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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-12-03 Conservation Commission Minutes Ce • Rt OT Conservation Commission Meeting Minutes December 3,2003 Members Present: Scott Masse, Chairman, and Joseph W Lynch, Jr, John J. Mabon, Sean F McDonough. Members Absent: Albert Manzi, Jr, Vice Chairman, Deborah Feltovic, Beth Wescott Staff Members Present: Julie Parrino, Conservation Administrator, and Alison McKay, Conservation Associate, Donna Wedge, Conservation Secretary. Meeting came to order at: 7:00pm Quorum Present. General Business 242-1178,COC, 83 Lost Pond Lane (Madden) (Giles) No one was present Alison McKay presented an overview of the project history The Order of Conditions was issued on 12/19/02 for construction of a basement enclosure within the buffer zone to a BVW An in-house modification was approved for a brick patio outside of the 50-foot No-Build zone. The as-built plan is in conformance with the approved plan Environmental Monitor reports were found in the file The wetland markers were installed The site is stable Ms McKay recommended compliance A motion to issue a COC and bond release was made by Mr Lynch, seconded by Mr Mabon Unanimous 242-1153, 178 Granville Lane (Cinceruli)(Giles) No one was present Alison McKay presented an overview of the project history The Order of Conditions was issued on 7/22/02 for construction of an addition and screened-in porch in the buffer zone to a BVW A modification was approved on 8/27/03 for construction of a stone retaining wall and an additional deck The Order required removal of landscaping debris and 5 highbush blueberries to be planted Ms Parrino approved 3 instead of 5 The as-built plan is in conformance with the approved modified plan with the exception of the wall, which was extended approximately 7-8 foot on each end The wall remains outside of the 25-foot No- Disturbance area Monitoring reports were found in the file The wetland markers have been installed. The lawn is not fully 100% stable however, no threat of erosion appears to exist A motion to issue the COC and bond release was made by Mr Mabon, seconded by Mr McDonough Unanimous 242-816, Modification, Campbell Forest Subdivision (Mesiti) Allen Russell of Mesiti Development Corporation was present Ms Parrino stated that an additional report was submitted by the applicant's engineer detailing impacts if the Avery Park culvert was not fitted with the v-notch weir During a seven-inch storm, water levels will rise by 3/10 of a foot, however peak rate flows would still be less than pre-development. Jack Sullivan of DPW submitted a letter regarding maintenance of the culvert stating it can be maintained, however, lack of staff would not allow for a scheduled routine check of the culvert. Culvert could be cleaned on an as-needed basis The Commission discussed considering the installation of the v-notch weir or allowing the culvert to remain in tact as is Ms Parrino spoke with Lisa Eggleston who stated that 3/10 of a foot is a small increase and if downstream conditions can absorb the additional water, impacts should be minimal Mr Lynch stated he did not agree with Mr Sullivan's letter and he feels his concerns have not been addressed with the submittal of the additional information Mr. Mabon summarized the options presented in the table submitted by the engineer which included Options 1 Leave the Box culvert with no change, Option 2 Install V-notch weir, which will cause more maintenance, Option 3 Install sharp-crested weir culvert, which would result in less maintenance The representing engineer from DK Engineering explained the submitted table Mr Lynch raised concerns on the impacts to the downstream farm, Tooth Acre Farm, if the box culvert was to remain untouched The Commission needs additional information on the impacts of 3/10 foot of water on the downstream properties Mr Russell discussed the flooding on Campbell Road has been eliminated from the culvert constructed at the intersection of Salem and Campbell Road Mr Lynch stated this is a swampy area just behind the Farm and the topography appears flat and the increase in the water level may impact the property. The engineer looked into inserting a circular 18" orifice into the box culvert which would be 6" lower than the proposed v-notch weir Pre and post flow impacts were briefly discussed with this alternative. Further information can be submitted for this alternative The applicants will conduct topographic survey downstream to evaluate the potential impacts from allowing the weir to remain as is Allen Russell remembers that wildlife passage through the culvert was an issue discussed early on in the permitting stages of the development Allowing the culvert to remain as is will allow for wildlife passage Sean McDonough questioned if this is an issue for the Board Mr Lynch stated rocks or a ramp could be constructed to direct the wildlife Mr Masse stated no action taken until documentation is submitted Discussion will be replaced on the agenda when additional information is submitted 242-1045, Amendment, 