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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-02-08 Conservation Commission Minutes 7 Conservation Commission Meeting Minutes February 8, 2006 Members Present: Scott L Masse, Chairman, Albert P Manzi, Jr , Vice Chairman, Joseph W Lynch, Jr, John J Mabon, Deborah Feltovic, and Louis A Napoli Member Absent: Sean F McDonough Staff Members Present: Alison E McKay, Conservation Administrator, Pamela A Merrill, Conservation Associate, and Donna M Wedge, Conservation Secretary Meeting came to Order: 7:15 P. M. Quorum Present. Pledge of Allegiance General Business 242-1209, Modification & Request for a Partial Bond Release, 139 Olympic Lane (DeCarro) (New England Engineering Services, Inc.) No one was present Ms Merrill stated that the original Order of Conditions was issued in June of 2003 for the replacement of a septic system within the 200-foot River front area and the buffer zone to a BVW An amended Order of Conditions was issued in September of 2004 for the construction of an in ground swimming pool and patio and the relocation of an existing shed Nine white pine saplings were installed along the 25-foot No-Disturbance Zone as this area was previously maintained as mowed lawn The applicant was seeking a modification to the Order for the size of the patio around the pool, which was larger than proposed,but was no closer to the wetland than proposed and was compliant with the 50-Foot No-Build Zone setback, the addition of a landscape wall and planting bed along the left side of the patio, reducing the amount of grading in that area, the addition of a small walkway extension to connect the existing walkway to the pool, which also conformed to the 50-Foot No-Build zone, the addition of a chain link fence and a stockade for safety reasons, which were installed outside of the 25-Foot No-Disturbance zone, the relocation of the shed to the right side of the pool and house, which was smaller and approximately 90' from the resource area, the placement of a swing set on top of the ground,just beyond the pool, which was located outside of the 25-foot No-Disturbance zone but within the 50-foot No-Build zone Pam stated that she was of the opinion that the swing set did not cause any adverse impacts on the adjacent wetland and brook Measurements were confirmed in the field and the site was determined to be in compliance with the Order of Conditions and as-built plan A motion to issue the modification was made by Mr Manzi, seconded by Mr Napoli Unanimous A motion to issue a partial bond release in the amount of$1,000 was made by Mr Manzi, seconded by Mr Napoli Unanimous 242-1234, Request for a Certificate of Compliance, 88-90 Farrwood Avenue (Heritage Green Condo Trust)(The Neve-Morin Group, Inc.) No one was present Ms Merrill stated an Order of Conditions was issued in March of 2004 for the construction of decks and stairways for the purpose of providing a secondary source of egress The Order of Conditions also required the applicant to remove 12 red maple trees within the Buffer Zone to a BVW A waiver was granted to allow portions of the stairs to be located within the 50-foot No-Build zone and 2 sonotubes to be located within the 25-foot No-Disturbance zone The applicant constructed a 4,000 s f buffer zone enhancement area as compensation for the tree removal and encroachment into the setbacks. The applicant retained The Neve-Morin Group, Inc as the Environmental Monitor and reports were submitted throughout construction Additionally, The Neve-Morin Group, Inc also submitted four seasonal monitoring reports for the restoration area The reports stated that the enhancement area had I continued to thrive A compliance inspection had been conducted on Thursday, February 2, 2006 in which all areas appeared stable with no erosion Measurements were taken in the field and were found to be consistent with those measurements depicted on the as-built plan and approved plan The erosion controls were still in place and Ms Merrill said she sent a request to The Neve-Morro Group, Inc advising the applicant to remove the erosion controls as soon as possible She recommended that since the project was in compliance with the Order, the Commission could still vote to issue the COC, but that the actual issuance could be contingent upon removal of the erosion controls. Wetland makers were posted along the existing fence/limit of lawn A motion to issue the COC and release the bond contingent upon the removal of the erosion controls was made by Mr Manzi, seconded by Ms Feltovic Unanimous 242-1281,Reguest for a Certificate of Compliance, 50 & 52 Farrwood Avenue (Heritage Green Condo Trust)(The Neve-Morin Group, Inc.) No one was present Ms Merrill stated an Order of Conditions was issued in December of 2004 in order to improve drainage conditions by installing drainage culvert, a catch basin and a