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HomeMy WebLinkAboutmin of conservation com 01/10/2005 " # r- RECE\VEO TOWr,1 CLERKS OFFICE Conservation Commission Meeti'WG JUN -6 AM II: 36 January 10, 2005 MANSFIELD Present: Paul Boyden, Chair; Colin Cauldwell, Vice ChaimMA.~O~; Christine Weaver; Jack Smith; Jerry St. Hilaire; Elizabeth Leidhold. Conservation and Environmental Planner. Karl and Dan Clemmey and Attorney David Rich of Todd and Weld, were present. A letter, addressed to Paul Boyden, the Conservation Commission Chair, from Attorney Richard Nylen, dated 1/1012005, concerning the Order of Judgement regarding the restoration of the wetland at Erin's Centre to its original condition was received by the Conservation Commission and a $9000.00 check was given to the Commission for partial reimbursement for the town's legal fees and for fhe expenses of a wetland specialist. Christine Weaver wanted it noted that the Conservation Commission does not agree with item #4 in the letter because it combines Erin's Centre and Essex Street, which are 2 separate issues. r- Colin made a motion requesting the executive minutes be released, to make them public. Passed (6-0). Christine Weaver made a motion to accept the Agreement of Judgement. dated 12/2312004, and signed by Attorney Robert Mangiaratti and Attorney Richard Nylen and to accept the check. Passed (6-0). Request to amend Notice of Intent: Ralph Maloon, of RIM Engineering, was presenting. The proposed work is regarding of a berm at Erin's Centre, behind Staples and Home Depot. A portion of the berm to be removed is within the 25 ft. no- activitylbuffer around the wetland to be restored. Elizabeth would like to see the area stabilized as soon as the berm is removed. The work in the no-build zone will improve and stabilize the buffer to prevent further erosion into the wetland. r- Christine Weaver is concerned about storm water run-off after the regrading. r- Dan Clemmey, referring to a letter from John Sullivan, Town Engineer, says there will be 0% impact. The regrading will have no impact on drainage and the area will be seeded and loamed and landscaped to conform to existing landscaping. Paul wanted it made clear that this action had nothing to do with DEP, that it falls strictly under the Mansfield By-law. Jerry St. Hilaire made a motion to accept the amendment to the Order of Conditions-#211-647-dated 12/1712004. Hay bales to be placed at the limit of work, the location of hay bales to be certified, stabilization with loam and seed, notification before work begins, and an asbuilt plan to be received by the Commission when the project is complete. Colin Cauldwell seconded. Passed (6-0). Proposed work is replacement of a meter pit. Mike Ahern was present from DPW. r- The work proposed is the replacement of an existing meter pit with a concrete vault. The pit is currently located in the middle of the paved parking lot, at Cate Springs Well Pumping Station. It will be relocated to the edge of the paved lot, approximately 50 ft. away from the wetlands. Siltation control is in place and the disturbance to the area will be minimal. Carole Matthew made a motion to accept the plans as submitted and a Negative 3 Determination was given. Jack Smith seconded. Passed (6-0). Proposed restoration of disturbed areas within 100ft. of Greenwood Lake and wetlands. Michael Trowbridge of Hutchins-Trowbridge Associates and Colonel Charles Chambers were present. This was a violation: The land was being cleared illegally and a town-owned access road, which touches the wetlands, was damaged. Elizabeth and Mike r- Ahern recently walked the site to Plain Street and moved some of the flagging. r- --- r- .. , . She has recommended that the area be restored to its original condition and that this pathway not be used for access to the site. Christine feels that boulders might be placed between the property and the town roadway to serve as a barrier. The disturbed area will be regraded and seeded to stabilize the area. No work is to be done until siltation fencing and hay bales are in place and have been inspected by Elizabeth. The owner of the property is proposing to build a house/garage on the property, with the work to begin in the spring of 2006. There will be a new driveway off Plain Street and an existing house will be removed after the new house is built. All the work is outside the buffer zone, approximately 160 ft from the wetlands. Christine made a motion to issue an Order of Condition and accept the plans, revised 1/1012005, to limit access to 111 Plain Street from town owned property with boulders and that Elizabeth be contacted before any work begins. Jack Smith seconded. Passed (6-0). Proposed construction of a paved driveway