Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutmin of conservation com 04/14/2003 ; "~. r Conservation Commission Meeting April 14, 2003 0311 ..1 r;)3:50 Present: Paul Boyden, Chair; Christine Flass, Diane Ready, Jack Smith, Carol~.1 I' . Matthew I ,i', Richard Lewis, Conservation and Environmental Planner ,', i..J t: j TS It. Meeting called to order at 7:00 p.m. I Motion: To go into executive session for a discussion with Mr. Mangiaratti regarding pending litigation and to adjourn from executive session in order to conduct the regular Conservation Commission meeting (Smith-Flass) All in favor. PASSES 2. Public Hearing Notice of Intent continued - Bay Brook ViUage LLC - Branch Street - DEP File #SE 211-679 The chair reopened the public hearing for the construction of a 24-10t residential subdivision with roadway, drainage and utilities, and seven homes with grading and associated work within 100 feet of a wetland resource area. r'. David Oberlander, BOO Engineering, explained the revised plan. Two houses have been removed and the roadway has been shortened by 152 feet. The cul-de-sac has been pulled away from the isolated wetland areas, which are being treating as vernal pools; the work will be kept as far away as possible. The only work shown in the 100-foot buffer is for a back yard. The large wetland has three houses within the 100- foot buffer zone; everything is at least 50 feet away except for a portion of one deck. He said this plan will have less impact on the wetlands. Mr. Lewis said the isolated areas have changed from under 5,000 square feet to over 5,000 square feet. He explained when he did the first site walk, he came across a couple of conservative areas to the east of lot 23 and near lots 20 and 22; at lot 22 there is a straight line between the wetland flags, which used to be a semi-circle area. That area has been cut off. He has done another site walk to look at the isolated areas, as well as other areas where he had connected flag points. There is a stonewall along the back oflot 23; the wetland line was at the wall. Mr. Lewis said Dr. Walter Hewitson was conservative in his first flagging, and agreed with the changes Mr. Lewis Mrs. Ready suggested. Mr. Lewis said he was comfortable with the new lines. Mr. Oberlander said there should be signs installed to indicate "no disturbance" beyond the hay bale area. Mr. Lewis said that could be written into the order. He said full grading plans have not been generated and suggested continuing the hearing until the next meeting so they can be prepared. The drainage report has been submitted. Mr. Oberlander said the grading wouldn't change much, and he doesn't anticipate doing any on the other side of the hay bales. r' Ms. Flass asked about the 55-gallon drums on site; Mr. Oberlander said those are off the property. r' Mr. Lewis said this would go before the ZBA on April 29, to begin a process that will take several months. There may be changes made to the plan through that process, after which the applicant could come back for a modification. Ms. Matthew said she was concerned with the tree line at lots 9 and 11, and suggested a restriction to run with the deed and permanent signage. Motion: To continue public hearing to April 28, 2003 at 7:45 p.m. ead -Flass Allin favor. PASSES 3. Public Hearing Abbreviated Notice of Resource Delineation - ViUage Landing LLC - 631 East Street - DEP File #211-680 The chair opened the public hearing for the review of wetland boundaries as shown on the site plan submitted with the application for an Age 55 and over development. Ralph Maloon, RIM Engineering, explained the plans, which include the flagging of the river bank; the 200 foot Riverfront zone is shown. r Mr. Lewis said he and Ms. Flass had visited the site and adjusted some flags; most of the flags were set by the topography of the site. He said he was comfortable with the changes. He said they paid close attention to the flagging on the north side of the property. Ms. Flass said there was a brook near flag 55 and asked if Mr. Maloon had any history. Mr. Maloon presented a plan showing a manmade property line ditch between this parcel and the Flint parcel to the rear. He said about 17 acres shed to this ditch, which does not show up on the USGS map. Ms. Flass asked if this would fall under an intermittent stream. Mr. Maloon said the size is well under what would be considered a river. Mr. Boyden asked about the 200-foot line. Mr. Maloon said the outer riparian area is at 200 feet, and the inner riparian at 100 feet. Board Comment Mr. Lewis said this application is only for the delineation of the wetland line and the Riverfront zone line. DEP has sent out revisions to clarify perennial vs. intermittent streams, which talk about those streams shown on USGS maps as intermittent or not at all. Public Comment There was no public comment. Motion: To close the public hearing (Flass-Ready) All in favor. PASSES Motion: To issue an determination that the boundaries shown on the plan dated April 11,2003 are accurate representations of the BVW and Riverbank delineations (Ready-Flass) All in favor. PASSES r 4. Public Hearing - Request for Determination of Applicability - 282-284 Ware Street - Michael Trowbridge The chair opened the public hearing for the installation of a new septic system at an existing house with excavation and grading work within 100 feet of a wetland resource area. r Mr. Lewis explained Mr. Trowbridge couldn't make the meeting tonight, but said the issue is a simple one and recommended the