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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCONSERVATION05162016Town of Mansfield Conservation Minutes May 16, 2016 Present: Michael Healey, Chairman; James Turnbull, Vice Chairman; Christopher Marcheselli; Matthew Rieth; Jack Smith; David Hobaica; Katelyn Gonyer, Conservation and Environmental Planner. 1. Meeting opened at 7:00 pm. 2. Request for a Certificate of Compliance: 41 Bird Road, Lot 107. The original filing was approved with an Order of Conditions (DEP SE 211 -713) on July 11, 1994 for a single - family house on Lot 107, 41 Bird Road. Ms. Gonyer said because of a land transfer, a partial Certificate of Compliance was issued for the property in July 1995, with a full Certificate of Compliance to be issued once the area was stabilized. She said the original Order of Conditions has expired and the lot has been stabilized. She recommended a full Certificate of Compliance be issued. Mr. Turnbull made the motion to issue a full Certificate of Compliance under DEP SE 211 -0713 for the construction of a single - family house lot. Mr. Marcheselli seconded the motion. Motion passed 6 -0 -0. Hearing ended at 7:05 pm. 3. Request for Determination of Applicability: William Turner, 151 Ware Street, Map 32, Parcel 59. The application of William Turner is for the construction of a 30'x40' attached, two -car garage within 100 feet of a drainage swale within a previously developed lawn /patio area on a single - family house lot. Ms. Gonyer recommended the applicant file an RDA for this project. Because the plan shows the proposed garage within the 25 -foot No Disturb Zone, Ms. Gonyer suggested the applicant resize or move the garage outside the 25 -foot No Disturb Zone. Mr. Turnbull asked if the swale was man -made, and if so, would there be an exemption. Mr. Turner said the swale is wet only in the spring and fall; it usually dries up in the summer months. Mr. Healey said under the Wetland Protection Act and the Mansfield By -Law, structures are not allowed within the 25 -foot No Disturb Zone. He said the option is to downsize the garage to comply with the By -Law. Ms. Gonyer said if Mr. Turner wants to proceed with the project, he will need to submit an engineered- stamped plan. Mr. Turner said all the drainage and the debris from the road goes into the culvert and causes it to back up. He said in the past he has cleaned out the culvert but he is no longer able to do it. Ms. Gonyer will contact DPW and Richard Alves, Town Engineer, to see what can be done. Ms. Gonyer suggested the hearing be continued. Mr. Turner will take some more measurements and decide whether or not to downsize the garage. Mr. Turnbull made the motion to continue the hearing for William Turner, 151 Ware Street to June 20, 2016. Mr. Hobaica seconded the motion. Motion passed 6 -0 -0. 1 Hearing ended at 7:21 pm. 4. Notice of Intent: Michael Yunits, Mansfield Avenue, Map 16, Parcel 26, Norton Reservoir Aquatic Plant Management Program. DEP SE 211 -0956 Ms. Gonyer explained this integrated management plan was discussed at the April 2016 meeting which ESS Group, submitted jointly to the Town of Norton and Mansfield. The different methods to be used, such as herbicide and algaecide treatments, hand and /or diver harvesting, suction harvesting, nutrient inactivation as well as benthic barriers, were reviewed. Since only a small portion of the reservoir is located within Mansfield and the majority of the reservoir is located in Norton, Ms. Gonyer met with Jennifer Carlino, Norton's Agent. Ms. Carlino has submitted a very detailed and extensive Order of Conditions; the Norton Order will have to be adhered to. Ms. Gonyer said this is an opened management plan, giving the applicant /consultant the option to use different methodology. She said because the Commission may not be aware as to what is being done, there will need to be follow -up and monitoring. She recommended an Order of Conditions be issued, to include all applicable conditions from the Norton Order as well as Mansfield's Special Conditions; she noted this will be approved as a five (5) year plan. Mr. Turnbull made the motion to issue an Order of Conditions to Michael Yunits, Mansfield Avenue, Map 16, Parcel 26, for Norton Reservoir Aquatic Plant Management Program, DEP SE 211 -0956 and DEP SE 250 -978, with the following Special Conditions (numbers 1 -60) as required by the Norton Conservation Commission, DEP SE 250- 978, if approved at tonight's Norton Conservation meeting, and Special Conditions under the Mansfield Wetland Protection By -Law, Chapter 220: 1. No work can be started until the Order of Conditions has been recorded with the Bristol County Registry of Deeds and the receipt of the Order is returned to the Commission filled in by the Registry. 