for access to property. At a later date a barn is proposed. Karl and Dan Clemmey, Attorney David Rich, of Todd and Weld, and Ralph Maloon, RIM Engineering were present. This case is still under appeal by the DEP. Attorney Rich said there will be no reindictment because the Statute of Limitations has expired. The Commission members and Attorney Robert Mangiaratti disagree. Because of the pending litigation, the Commission voted to take no action. Jerry St. Hilaire made the motion to take no action/no vote. Christine Weaver seconded. Passed (6-0). Because of the no action/no vote, Mr. Clemmey can wait the 21 days from this date, 1/1012005, and then appeal the vote by the Commission to the DEP. Paul also explained to Mr. Clemmey that the no action/no vote does not give him presumptive approval and that he can only appeal to the DEP. ** Proposed project is an open-space "Lifestyle" center, a mix of upscale retail and r- restaurant establishments on approximately 74 acres of which 25 acres are wetlands. About 33 acres will be used for the project. Ann McMenemy, Senior Wetland Scientist, Louis Masiello and Craig Lizotte, Senior Project Manager for ESS Group, Inc. were present. The plan of record is the plans submitted on10129/04. Revised plans, which will be submitted in about 2 to 3 weeks, will have revisions requested by the Engineering Department. Applicants are working to drastically reduce the 2, 10,25 and 100 year storms. The anchor store will be a Kohl's. It will be located in the southern portion of the property. Activities proposed within the 25 ft. no-build zone include: . Stormwater treatment . Wetland replication . Accessroads The plans call for the widening of School Street and improvements to the r- intersection of 140. Louis Masiello told the Commission that ESS is sizing their stormwater systems to treat the currently untreated road runoff from School Street. Impacts to wetlands 7, 8 & 9 are the result of having to widen School Street and are unavoidable. Parking lot runoff will be treated in oil water separator/stormceptor and then released to the pond. The stormwater systems are closed collection systems with the required 80% TSS removal. ESS will have a revised stormwater plan submitted to the Engineering department. Roof drains will also be infiltrated. There are numerous wetland resource areas, intermittent streams and a 4-acre man-made pond. Trout Pond was created in 1979, due to gravel being removed. The 2-21" pipes under the pathway around the pond will be replaced with 2-24", 20 ft. long pipes. Carole is concerned about the amphibians and reptiles and their access to the pond because of the length of the pipes (because of the length of the pipes, no light will be showing at the other end so most inhabitants of the area will not use these to access the pond). r- " There will be no building in the vicinity of the pond. One roadway will be within r- the 25 ft. zone. Colin says the plans have a building touching the 25 ft. buffer zone. Louis Maziello says the plans don't show the true dimensions of the buildings. The Boardwalk shown on the plans comes right up to the 25 ft. zone. The pond must have fencing, approved by the Planning Board, to discourage people from entering the pond. Louis Maziello said from the delineated wetland resource area a decorative style fence will be erected (probably a white picket style fence, not chain link). Louis Maziello asked the Commission members to look at Table 3 in the activity column to see that no areas in the wetlands that will be built on. The areas impacted are for the replacement of the wetland, a couple of "limited projects" such as the only means to access the property, relocating electrical lines and the driveway to access the rear portion of the property. The impacted areas also include the outfalls for the drainage systems, culvert modifications relating to the driveway coming in to the site and the roadway. All the impacts are needed to develop the project properly, to encourage safe r- access and include positive environmental features. All changes to the plans are at the request of the various boards, the public and John Sullivan. Carole again expressed her concerns for the whole area. They will "nick" intermittent stream A to create a wetland restoration area. They will be required to create a hydraulic connection between the replacement area and an existing wetland. DEP required that a wildlife evaluation be done due to over 400' of the bank being impacted. Ann McMenemy pointed out that USFW and the Natural Heritage have not mapped this as an estimated habitat of rare and endangered species. At the moment, the area around the pond is being mowed right up to the edge of the water. ESS is planning to