commission could go ahead. Mr. Lewis said the area where the new system will be placed in the backyard is already grassed. He said this is the only place the system can go on this site. Motion: To close the hearing (Flass-Smith) All in favor. PASSES Motion: To issue a Negative Three Determination with the condition the siltation control is installed per the plan and the commission be notified prior to the start of work (Ready-Flass) All in favor. PASSES 5. Public Hearing - Request for Determination of Applicability - 132 Highland Avenue - Michael Mallon The chair opened the public hearing for the installation of an in-ground pool, with excavation and grading work within 100 feet of a wetland resource area. r- Mr. Mallon explained the plan, showing the pool to be contained with the existing chain-link fence. A new fence will be placed around the pool area. The silt fence will be placed up against the chain-link fence for stability. Board Comment Ms. Flass asked what the numbers on the plan mean. Mr. Lewis explained the 34 feet is the distance from the fence to the wetland, and the 48 feet is from the pool to the wetland line. He said the yard slopes from front to back, and the existing fence is 8- 10 feet from the edge of the wetland area, then the yard flattens out. There are monitoring wells behind this property for the Hathaway Patterson site. There is existing lawn where the pool is going to be installed, and the material will be trucked off site. The pool will have a cartridge filter. Ms. Flass asked about the dewatering pipe; Mr. Mallon said that was for the construction phase and would be removed after completion. Motion: To close the public hearing (Ready-Smith) All in favor. PASSES Motion: To issue a Negative Three Determination with the condition that a silt fence be installed and the work be done according to the plan. (Ready-Flass) All in favor. PASSES !"'"- 6. Public Hearing - Notice of Intent - Cedar Heights LLC - Francis Avenue- SE 211-682 The chair opened the public hearing for the construction of a residential apartment complex, with proposed filling of a portion of an isolated wetland area, with compensation provided, with grading and other activity proposed within 100 feet of a wetland resource area. r- Ed Pesce, Cubelis Savitz Associates, engineer; Chi Man, project engineer; Michael Ball, wetlands biologist; Bob and George Turner, applicants. Mr. Pesce said this is a 40B project for which a public hearing will begin with the ZBA on April 29. Mr. Pesce showed the plan for wetlands delineation, which was approved several months ago. This proposal shows three main three~story buildings with an activity center and pool. The proposal is to alter and replicate almost 5,000 square feet of wetland. Mr. Pesce said he is aware their ultimate approval will come from the ZBA, but he would like to get input from the commission. He said this project abuts other multi-family developments, so it is compatible with the site. The original size of the wetland area is 8,729. They are proposing to alter and replicate +/~ 5,000 square feet. This site is on sewer. r Ms. Matthew asked what was used to determine the wetlands. Mr. Pesce said they used soils and vegetation, and the wetland line has previously been determined. Ms. Matthew asked what the wetland is functioning as; Mr. Pesce said it is an isolated wetland. Mr. Ball said the soil data will be provided with the replication plan. Mr. Pesce said the soils in both locations are almost identical. Mr. Ball said the replication area was chosen primarily because of the topography; he said the area adjacent to the road is best because it was previously altered. He said it would be easiest to excavate that area. Mr. Pesce said this area will provide the best longevity for wetland vegetation. Ms. Matthew asked about road runoff entering the new wetland area; Mr. Pesce said the area has curbing, and no road run-off enters this wetland area. Mr. Ball said this is not a vernal pool. Mr. Boyden asked if the street drainage would have to pick up drainage from this site; Mr. Pesce said it would not. Mr. Boyden asked if the existing drainage ditch will continue to function as such; Mr. Pesce said he thought it would function like that only during severe storm events. Ms. Matthew asked how far it would be from the edge of the building to the wetland; Mr. Pesce said it would be 25 feet. Mr. Boyden asked if the building would be on r r slab; Mr. Pesce said it would be. Mr. Turner said the rear of the building would not have any exits. Ms. Flass asked about Section 2.4, which prohibits activity within 25 feet of the wetland. Mr. Pesce said they would be encroaching to within 25 feet with the proposed alteration. Mr. Lewis said there is lack of flexibility to permit wetland alteration absent a limited project finding. Mr. Pesce said this was filed under the Chapter 40B regulations. Mr. Boyden said the commission still has to work within its by-law, regardless of the type of application. Mr. Pesce said he is aware of the by-law issues and tried to respect that, despite the fact that they can use the state by-laws, which are less restrictive, rather than the local by-laws. Mr. Pesce said he believed the commission is allowed to grant some relief because this is a 40B application. Mr. Lewis said the decision ultimately rests with the ZBA, which is wrapping up another 40B application where the commission had requested the building be kept 25 feet away from the wetland area. He said the commission will be sending the ZBA a letter