675 Chickering Road, North Andover High School (North Andover School Committee) Fred King of Schofield Brothers and Gabe Crocker of Gale Associates and David Proctor of Gale Associates were present Drainage review is still underway,outstanding issues with the drainage model are currently being addressed between Lisa Eggleston and Gale Associates Wildlife habitat impacts from the proposed changes were addressed at a previous meeting Mr Crocker stated the northfield was previously proposed for 2 soccer fields and a softball field The southern field was previously proposed for a baseball diamond and 4 fields Existing conditions include the school and parking lot The modification proposes a lighted athletic field to allow for nighttime use. Mr. Crocker stated the night use will be less impact than the existing use The lighting system and locations has been reviewed and the plan was presented and discussed Ms Parnno questioned what specific wildlife habitat impact concerns were raised at the last hearing. Joseph Lynch replied he was concerned about the noise and lighting impacts on nesting birds and wants a full-blown evaluation of the impacts from the facility. Mr Proctor of Gale Associates stated only lights will be installed in one of the fields and was not aware the Commission wanted a full-blown analysis Mr Proctor stated nighttime lighting will be limited to the time between September and November and the field will not be used from December through March Lighting will not be necessary during the summer months Mr McDonough questioned the seating capacity of the fields Mr Proctor stated there would be 1,400 seats available The artificial turf play area would be enclosed with a 4 to 6 foot high chain link fence Mr McDonough raised concerns that the fields were originally permitted for practice fields Mr Lynch stated the varsity football field would have considerable usage with a lot of people, which may impact the resource area Mr Mabon feels the additional requested information is appropriate He questioned whether an alternative analysis to the field location has been explored The applicants responded location of the fields to a different location in town would not be funded by the SPA A motion to continue to the January 14, 2004 meeting was made by Mr Mabon, seconded by Mr McDonough Unanimous. Enforcement Order Ratification Mr Masse stated to move the Enforcement Order Ratifications to the end of the meeting No Recess Public Hearings 8:00pm Abbreviated Notice of Resource Area Delineation (cont.) 242-1225 15 Timber Lane (Fornier) (W.C. Cammett Engineering)(Cont. from 11/19/03 No one was present At the last hearing the Commission requested the applicant to submit a letter from their abutter authorizing confirmation of wetland resource areas on their property Mr Masse questioned if additional information had been submitted to the file or if Department staff had contact with the applicant Ms Parrino stated no information was submitted Mr Masse recommended the hearing be continued to January 14, 2003 A motion to continue to the January 14, 2004 meeting was made by Mr Mabon, seconded by Mr Lynch Unanimous Abbreviated Notice of Resource Area Delineation 242-1228, Route 114,McGregor Fence Co. (McGregor)(Epsilon Associates) Daryl Oakley of Epsilon Associates and applicant Alexander McGregor were present Mr. McDonough read the legal notice The filing is for the confirmation of a wetland resource area delineation, associated buffer zones, BLSF, and 200 Riverfront Area setbacks associated with Mosquito Brook There are no mapped areas of the BLSF on the plan However, flood profile reveals a 100-year base flood elevation of approximately 236 50-foot. BLSF on previous sites including Woodlea and Stop and Shop were calculated at elevation 236 50 and 236 74 The applicant's engineer is currently researching the 100-year floodplam elevation data Ms Parrino stated the site is heavily disturbed and has been filled over the years A sewer line connecting to Woodlea Village exists on the site If the site is found to be within the floodplam, it may be difficult to develop A motion to continue to the December 18, 2003 meeting was made by Mr Mabon, seconded by Mr Lynch. Unanimous. Notice of Intent (s) (Continued) 242-1223, Lot 6 Ogunpuit Road,Rocky Brook Estates, (Peter& Kerry Breen)(Neve Associates)(Cont. from 11/19/03)(Reguest to Cont. 1/14/04) No one was present The applicant requests to continue to the January 14, 2004 meeting A motion to continue to January 14, 2004 meeting was made by Mr. Mabon, seconded by Mr Lynch. Unanimous 242-1220, 57, 100, 157 Turnpike Street (Eaglewood Pronerties)(VHB)(Cont. from 10/22/03) Jon Stevenson of VHB was present Ms Parrino stated that Lisa Eggleston has submitted a review letter and VHB has submitted revised plans and correspondence addressing her concern A meeting was held on December 2, 2003 in the office with Lisa Eggleston, Gene Crouch, Jon Stevenson and Julie Parrino to discuss revisions and responses to Lisa's comment letter A majority of the issues has been addressed VHB will make revisions