2. All work must conform to the plans (dated January 28, 2015) referenced as "the plan of record" in this Order. 3. All limits of work and erosion controls shall be installed prior to any construction, clearing, or excavation. The erosion controls shall consist of a 8" diameter biodegradable mulch - filled silt sock with wooden stakes every 10 feet on each sides of sock or equivalent (do not pierce silt sock with stakes). In addition to the silt sock, trenched - in silt fence may be required depending on the specific site conditions. See the Conservation Agent (Agent) for specific erosion control design standards. The Applicant shall notify the Agent when any such devices or measures are installed so that a site visit can be conducted prior to the commencement of work. 4. The Commission reserves the right to require additional mitigation or erosion control devices or measures if mitigation or erosion control devices are not adequately installed or maintained on site. 5. The Applicant shall ensure that all demarcation (i.e. limits of work) and erosion control devices will remain in place and be maintained throughout the construction process and until all disturbed areas are stabilized. Stabilization shall be achieved once a complete vegetative cover is reached. Seeded areas shall be covered with a suitable protective cover to allow the seed to germinated and become established. All side slopes greater than 3:1 (but less than 2:1) are to be covered with jute mesh and seeded. At no point shall erosion occur resulting in sediment entering the wetland areas. If erosion occurs, the Agent is to be contacted to review the extent of the erosion and determine follow -up actions. 6. The Conservation Commission or its agent is to be notified of the starting date of the work prior to its commencement. N 7. Prior to the commencement of work, a pre- construction meet shall be held with the Agent, the Engineer and /or Representative, and the General Contractor to review the Order of Conditions, scope of work and construction sequencing. 8. The Applicant shall be responsible to ensure that all contractors on site during the construction have received and reviewed the Order of Conditions and all plans of record. 9. Any modifications or revisions to the plan(s) referenced in this Order must be submitted to the Commission for review. For single family lots, this Order is for the structures shown on the plan of record only. Any additional structures including, but not limited to, decks, patios, sheds, pools, walkways and /or any hardscape features must be reviewed by the Commission. If, after their review, the Commission finds that the changes are not significant enough (minor modifications) to warrant an Amended Order or new Notice of Intent, then the revised plans shall be considered the new plan of record. If the changes are significant enough to warrant an Amended Order or new Notice of Intent, then the applicant is required to file accordingly. 10. All applicable conditions (1 -60) in the Norton Order of Conditions under DEP SE 250 -978 shall apply. Mr. Rieth seconded the motion. Motion passed 6 -0 -0. Hearing ended at 7:28 pm. 5. Correspondence: 6. New Business: Enforcement Action at 300 West Street: Ms. Gonyer conducted a site visit and found a substantial layer of gravel and debris placed in the yard of a single family dwelling at 300 West Street. The yard leads right up to a Bordering Vegetated Wetland associated with Lyon's Brook. Mr. Healey visited the site on May 14th and observed and verified that the gravel filling taken place; He spoke with the homeowner, who places the gravel on site. The homeowners complained that their lot floods. Mr. Healey said there might be a blockage or obstruction in the brook or an impact due to lack of maintenance downstream causing the flooding. Mr. Patel, the homeowner, said this lot is a combination of three parcels of land and the flooding issues have been a problem for years; Mr. Patel feels the construction of Route 495 in 1971 has exasperated the situation. Mr. Healey said it appears the hydrology has changed over the years; however filling the lot with gravel will not help the situation and is a violation of the wetlands protection act. Ms. Gonyer said she cannot tell where the original wetland line is, but it appears the extent of the lawn is the extent of the fill. The fill line goes right up to and somewhat past the wetland line. Ms. Gonyer believes this area was always wet. Mr. Patel said this area has always been maintained as lawn. Mr. Healey said the fill will have to be removed; he explained the Mansfield By -Law prohibits any work within 25 feet of a resource area. He said it will have to be determined why the course of the brook has changed and how best to remove the fill. Mr. Healey suggested Ms. Gonyer speak to