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HomeMy WebLinkAboutmin of conservation comm 012207 r ,~ RECto! ' "',I ,-- ~; ~'tD ~,'; "'i.;'('':' " ,..,:~ Conservation Commission Meeting 0 7 It~ . , .:; 0 rp I rr January 22,2007 'lR.../ PI1 . I,: Present: Colin Cauldwell, Chair; Paul Boyden, Vice Chair; Carole ~:i/'i1i1flfLO 2. 2 ~ Monachino; Cindy Ostrowski; Michele Grenier, Conservation and Environm~USfTT Planner. S Eagle Scout Sean Litchman, Troop 55: Sean is going to remove the thorn bushes and shrubs around the trailhead sign. Then the sign will be sanded down and repainted. He will remove the bees' nests in the map containers and fill them with new maps. Sean will also clear the Red and Orange Trails and re-mark these trails. Colin suggested latex paint on trees to mark the trails, markings on the right hand side of the trail (both sides), every 100 to 200 ft. Cindy made the motion to accept the proposal as presented. Ben seconded. Passed 5-0. Eagle Scout Jeff Lessard, Troop 55: Jeffwill be clearing the Yellow Trail, by Judy's r Lane, especially around the old Boy Scout Camp site. The trails in this area are poorly marked and Jeff will mark the trail by latex paint on the trees. He will also be erecting a sign for the northern entrance on Judy's Lane, which is presently unmarked. He will be refurbishing the bronze "Cobbler's Comer" sign. The sign cannot be replaced because it is an historical landmark. Jeffwill research ways to clean the sign. The work will be done in the summer of 2007, before September, when Jeff turns 18. Colin will go with Jeff to flag the trail. Paul made the motion to accept the proposal as presented Cindy seconded. Passed 5-0. Eagle Scout Chris Cullaz, Troop 55: Chris will be clearing out the entrance to the Great Woods Conservation Area. The entrance sign will also be repainted. He will also be clearing the Green Trail. Felled trees and brush will be cut and removed. Chris will re- mark the Green Trail. Paul made the motion to accept the proposal as presented. Ben seconded. Passed 5-0. J. David Strickland, Troop 51: David plans to create a path that will connect a pair of existing trails in the Oak Street Conservation area. The path will be located about a mile into the Conservation area and be approximately ~ to Y2 mile long, 3 to 4 ft. wide, upon r- completion. It will be between the Chase Trail (White Trail) and the Schoolmaster Bridle 111 1 . r Trail (Red Trail). The path will have trail markers painted on the trees (the method preferred by the Conservation Commission) on the right side of the path on both sides. The work will take place between the months of January and March. The work is being done at this time because during this time the plants and growth are dead or dormant, making it easier to clear. In order to clear the trail, shrubs, weeds, larger rocks, small saplings/trees and a few fallen larger trees will have to be removed. The cut/removed trees, rocks, etc. will not be removed from the conservation land. The trail will only need to be cleared and will not need a base of gravel or woodchips. Michele and Colin asked all the Scouts, when cutting and clearing the brush, to please stack the debris neatly on the side of the trails. It will make homes for the wildlife in the area. Upon completion of the project, Colin asked that a plaque be created and hung at the start of the trail, dedicated to Mr. Harry Chase. Mr. Chase, who is 85 years old, is a retired Scout who was involved with maintaining a scout camp and over 20 miles of hiking trails in an area that at one time was known as the Great Woods Conservation area. The work will be completed before the end of June 2007. Ben asked who would be flagging the trail. Colin and David flagged the trail a month ago. r Paul made the motion to accept the proposal as presented. Carole seconded. Passed 5-0. Paul would like each of the scouts to get pictures of their projects before and after for a final folder for Conservation. Mrs. Maureen Borghi, the trustee of the property and Charlie Capone, the contractor, were present. Steven Borghi, Mrs. Borghi's son, was issued an Enforcement Order on June 29, 2005. A swimming pool was built and several loads of fill were placed within a bordering vegetated wetland and within the 25 ft. and 50 ft. no touch zones without a valid Order of Conditions. Michele met with Bob Mangiaratti, Town Council, on November 27,2006 and a letter was mailed to Mr. Borghi, to let him know if progress was not made to remedy the violations within a reasonable time frame, he would be summoned to court. r 2 lI! T . r Mrs. Borghi will be filing a Notice of Intent to resolve the issues, with the help of Charlie and Michele. She had told Mrs. Borghi to get an original plan and have the property restored accordingly. Michele said the most important thing needing to be done is to remove the fill from the buffer zone. A retaining wall also needs to be built to stabilize the bank so no more dirt goes into the buffer. Because of the slope of the bank, it can't