augment the 25 ft. area around the pond. Improvements in this area will include plantings, fencing and grading and adding fill to increase the berm. The applicant also wants to change the impact to the pond's outlet, which will be in the redesigned plans. r- r Ann McMenemy feels that they have complied with Section 2.4 of the Town of Mansfield By-law. Carole Matthew took issue with this statement. There is a 4: 1 replication proposed because of federal requirements There are no vernal pools on the site. The applicants have a 401 Water Quality Certification in the works as well as an EIR. The technical deficiencies cited in the 401 Water Quality Certification refer 10 trying to mitigate and reduce the impact at intermittent stream C and to pull back the outlets so there is more room between the outlets and pond. Ann said they have done this and eliminated one outlet. They have reduced the crossing of the intermittent stream by 75 linear feet. Issues that need to be addressed as conditions in the Order of Conditions are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. r Water quality of the pond. Invasive species control. Incorporate into the Order of Conditions-DS-9 and DS-10lwetland replacement schedules. Stormwater operation and maintenance plan and name of the contractor responsible for it. Snow removal plan. Ann McMenemy also pointed out that there are no discretionary areas for parking lots, lawns, etc. and that all impacted areas are from the widening of the road, relocating electric lines, driveway and pond outfalls for the stormwater drainage system. Carole Matthew pointed out that this is a huge project and that the information is overwhelming. She would like to see an outside consultant hired to review the plans and advise the Commission. This would be at the applicant's expense. She would also like to see a wildlife habitat evaluation done. Paul wants to talk with John Sullivan to see if that is necessary and Elizabeth will compile a list of consultants and estimates and will also put together a list of concerns that the board members can add to. Carole made a motion to hire a consultant for Mansfield Crossing. Colin seconded. Passed (6-0). Louis Maziello says ESS will be available to discuss any questions the consultants might have. r- Ann wants to make sure the consultant is made aware that the plans on file at this time are from October 29, 2004 and that new plans will be submitted soon. c y If possible, she would like to be in communication with the consultant through r- Elizabeth so she can provide answers to any questions they might have and work through Elizabeth and the Consultant as a team. She feels it is in everyone's best interest, so we don't get to the next meeting and the consultants give their report and ESS is not prepared to answer any questions or issues they may have. Elizabeth agreed that this was a good idea. The Commission also agreed. Ann will keep in touch with Elizabeth about the consultants and will work with the consultants through Elizabeth. r- The proposed project does not provide all the parking required by zoning. The proposed parking is about 10% less than is required by law (5 per 1000 sq. ft. for retail, 1 per 4 sq. ft for restaurants and 1 per employee per shift). ESS is asking for 4.5 per 1000 sq. ft. Colin Cauldwell is concerned about the parking issue and its impact on the wetlands. He feels that because they have to go before the Planning Board and the ZBA again, they should go through this process and then come back to the Commission. If they don't get a variance for this reduced parking from the ZBA then some of the unused uplands currently open space will be used for unnecessary parking. The Planning Board will hopefully take a position on this issue on January 19ft!. Then they will go before the ZBA. They will not be ready for the next Conservation meeting on the 24th of January and have requested a continuance until February 14th. ESS will let the Commission know if they are not able to make the February 14th meeting. A motion was made for a continuance until February 14, 2005. Jerry seconded. Passed (6-0). 1. A Certificate of Compliance was issued to the Estate of Alice Piasecki for 8 Piasecki Drive regarding a roadway, drainage and easements. It was inspected by Elizabeth and the Engineering Department. Colin Cauldwell made a motion to accept the Certificate of Compliance. Christine Weaver seconded. Passed (6-0). r' 2. Colin Cauldwell made a motion to accept the minutes of December 13, 2004. Carole Matthew seconded. Passed (6-0 r ".-- ".-- Motion: To Adjourn at 10:40 by Colin Cauldwell. Jack Smith seconded. All in favor (6-0). Date of next meeting: January 24, 2005, at 7:00. d K :;Jr J.CIO$ Date of Approval r T