Richard Alves, Town Engineer, to see why the water level of the brook has changed. Ms. Gonyer said because of the unknown source of the gravel and debris, the Commission can issue the Enforcement Action or require a Notice of Intent with a plan to restore the area to the previous condition and to check for any residual contamination from the fill. She said the plan can include a design for re- grading the area to help with the flooding. All the work, removal of fill and restoration, should be done together to minimize the impact to the resource areas. Mr. Healey said Mr. Patel should hire a qualified engineering firm to advise him on how to proceed to restore the wetland and 25 -foot No Disturb areas. He suggested the Enforcement Order be issued to remove the stone, which would be stockpiled at a safe distance from the resource area. He said the engineering firm can assess the soil conditions and vegetation and determine the wetland line. Ms. Gonyer said the Enforcement Order can be ratified, with a specific date to remove the fill; she said there would have to be some oversight when the fill is removed. Mr. Patel can then file a Notice of Intent to make any changes to the area, such as grading. Mr. Turnbull made the motion to issue the Enforcement Order to 300 West Street for the removal of the fill within the 100 -foot buffer zone, with professional oversight and the submittal of a restoration plan by July 1, 2016, Mr. Hobaica seconded the motion. Motion passed 6 -0 -0. Hearing ended at 8:10 pm. Enforcement Action at 10 Rosewood Avenue: After being notified of possible tree cutting on this single - family lot, Ms. Gonyer did a site visit and observed several stacked logs of mature trees in the front of property; a letter was sent to Todd Greene, the homeowner. Ms. Gonyer said Mr. Greene was very cooperative and understood the need to file a permit to do work of this magnitude. She said there is a drainage swale (an intermittent stream) located to the right of the property, which is dry at this time and a Bordering Vegetated Wetland in the back of the property. Mr. Greene indicated he removed some of the trees for safety reasons but ended up removing more trees to open up his back yard; approximately 15 -20 mature trees were removed within the 100 -foot buffer zone and the 25 -foot No Disturb Area. Ms. Gonyer said Mr. Greene does not intend to expand the lawn area and has already planted several native trees. She would like to see 6 to 8 foot specimen trees for restoration; a restoration plan is not necessary and the quantity and locations of the trees will be determined by the Commission. She said she would not be opposed to eliminating the White Pine trees. Mr. Marcheselli asked how many trees were removed within the 25 -foot No Disturb Area. Ms. Gonyer said five or six trees were removed from this area. Mr. Greene said the majority of trees removed were Maple trees with two pines, two or three White Oak, and one or two Red Oak trees. Mr. Turnbull asked if the focus would be on the restoration of the 25 -foot No Disturb Area or the entire area. Ms. Gonyer said the restoration should be for the entire area. She said the stumps cannot be removed but Mr. Greene mentioned he would like to grind the stumps. Mr. Marcheselli asked why the trees were removed. Mr. Greene said he just wanted to clean up and introduce newer, better quality trees to the property. Ms. Gonyer said wetland, upland and facultative species were removed but Mr. Greene has already planted 13 saplings; she recommended a 2:1 restoration of substantial size sapling trees, suggesting 8 specimen trees and a shrub layer of arrowwood or low bush blueberry. The remaining plantings would have to be approved by the Commission. Mr. Turnbull made the motion to issue an Enforcement Order for 10 Rosewood Drive for a 2:1 restoration, with a total of 20 plantings, to include eight (8) specimen (hardwood) trees; homeowner is to contact Ms. Gonyer for the remaining twelve (12) species; any other work in this area would have to come before the Commission for review. Mr. Hobaica seconded the motion. Motion passed 6 -0 -0. Hearing ended at 8:33 pm. 7. Old Business: 2 Restrict Hunting at Sweets /Kalnin Property (Map 3, Parcel 306): Ms. Gonyer suggested postponing this discussion until there is a full board. Mr. Turnbull made the motion to continue the discussion ofrestricting hunting at Sweets /Kalnin Property (Map 3, Parcel 306). Mr. Hobaica seconded the motion. Motion passed 6 -0 -0. Mr. Rieth made the motion to approve the minutes of April 25, 2016. Mr. Hobaica seconded the motion. Motion passed 4 -0 -2 (Turnbull and Hobaica abstained) 8. Adjournment: Motion to adjourn at 9:10 pm. (Marcheselli /Rieth) Motion passed. Next meeting will be June 20, 2016. 0)\� �- � n Michael Healey, Chairman Date 5