according to Lisa's latest preliminary verbal review and Lisa will follow up with a final revision letter Mr Stevenson stated a maintenance access way to the detention pond has been provided on the plan and the dumpsters have been moved 12 feet outside of the 100-foot buffer zone The access way will be 12 feet in width and will have an 8-10% slope A gate has been added A chain link fence will be provided behind the back of the detention pond. Mr Stevenson stated snow will temporarily stockpiled and then removed from site The developers will be committed to snow removal due to site appearance. Mr Stevenson stated the impervious area on site will be 5 7 acres and there will be six locations with infiltration systems and culvert chambers Mr Lynch concerned that the snow removal from the site may impact the hydrology of the wetlands, as the snow melt currently replenishes the groundwater Mr Lynch stated he wants a list of other shopping centers run by the same owner so that he could visit the sites and see how they are taken care of as far as snow removal and the drainage systems Ms Parrino addressed several of the outstanding issues regarding the reserved parking area and the detention pond outflow Ms Parrino stated the O & M plan should be included in the Order of Conditions Mr Masse questioned if the applicants addressed the issued raised by Merrimack Engineering on behalf of Banknorth Mr Stevenson stated they have been working with Banknorth and have made changes to the plan to address the issues Mr Lynch wants the applicant to submit the name and qualifications of the management company along with a list of 5 to 10 properties they manage Ms McKay questioned the upper parking lot area and asked if the pavers were removed from that area A motion to continue to the December 18, 2003 meeting was made by Mr Mabon, seconded by Mr Lynch Unanimous New Notices of Intent(s) 242-0000, Town Commons Utility Conversion Proiect (Mass Electric)(ENSR) Melissa Hall of Mass. Electric, David Klinch of ENSR and Robert Hebert, Project Engineer from Mass Electric were present Mr. McDonough read the legal notice Ms Parrino stated the applicant is requesting several waivers for work in the 25-foot No-Disturbance and 50-foot No- Build to construct utilities within the right-of-way In addition the plan scale is in metric, as base plans were prepared for Mass Highway Standards for common roadway improvement projects Conversion equal to approximately 1"= 23' The wetland line previously approved in the field over the summer months and no changes to the delineation recommended by Conservation Department staff Revised plans with stamps submitted at the hearing Ms Hall stated the town residents have been paying for this project thru their electric bills since the 1999 Town Meeting vote Mass Electric is proposing the project on behalf of Comcast, Baystate Gas and Verizon Melissa Hall gave an overview of the wetland resource area locations and descriptions. Mrs Hall stated no trenching would be conducted within wetland resource areas. Waivers for trenching in the No-Disturbance Zone are outlined in Table 2 in the Notice of Intent Mr Hebert stated the trenches will be 3 to 4 feet in width and approx 6 feet in depth for Mass Electric utilities The trenches will include Comcast Cable Co and Verizon lines Mr Masse stated he wants a letter from Verizon and Comcast authorizing their involvement in the project Approximately 1,000 linear feet of trench will installed per day and the trenches will be covered at the end of the day when work is completed Staging areas will be provided, of which one will be located within the Town Common Mr Lynch concerned about the location of the service feeds to the individual houses He questioned if the exact locations have been identified and what impacts will result David Klmch stated the connections will be located in the buffer zone but will be no closer to the wetlands than the proposed activities The tie-ins are shown on the plans and none are proposed within 50 feet of wetlands Melissa Hall reviewed activities that would take place in the 25' No-Disturbance Zone The project areas are not located within estimated habitat Ms Parrino questioned if any tree or shrub removal will be required for the activities David Klinch replied vegetation removal will be limited to herbaceous vegetation and no shrubs or trees are anticipated to be removed Ms. Parrino questioned if dewatering will be necessary If dewatering is necessary, filter bags will used and dewatering is only possible anticipated for manhole work Ms Pamno questioned if the utility trench would be dug over the culvert in Academy Road Joe Lynch questioned if the transformer pads are mounted above ground He questioned if containment pads were proposed around the transformers and how big they would be?Mass Electric stated the pads may extend an additional 2 feet out from the transformer pads and could be installed if not an encroachment into setback areas Mineral oil exists in the transformers Mr. Mabon stated an Environmental Monitor would be required for the job Ms. Parrino stated the DEP number has not been issued A motion to continue to December 18, 2003 meeting was made by Mr Mabon, seconded by Mr. Lynch Unanimous. 