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HomeMy WebLinkAboutConservation Comm 02/22/1982MANSFIELD CONSERVATIONC qN� INUTES MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2 [��� y ���< PAGE ONE Members Present: Chairwoman Dianne Roy/1e, Coms. Ronald Bonvie, Paul Boyden (arrived at 8:45 PM), Anthony Durbano, Keith Johnson, Stuart Sweet, Doris Webb Minutes: MOTION: To accept the Minutes of February 8, 1982 as written. (Sweet - Johnson; all in favor) VOTED Correspondence: 1. February 19, 1982 letter from Mansfield Housing Authority inquiring about the procedure to follow in requesting a determination of the applicability of the Wetlands Protection Act. It was agreed that a copy of the "Request to Determine..." form should be sent to the Housing Authority together with a letter (1) stating that the completed form, including a full explanation of the proposed activity and a copy of the plans, should be sent to the Commission and (2) suggesting that a discussion with the Commission and a representative of the Authority and/or their engineer about this project might save time in reaching a determination. 2. Membership Drive pamphlet from Habitat Institute for the Environment. MOTION: To pay $1 fee to cover postage and printing of Habitat Institute brochures for 1982. (Webb - Johnson; all in favor) VOTED 3. February 22, 1982 bill from Patricia E. MacKay in the amount of $126 for 28 hours of secretarial services. MOTION: To pay this bill in the amount of $126. (Webb - Sweet; all in favor) VOTED 4. February 9, 1982 memo from Planning Director Folkman requesting March 15, 1982 appointment for Whitman & Howard to present their water resource report and maps to the Commission. Mr. Folkman will be notified that the Commission will look forward to Whitman & Hourd's March 15, 1982 presentation. MANSFIELD CONSERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1982 PAGE TWO 5. February 8, 1982 letter from Norwood Engineering Company enclosing the second sheet of the Cabot, Cabot & Forbes plans as requested by the Commission. MOTION: To send a letter to Norwood Engineering with a copy to Cabot, Cabot & Forbes stating that acceptance of this plan by the Commission fulfills Condition No. 13 of the Order of Conditions issued on February 1, 1982 for File No. SE211-82. (Bonvie - Durbano; all in favor) VOTED 6. Notification of March 6, 1982 MACC meeting. 7. Forestry Services in Massachusetts information. Com. Webb will study these pamphlets. COmDO Chemical --Wetlands Protection Act Hearing: Chairwoman Royle read a February 19, 1982 letter from Compo Chemical requesting the cancellation of the February 22 continuance of their Wetlands Protection Act Hearing and withdrawing their Notice of Intent at this time but with the intention of submitting a new Notice when they are prepared to go forward with the construction. Copies of this letter will be forwarded to DEQE, the Board of Health, Fire Chief and Planning Board. Mrs. Jellinek --League of Women Voters: Mrs. Jellinek informed the Commission that she has been selected to observe Conservation Commission meetings for the League of Women Voters and therefore requested that copies of the agenda and approved Minutes for each meeting be made available for the League's files. Com. Bonvie suggested that providing such material free of charge to any organization might start an unfortunate precedent. After some discussion concerning the type and number of organi- zations that would be interested in Commission Minutes, etc., it was the consensus that Mrs. Jellinek should be given copies of the agenda and approved Minutes of each meeting for the League of Women Voters. Guidelines: Com. Johnson urged the Commission to spend some time later in the meeting going over in detail the guidelines used by another Conservation Commission, e.g., Foxboro's, to make a start on the Mansfield Conservation Commission's guidelines --guidelines which would streamline and strengthen the position of the Commission. Com. Webb voiced her agreement with this, stating that she had been advised by a Dennis Conser- MANSFIELD CONSERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1982 PAGE THREE vation Commissioner that publishing guidelines prior to pushing for a local wetlands bylaw might ease the minds of those who in the past have felt that such a bylaw was too vague and general. It was agreed that, time allowing, the Commission would discuss guidelines later in the meeting. ti Com. Boyden joined the meeting at this time. Penn Central Land: Wayne Curtis forwarded copies of a Sales Agreement and plans for the two parcels of land being offered for sale by the railroad. There was much discussion of the $500/acre price suggested by Mr. Curtis last August and the $800/acre price now being asked for the 50 -acre parcel vs. the $500/acre price for both parcels together. MOTION: To send a letter to Town Counsel Mulcahy (1) enclosing a copy of the Agreement of Sale and the plans; (2) requesting his evaluation of the