be stabilized with plantings. Michele will meet with Mrs. Borghi and Charlie Capone on Wednesday, the 14th of February at 11 :00. Thomas Hughes of Smith and Nephew and John Rhoads of Norwood Engineering were present. The Request for Determination of Applicability was filed for the construction of a roofed equipment enclosure, to be constructed on existing pavement. Thomas Hughes told the Commission the enclosure will be for the storage of Argon tanks and a mixing station, where the Argon will be mixed with Hydrogen which Smith and Nephew uses for welding purposes. (' Mr. Rhoads told the Commission the enclosure would be attach to the southeast comer of the exiting building. The RDA was filed because the activity is minor, takes place in an already developed area and the closest point of activity is approximately 75 feet from the bank of a drainage swale/intermittent stream. The calculated alteration to the buffer zone is approximately 750 sq. ft. 4 parking spaces will be lost because of the construction. Erosion control will be in place to protect the resource areas. Because the work will be done on existing pavement, making it impractical to line the work area with hay bales, a silt sack will be installed in the catch basin at the southeasterly comer of the parking area at the rear of the building. The applicant has also decided to construct a crushed stone check dam 5 ft. off and around the catch basin for sedimentation control. Surplus excavated material will be removed from the site: No stockpiling is to take place on the site. Michele does not feel the check dam is necessary, probably 3 or 4 hay bales and the silt sack will be sufficient. She recommends a Negative 3 Determination. Carole commented on the nice report presented by Mr. Rhoads. r 3 1II 1 . r Cindy made the motion to accept the plan as drawn, dated January 3, 2007, with the hay bales/silt sack to be placed in/around the catch basin and to issue a Negative 3 Determination. Ben seconded. Passed 5-0. Ted Trowbridge of Hutchins-Trowbridge was present. Carole wanted it noted in the minutes that Keli Lane is within an Estimated Habitat and the Notice ofIntent filed for 16 Keli Lane does not show this. The area is also within an Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC), the Canoe River. The addition will be 24x16 off the back of the garage, with an 8 ft. wide addition to the back of the house. A roof drain is also proposed. There will be no stockpiling of supplies or fill on site. Fill will be removed off site. The house was built before the1999 Mansfield by-law. Cindy noted there is a shed in the 25 ft. no touch area and wanted to know if it is ok. Colin said it is an existing structure. She is also concerned about further work being done in the 25 ft. no touch zone. r Michele: when the Order of Conditions is issued, a special condition will be added stating no further work, clearing or disturbance (pools, storage sheds, swing sets, etc.) will be allowed in the 25 ft. area. Carole: "Even though the work will be done within an Estimated Habitat, the house was built before the by-law of 1999. Because it is an existing house, our by-law calls for 25 ft. and 50ft., not 100 feet." Michele told the Commission the addition is outside of the 25 ft. no disturb area, only a small portion of the southeast comer of the addition is within the 50 ft. area. A roof drain will be added and she recommends a row of hay bales/silt fencing be place on the 25 ft. no disturb line. Carole made the motion to accept the plan as drawn for 16 Keli Lane (dated December 28, 2006) and to issue an Order of Conditions with the following added special conditions: hay bales/silt fencing will be placed along the 25 ft. line; no further work in the 25 ft. area-no clearing, no disturbance such as pools, storage structures, swing sets, etc; Signs to read "Environmentally Sensitive Area-Do Not Disturb" will be placed on the 25 ft. line, on metal posts, not on trees. Paul seconded. Passed 5-0. r- 4 1 . Continued to February 26,2007. r Changes to the plan are being made based on engineering Comments. Continued to February 26,2007. The vernal pool has been flagged and the wetland delineated on the entire site. A Notice of Intent is being prepared. Continued to February 26, 2007 r Colin asked if Michele had heard anything from Shaun Kelly of20 Carol Road. Town Council had sent a letter in December 2006 in regards to the Enforcement Order issued to Mr. Kelly on April 25, 2006. Mr. Kelly has not removed the equipment or debris out of the 50 ft. no touch area and has not placed signage along the bordering vegetated wetlands. Paul feels legal action is necessary. The Commission voted (Paul/Carole) 5-0 to have Town Council go forward with due legal process against Mr. Kelly. Ben made the motion to accept the minutes of December 18, 2006 as written. Cindy seconded. Passed 5-0. A motion was made to adjourn at 9:00 pm (Ben/Carole). Next meeting will be February 26, 2007 at 7:00 pm. t:lj!I2~u/f ~bA7 Colin Cauldwell, Chairman Date r 5 11 I .