242-1227, 129 Cotuit Street (Saraceno) (Neve Associates) John Morin of Neve Associates and Steven Saraceno were present Mr Lynch stated for the record he lives on the opposite end of Cotuit Street, he is not a direct abutter and he does not have any pre-conceived interest in the property and does not believe his involvement in the hearing is a conflict Mr McDonough read the legal notice Mr Morin presented the project and discussed the wetlands are located to the rear of the property and across the street from the property The site currently contains a single family home in need of major renovations The house will be razed and a building containing two condominium units will be constructed The building will have walk-out basements All work will meet the 25' No-Disturbance Zone and 50' setback requirements A 1 1 boulder retaining wall will be constructed to the rear of the property and haybales and silt fence will be installed Ms Parrino stated a significant amount of grading would be conducted on the property, six feet of fill in some areas Ms Parrmo recommended erosion controls be extended along the length of the of the westerly property line to prevent erosion onto the abutting property. Mr Mabon stated the setbacks are being met however the challenge on the site is the significant amount of grading He requested a more detailed erosion management plan be submitted including stabilization methods, stockpile area locations, etc John Morin stated the slopes are proposed at 3 1, which are not that steep Additional fill will be brought into the site Jack Mabon raised his concerns about clean fill The wetland located to the rear of the property is a high quality wetland and he wants a detailed erosion control plan Ms Parrino stated clean fill is a boiler requirement in the Order of Conditions The Commission questioned the status of the stream in the wetland area They believe that the stream is perennial The stream is shown as intermittent on the USGS Ms Parrino requested that streamstat data be submitted Joe Lynch questioned if the catch basin in the road was directing water onto the subject property He wants the basin looked at to see if the pipe runs across the subject property The Commission questioned the snow stockpiling areas, it appears the snow would be pushed across the street Joe Lynch concerned homeowners will throw yard debris over the wall and into the 25' No-Disturbance Zone He wants the wall pulled further from the No-Disturb Zone to allow an area for dumping of leaves and grass. Mr Robert Zibber an abutter stated there would be a problem with run-off in the street as there is very heavy flow of water in this area Mr Steven Inmom stated his concerns that the road conditions that may worsen from heavy truck passage The abutters questioned who could address the concerns of the condition of the road The Commission told the homeowners to contact DPW The street is labeled improperly on the plan, as it is a private street not a public street A motion to continue to the December 18, 2003 meeting was made by Mr. Mabon, seconded by Mr Lynch. Unanimous 242-1226, 70 Oakes Drive (Talbot) (New England Engineering) Ben Osgood of New England Engineering and the applicant Mr. Scott Talbot were present Mr McDonough read the legal notice. The filing is for the demolition of an existing single family home and construction of a new home and septic system with associated grading within the buffer zone to an isolated wetland The wetland is approximately 1600 s. f in size Upon the initial inspection, which triggered the filing, recent tree/shrub(mainly sweet pepper bush) cutting was observed. It appeared that some of this cutting activity might have occurred within the 25' No-Disturbance area Mr. Osgood stated he has submitted the filing to Natural Heritage however he has not yet received a response Ms Parrino questioned the limits of the Riverfront Area on the property The USGS map shows a river running through the street and it appears the brook may be piped under the cul-de-sac. The wetland line has been reviewed and appears to be an isolated area. The house has been razed and the site is currently not stable Erosion controls have been installed but the bales are not staked and the silt fence is not trenched, this must be addressed immediately Ms Parrino recommends some kind of physical barrier be installed along the limit of work The Commission discussed construction of a boulder wall interspersed with large dense pine plantings A motion to continue to the December 18, 2003 meeting was made by Mr Mahon, seconded by Mr Lynch Unanimous Decisions 242-1225, 15 Timber Lane (Fornier)(W. C. Cammett Engineering) A motion to continue to the January 14, 2003 meeting was made by Mr Lynch, seconded by Mr McDonough Unanimous Brief Discussion about 24 Autran Ave. Mr Masse stated the alternative would be to fine them$10,000 in lieu of allowing the concrete patio to remain Meeting Adjourned at 10:20pm.