that would likely ask for Building 3 to be relocated to eliminate the fill. He suggested the building could be rotated. Mr. Pesce said they had looked at that, but if the building were flipped, there would be problems with parking and stormwater detention. Mr. Lewis said designing the stormwater detention system before coming to the commission may have been a mistake. r Mr. Boyden asked what the sideyard setbacks are for the site; Mr. Pesce said building A has 7 feet and Building B has 5. Mr. Boyden suggested shifting Building 3 to the side would remove it from the wetland. Mr. Man said during the design process, they tried to stay closer to the isolated wetland than to the larger wetland on the other side. Mr. Pesce said he could move the building and decrease the encroachment, with the building out of the wetland but the garage still in it. Mr. Turner agreed. Mr. Pesce said the easement line is approximately at the edge of the wetland, and he suggested shifting the building to within 15 feet off the wetland on the other side. Mr. Lewis suggested that perhaps Building 3 itself can be modified somewhat to minimize the encroachment. Mr. Pesce said he would supply the soil logs. Mr. Ball asked if the commission has conditions it would like included and said he was serious about doing a successful replication. He said he thought it could be successful on this site. Ms. Ready said because of the failure rate of replication areas, less replication would be better. Mr. Ball said the replication area would be designed to mimic as much as possible the functioning of the original wetland. He said small wetland areas like this don't usually support significant wildlife. Mr. Pesce said he would look at changing the building to decrease the encroachment and come back to the commission. r r- Mr. Boyden asked what is in the drainage easement; Mr. Pesce said there isn't anything in it now. Mr. Lewis said the applicant would have to prove to the Engineering Department that putting something in the easement won't compromise the integrity of the easement. Mr. Man explained they realize the wetland within the easement is valuable, and they tried to stay well outside of it. Mr. Lewis said he visited the site after the last rainstorm, and the water was ponding but was contained within the flags; he said he feels the flags are valid. Ms. Matthew asked if the number of units could be reduced. Mr. Pesce said they were not proposing that tonight. Mr. Turner said the number of units is economic for them, and the number of bedrooms, one and two, would be good for the town. He said when this is done, this will be the best apartment complex in town. Mr. Lewis suggested continuing the hearing to April 28 or May 12. He also suggested the commission wouldn't have to vote until after the ZBA acts, but said the it could send the ZBA a memo describing what parts it is happy or unhappy with, and suggesting corrections. Motion: To continue the public hearing to April 28, 2003 at 8:05 p.m. (Ready-Smith) All in favor. PASSES r I 7. Correspondence 1. Request for Extension of Lot 2 Kybren Circle, SE 211-631. Mr. Lewis said the site is in good shape. Motion: To grant a one-year extension to April 2004 (Ready-Smith) All in favor. PASSES 2. Certificate of Compliance Lots C & F, Lauren Lane, SE 211-613. Mr. Lewis has reviewed the site and it is in good shape. Motion: To issue the certificate of compliance (Flass-Ready) All in favor. PASSES r" 3. Request for extension for town projects, SE 211-587, 622 and 630. Mr. Lewis said these are for the Qualters Middle School, East Street fields, and Plymouth Street fields. He has spoken to Chris Ross at DEP, who said if an order has expired and there is no written request for an extension prior to expiration, there should be a new application. He said the Qualters work is almost done; the Plymouth Street project will need a new Notice of Intent and a new Order of Conditions for the final field; and the East Street fields will need a new Notice of Intent for the fields between East Street and the front of the Jordan Jackson school. He said the local by-law preventing work within 25 feet of the wetland was not in place when the original permit was issued, but he said it didn't make much sense to enforce that when the work has already begun. , .. \ . r- 4. Municipal Vegetation Management Plan - needs to be authorized each year. Motion: To endorse the plan (Matthew-Smith) All in favor. PASSES 4. Posting of Conservation Land - The Town Manager's office has been contacted about four-wheelers and dirt bikes using the trails. Mr. Lewis said he would talk to town counselor the police chief about language for the signs. He also suggested a mailing to the abutters informing them these activities are not allowed. 5. New hearings for the April 28 meeting: County Street bridge repair and Walsh property on School Street. Mr. Lewis showed the commission a plan of the School Street site showing new flagging. Mr. Lewis suggested a site walk. 6. Ms. Matthew asked what section of the local by-law would address the filling issue in the 40B application. Mr. Lewis said it would come under Section 2.4. He said the commission could wait to issue an Order of Conditions until after the ZBA hearing; the ZBA can issue waivers from any of the local by-law requirements. r 18. Adjournment Motion: To adjourn at 10:45 p.m. (Smith-Flass) All in favor. PASSES Date of Next Meet(5;" ng: . 28, 2003 at 7:30 p.m. ~~\.,.. ~ (l,.J\ ~ 11,,\ ~ "'__ 11/ ~)S) u; Signature of Chair . Date of Approval r-