treatment swale within the Buffer Zone to a Bordering Vegetated Wetland It was recently brought to North Andover Conservation Department' s attention that none of the pre-construction requirements were met prior to the commencement of the approved work Furthermore, all work has been completed Enforcement was issued on February 1, 2006 for failing to comply with the conditions outlined in the Order of Conditions In addition a$ 500 fine was issued This fine has been paid An inspection was conducted on Tuesday, February 7, 2006 All areas were stable against erosion A lot of water was observed to be flowing from the adjacent wetland through the inlet to the particle separator It will be important that the Trust continues to maintain the stormwater structures in perpetuity The wetland markers were posted along the limit of work/edge of existing lawn The as-built plan is consistent with the approved plan The erosion control is still up in the field I sent a request to The Neve-Morin Group, Inc to advise the applicant to remove the erosion controls as soon as possible Similar to the above COC request, the issuance of the COC can be done contingent upon removal of the erosion controls Scott Masse, Albert Manzi, John Mabon, Deborah Feltovic, Louis Napoli A motion to issue the COC contingent upon the removal of the erosion controls was made by Mr Manzi, seconded by Ms Feltovic Unanimous Joint Open Space Committee and Conservation Commission to Discuss the Open Space Rules & Regulations Jack Mabon spoke of the revisions made in regards to properties in which hunting was permitted on Town-owned properties and were listed in a table as follows Mazurenko Farm- Mr Manzi stated no restriction Town Farm/Town Forest—Mr Manzi stated restricted to Bow Hunting only Half Mile Hill & Summit- Mr Manzi stated no restriction Foster Farm—Mr Manzi stated soccer fields, potential school site- No Hunting—don't list in the table Bruin Hill—Mr Manzi stated no restriction Carter Hill—Mr Manzi stated no restriction Foxwood off Weyland Circle & Molly Towne Road- Mr Manzi stated no restriction Mr.Joseph W. Lynch arrived at 7:35 P. M. MACC Handbooks Mr Manzi stated that the Conservation Commission would decline the gift from Epsilon Associates, Inc and the Commission would not like to take the chance of a potential conflict Mr Lynch stated that if the gift was more than$50 but that 2 previous staff administrators now worked for Epsilon that it would not 2 be good business Ms McKay was asked to notify Epsilon that the Commission was all set and would order the books using the filing fee account Enforcement Order Ratification 50 ,& 52 Farrwood Drive Ms McKay stated that she conducted a site inspection of the property, which was well stabilized with no issues and that the fine was paid A motion to ratify the Enforcement Order was made by Mr Manzi, seconded by Ms Feltovic Unanimous Conservation Commission approved the Minutes A motion to approve the minutes was made by Mr Manzi, seconded by Ms Feltovic Unanimous No Recess Public Hearings 8:10 P. M. Request for Determination of Applicability 1101 Turnpike Street-Massachusetts Electric Company (MA Electric)(ENSR) The applicant Joshua Holden of Massachusetts Electric Company and Timothy Sullivan of ENSR were present Mr Mabon read the legal notice Ms McKay stated that the filing was for the removal of two 10,000-gallon double-walled underground storage tanks (UST's), fuel pumps and canopy within the Buffer Zone to a BVW and within Riverfront of Boston Brook The UST's would be located within the paved yard of the vehicle garage area approximately 100-feet from the BVW associated with Boston Brook and approximated 3-feet below garage The existing fuel pump island and canopy would be removed and replaced with a 6,000-gallon above ground tank on a concrete pad All work would be conducted within the existing paved yard Currently, there were no concerns that the existing tanks were leaking, rather the applicant is removing these UST's as part of a company-wide policy to remove all UST's Ms McKay said that she would recommend the submission of contingency plan or other remediation plan (for mitigation and procedures of spills) if contamination were encountered during excavation as a condition An updated Contingency and Emergency Response Plan was submitted to the Health Department recently dated February 2006, however Ms McKay stated that she was not sure that this addressed soil contamination She added that three existing catch basins were located within the access roads and parking area surrounding the work and that the catch basins would be covered during the removal process to prevent the introduction of sediments during storm events Ms McKay stated that she had specific concerns regarding to the proper protection of the existing catch basins and overall stormwater management protection measures. The applicant had proposed