions review. Plus, she stated that mitigation planting in the natural woody wetland may open a can of worms by promoting the spreading the Knotweed. Also, she mentioned that and the amount of work they will need to do could significantly outweigh the cost of the expansion into the NDZ along with adding a fence along the boundary. Mr. Roth did not like the fence, if they owners sell then the new ones could potentially throw stuff over the fence. Ms. Gonyer would rather see a split rail fence with stones to help separate the environmentally sensitive area. She recommended continuing this to the next meeting and summarized the following: exchanging out the mitigation for the knotweed management plan, putting in a split rail fence as the demarcation. The Knotweed Management Plan should include a timeline and what is required for a reporting and communication for Conservation. Motion: To continue to the July 291h meeting Passes: 5:0 (Roth /Gallagher) 5. Request for Determination of Applicability (RDA) Kevin Boyden, 41 Lakeview Ave. (Map 004 Parcel 043) to determine if the Installation and continued use of a hydraulic jet thruster (Aqua Thruster) within the shallow waters of Greenwood Lake is a jurisdiction activity under the with the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act, General Laws, Chapter 131, Section 40 (as amended), and the Mansfield Wetland Protection By-law. Ms. Gonyer stated that the applicant was not there and asked the audience if anyone was there to speak to this. She also mentioned that she did speak with someone regarding this hearing and how to handle the situation and recommended he talk about wanting to get a biologist for this and was wondering if that is why he did not show tonight. The last time this was not heard was because the abutters were not notified and she recommended withdrawing the application for lack of procedure as she did not get a notification that he was not coming and that there was no new information on the second application. Ms. Gonyer stated that she would be contacting the State to get advice on how to proceed with project and to see if they would peer review the applicant, if the applicant applied for a third time. She understood that is was inconvenient for all of the abutters to keep attending the meetings and not even being able to review the application. She will contact DEP for advice. Motion: To withdraw the application. Passes: 5:0 (Gallagher/O'Hara) 6. Request for Certificate of Compliance (RCOC) DEP SE 211-0862, Mansfield Realty LLC, 111 Plymouth Street (Map 44, Parcel 802) Per the As -Build Plan, for the construction of a loading area with access drive within 100 feet of an Inland Bank, Land Under Water Body, and Riverfront area. Ms. Gonyer stated that she was there in 2013 at the site regarding plantings and the covert is in as described. She then mentioned that there is some debris that has developed along the covert and she wanted to bring that to the applicant's attention. She then recommended issuing the full Certificate of Compliance forthecrossing, this does not have anything to do with the actual building. Motion: To issue the full Certificate of Compliance to Mansfield Realty LLC, at 111 Plymouth Street (Map 44, Parcel 802) Per the As -Build Plan, for the construction of a loading area with access drive within 100 feet of an Inland Bank, Land Under Water Body, and Riverfront area. Passes: 5:0 (Gallagher/Roth) 7. Request for Certificate of Compliance (RCOC) DEP SE 211-1005, Nicholas J. Riccio, 881 Maple Street, (Map 40, Parcel 171/4) Per the As -Build Plan, for the construction of a single-family home within 100 feet of Bordering Vegetated Wetland (BVW). Ms. Gonyer explained the Order of Conditions was issued for the construction of a single-family home with a Bordering Vegetated located on the side. Only a portion of the proposed work was located within the buffer zone. She met onsite with the contractor. All areas had been stabilized, the drywells were installed per the plan, the limit of work was still in place. The disc signs were installed as approved. She recommended to issue a full Certificate of Compliance. Mr. Riccio thanked Ms. Gonyer and Ms. Varricchione for their help. Motion: To issue the full Certificate of Compliance to Nicholas J. Riccio, 881 Maple Street, (Map 40, Parcel 171/4) Per the As -Build Plan, for the construction of a single-family home within 100 feet of Bordering Vegetated Wetland (BVW) under DEP SE 211-1005. Passes: 5:0 (Hedlund /O'Hara) 8. Request for Certificate of Compliance (RCOC) DEP SE 211-0972, David Mullins, 19 Sean Drive, (Map 12, Parcel 56) Per the As -Built Plan, for the construction of a single family house within 100 feet of a wetland. Ms. Gonyer stated that the application is for a pool house. Mr. Cygawnoski from RIM Engineering stated the addition to the project was taken off the table. Ms. Gonyer stated that he did a good job showing the grading in his plan and recommended they move forward with a full Certificate of Compliance. Motion: To issue the full Certificate of Compliance to David Mullins, 19 Sean Drive, (Map 12, Parcel 56) Per the As -Built Plan, for the construction of a single-family house within 100 feet of a wetland under DEP SE 211-1005 Passes: 5:0 (Roth /Gallagher) 9. Administrative items: Correspondence: Letter from the planner/parkway: Mr. Healey mentioned they received a letter from the Planning Board and Ms. Gonyer stated is was regarding the TOD project and the original plan was to put in a parkway and that we were cc'd because we own property and it's potentially going to be an open space area. She noted that she is in support of it and had been working with the Ms. Raposa, the Planning Director on it. Conservation Updates: a. 41 Lakeview, we did get a letter from an abutter. If we receive an application again we will put this in the hearing folder in drop box. b. 5/13/24 Open Space & Recreation Committee (OSRC) Public Workshop — was a great show up and many people came from NRT. The next step is to share an Open Space plan with the Commission. c. Knotweed Vegetation Management Plan Project — not discussed d. April 2024 minutes for review and approval Motion: To approve the April 2024 minutes. Passes: 5:0 (Roth/Gallagher) e. Next Meeting will be held on 7/29/24 10. Adjournment: Motion: To close the meeting at 8:28pm. Passes: 5:0 (MacDonald/Gallagher) Date