agreeement; (3) asking him to investigate the possibility of gaining a right or means of ingress, egress, or passageway to this property, probably from New England Power Company; (4) briefly outlining the background of the price for this property. (Sweet - Webb; all in favor) VOTED Brown Property--Balcom Street: Mr. and Mrs. Scott McNeilly, 94 Balcom Street, appeared before the Commission, as they had requested, to voice their disapproval of the development of Balcom Street property. Allen Brown, the developer, was also present by invitation of the Commission. Mr. McNeilly stated that he and his neighbors are concerned that an already existing water problem in the area will be aggravated by the development of the 11 lots across the street from his property. Mr. McNeilly explained that he had been referred to the Commission by the Board of Health, with whom he had first discussed the matter. Mrs. McNeilly noted that there are three intermittent streams which flow under Balcom Street in this area. Chairwoman Royle explained that in response to a Board of Health request, three Commissioners had walked Lots 9, 10, and 11 of Balcom Street, and, seeing no brook, stream, or wetland vegetation, had informed the Board of Health that this land did not fall under the jurisdiction of the Conservation Commission. After receiving Mrs. McNeilly's complaint, however, Chairwoman Royle checked with DEQE and was told that if there is a question of whether or not land subject to flooding falls under the Wetlands Protection Act, the criteria to be used would be whether or not the development would cause any harm to those living in the area. Mr. Brown stated that there is a culvert on Lot 1 and that there are plans to install two additional culverts to handle MANSFIELD CONSERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1982 PAGE FOUR the intermittent streams mentioned earlier. Mr. Brown went on to say that in order to take advantage of the higher elevations in the rear of the lots (in some places, five feet higher than the street), the houses are to be placed 200-250 feet from the street. Leonard Flynn, 102 Jewell Street, informed the Commission that this area has been wet as long as he can remember and he indicated that the soil maps and the U.S. Geodetic Map confirm this fact. Mr. Flynn also commented that no soil engineering standards were used to classify the types of soil present on these lots. In response to Com. Boyden's inquiry about the status of each of the 11 lots in the area, Mr. Allen explained that Board of Health approval and building permits have been issued for Lots 1, 2, and 3; Lots 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 have not yet been perced; while Lots 9 (on which a house is presently under construction) and 11 have been sold to Foley Realty with Foley holding an option on Lot 10. MOTION: To request Mr. Brown submit a Request to Determine..." form together with a topographical map and plans and have his engineer discuss the project with the Commission. (Webb - Johnson; all in favor) VOTED Marydee Flynn --Great Woods Study. Committee: 1. Mrs. Flynn informed the Commission that $ie had just finished speaking with the Finance Committee, who voted unanimously to transfer from the Water Department --not the Conservation Land, Willow Street fund--the$11,139.60 due the Conservation Commission on account of the land purchased for future well sites. 2. Mrs. Flynn also, representing the Conservation Commission, urged the Finance Committee to recommend spending the money to update the Master Plan, particularly in view of the Town's present ineligibility for Self -Help funding due to an outdated Master Plan. 3. Chairwoman Royle inquired as to the present status of the proposed footbridge over Route 495 in the Great Woods. Mrs. Flynn stated that although she has not spoken with the Selectmen about this recently, it is the Finance Committee's position that the project should proceed since the money has already been allocated for it by the State. Mrs. Flynn expressed her view that this project, which has escalated from a $225,000 footbridge to a $1,000,000 road, seems to be quite an expense to the taxpayers of the Commonwealth. Com. Webb suggested that MANSFIELD CONSERVATION COMMISSION MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1982 MINUTES PAGE FIVE attempts be made to return this project to the original pedestria n footbridge rather than going forward with the 26-28 foot wide road most recently proposed. Mrs. Flynn agreed to discuss this with the State DPW representatives. 4. Mrs. Flynn urged the Commission to co-sponsor the annual Conservation Fair being planned by the Natural Resources Trust for May 15 (rain date May 16) on the South Common. MOTION: To co-sponsor with the NRT the May 15, 1982 Conser- vation Fair. (Boyden - Sweet; all in favor) VOTED Adjournment: MOTION: To adjourn this meeting at 10:50 PM. (Sweet - Boyden; all in favor) VOTED r Accepted by 1 Q,uV� �_. �•� �'�� J -- Date to Town Clerk�3-%� Via- _e pem