to install erosion controls at the edge of excavation along the Boston Brook side However, plans submitted did not provide other erosion control locations or an erosion control detail Ms McKay recommended that additional plans be submitted depicting revised limits and specifications of the erosion controls Ms McKay stated that the materials would be temporarily stockpiled in the yard to the west of the UST' s outside of the buffer zone The excavation areas would be backfilled with 3 to 4 feet of clean gravel overlain by stockpile soil The disturbed portion of the yard would be re-paved at the completion of work Ms McKay stated that she had reviewed and approved the wetland boundaries Ms McKay also stated that the applicant had requested a waiver from section 4 12 of the Bylaw Regulations for waivers of various plan requirements Specifically the exclusion of depicting 2 foot contours (since no grade change was proposed), exclusion of property boundaries and abutters names, and waiver for the plan to be stamped and signed by Registered P E. of P L S Additionally, Ms McKay said she observed current stormwater structures being overburdened with sand and sediment from the lack of stormwater maintenance during her field review on 3 Friday morning(2/3/06) of which time of heavy storm event was occurring The paved areas were thickly covered with sands and sediments and rains were flushing these materials into catch basins with minimal to no treatment, evidence of turbidity was prominent and sediment discharge was significant into Boston Brook at all outlets Since the facility was built prior to the regulations with presumable no Operation and Maintenance Plan for stormwater in place, she recommended that the Commission address this concern with the applicant on a separate matter She requested that conditions in the Order should include a pre- construction meeting, notification to the department of contamination or of any work not approved or identified under this filing, installation of erosion controls and protection of the catch basins, submission of contingency/remediation plan if not already submitted, and a post-construction meeting Mr Manzi moved to accept the waiver with exception to the stamped plan Ms Feltovic seconded Unanimous Mr Holden stated that if there were any contamination that the DEP would be monitoring the site as required The tanks would be double walled and would be removed from site immediately Mr Holden stated that the catch basins were cleaned in February and sweeping was done in the springtime Mr Lynch asked about the duration of the project Work would be completed within 2 to 4 weeks Mr Mahon asked if the tanks were being removed near a,working farm and if any overflow would flow towards the Boston Brook Mr Mahon requested more detail of the erosion controls, more detail of the stockpiling areas, and a detailed construction sequence plan Mr Holden stated that the pumps had a safety valve with an auto shut off in case of a spill He also stated that the EPA would be on site in addition to the State Fire Marshall and the North Andover Fire Department A motion to require a stamped plan and in addition to the other requested items and to continue to the March 8, 2006 meeting was made by Mr Manzi, seconded by Mr Lynch Unanimous Abbreviated Notice of Intent 242-1346, 1160 Great Pond Road-Brooks School Brooks School)(Rist-Frost-Shumway Engineering, P. C.) John L Scott of Rist-Frost-Shumway Engineering, P C and Robert Rollson were present Mr Mabon read the legal notice Ms McKay stated that the filing was for construction of a 1280 s f or 32' x 40' addition to an existing hockey rink with associated grading within the Buffer Zone to a BVW The addition is proposed for the purposes of the relocation the Zambom ice surfacing equipment The wetland associated with the project was situated between the rink and Great Pond Road A portion of the wetland is a spur created by the outlet of the foundation drain from the ice rink The addition was proposed 79-feet from the resource area at its closet point Some minimal grading was proposed to accommodate the project Melt water from the addition would be pumped into the catch basin Ms McKay stated that the applicant asserted that given the small size of the proposed addition, the stormwater impact could be mitigated by the excess capacities built into the detention basin, treatment area, and recharge systems in place and constructed for the athletic facility In addition, roof and perimeter footing drains were proposed Drainage calculations were provided in the application to support this assertion A wavier request was submitted for section 4 3 2 of the Bylaw regulations for plans pertaining to the property line and abutter names on the plans, stating that "the campus property was very large and the project was far removed from any boundary line Also, the nearest abutter was far from the project Site" The applicant stated that the proposed work was outside of the Watershed Protection District Ms McKay indicated that it might not be Ms McKay stated that the applicant had forwarded a plan showing the exact watershed boundaries of the site However in review of the plan with the Town Planner, it appears that the project does fall within the Watershed Protection District Ms McKay recommended that the applicant discuss this with the Town Planner An existing Order of Conditions for the athletic facility was still open (242- 1057), but work had been completed and a request for a Certificate of Compliance would be forthcoming The wetlands were reviewed and approved The site was within estimated habitat and the project was sent to Natural Heritage for review Ms McKay stated that since the Athletic Facility had not been an issue previously with natural Heritage, they would not have an issue with the proposed addition She stated that 4 revised plans would be submitted showing the change in addition size, wetland flags numbers, and revised grading changes to accommodate the change in size DEP had no comments Ms McKay stated that a draft decision would be ready for the next meeting A motion to continue to February 22, 2006 for revised plans and Natural Heritage comments was made by Mr Manzi, seconded by Ms, Feltovic Unanimous 242-1345, Lot 1 Great Pond Road (Great Pond Road Realty Trust)(New England Engineering Services, Inc.)(cont. from 1/26/06) The applicant Joseph Pelich was present Ms McKay stated that the plans have been revised to reflect the upgradient wetland and all other previously discussed items The wetland boundaries had been re- reviewed and Ms McKay stated that she was satisfied that all requested items have been adequately addressed, with the exception to the removal of the old flags, which could be conditioned She stated that her only remaining question pertained to Lisa' s comment# 5 of her review, but again could be conditioned Mr Lynch stated that the stormwater structures would need to be taken care of by the applicant for perpetuity A motion to close and issue a decision within 21 days was made by Mr Manzi, seconded by Ms Feltovic 5- 0 - 1 vote Mr Mabon abstained 242-1347,492 Sutton Street-Lawrence Municipal Airport Vegetation Management Plan (Lawrence Municipal Airport)(Dufresne-Henry, Inc.) The applicant Michael Miller of Lawrence Municipal Airport, Randy Christiansen of Dufresne-Henry, Inc , and abutters Charlotte Jeffrey and Dennis Card were present Mr Christiansen gave a brief overview of the project He stated that the applicant was the City of Lawrence and the project was filed under both the state Act and the Bylaw The VMP would allow the Lawrence Municipal Airport to comply with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airspace regulations A new obstruction analysis was conducted in the summer of 2005 with aerial photogrammetry and found that there was a limited increase in obstruction acreage, therefore the new filing had comparable wetland impacts as previously proposed Changes in removal methods were made due to tree growth All wetland resource areas were re-flagged and re-viewed by Ms McKay and Patrick Seekamp over the past summer He mentioned the need for an Obstruction Lighting Plan to address residential concerns through forested buffer The FAA had approved an aeronautical study for the proposed obstruction lights in the Wood Ave neighborhood, which would include eight new lights total, five of which were within Wood Avenue neighborhood Utility installation would be needed for the obstruction lighting, however impact would be minimal Ms McKay further discussed the project in more detail and summarized resource area impacts and some of her recommended conditions Ms McKay indicated that the applicant provided the department with a copy of another VMP Order of Conditions as a model and that a DEP file number had been issued but was still under review Mr Lynch asked about the obstruction lights Mr Christiansen stated that the red lights would stay on all the time using 60 watts at a height of the poles 75-feet Mr Manzi requested that the areas intended for vegetative wetland conversions be specified Mr Manzi left the meeting at 9 30 P M Ms Feltovic stated that Mr Christiansen had done a good job in presenting the project to the Conservation Commission Mr Christiansen also stated that direct handspraying of herbicides would be necessary for the project Mr Card indicated that he appreciated the applicant's effort in working with the abutters on the project and the obstruction lighting to reduce cutting impacts in the affected neighborhood A motion to continue to the February 22, 2006 meeting was made by Ms Feltovic, seconded by Mr Lynch Unanimous. No Decisions A motion to adjourn the meeting at: 9:35 P. M. was made by Mr. Lynch, s n ed by Mr. Napoli. Unanimous. 5