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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-12-13 Conservation Commission Minutes Q DDT Conservation Commission Meeting Minutes December 13, 2006 Members Present: Scott L Masse, Chairman, Albert P Manzi, Jr, Vice Chairman, Joseph W Lynch, Jr, John J Mabon,Deborah A Feltovic, Louis A Napoli Members Absent: Sean F McDonough Staff Members Present: Alison E McKay, Conservation Administrator, Pamela A Merrill, Conservation Associate,Donna M Wedge, Conservation Secretary Meeting came to Order at 7:10 P.M. Quorum Present. Pledge of Allegiance General Business 242-1186,Partial Bond Release,Peachtree Farms (Northpoint Development,LLC)(West Environmental, Inc.)(cont.from 11/29/06) Scott Masse, Chairman and Al Manzi recused themselves Mr Mahon became acting Chair The applicant, Brian Darcy of Northpoint Development, LLC, and Mark West of West Environmental, Inc were present Ms Merrill stated that at the last meeting the Commission released a PCOC for Lots 7-13 and a bond release of $21,000 Ms Merrill stated that Lisa Eggleston, P E reviewed the drainage relative to the 2 wet pockets and had concluded that even though the as-built outlet structures vary somewhat from the record plan, the wet pockets perform largely as designed The lower wet pocket near Chestnut and Rea Streets has a slightly greater projected peak discharge under 2 & I0-year storm conditions than the original proposed and has more detention time during a 100-year storm event The Wet Pocket 2 behind lots 12& 13 has more volume at the lower elevations than in the original designs,but due to high groundwater, the volume below the outlet does not provide storage Furthermore, it has significantly more storage volume at higher elevations so that even with the outlet invert being moved about 8" lower than original design, peak flows discharged under all design storm conditions are lower than originally projected The net effect of these modifications is that the peak discharge leaving the site at Design Point 1 are comparable to those originally proposed and lower than under pre- development conditions Ms Merrill stated that Lisa found ground water elevations to be a least 3 feet above what was projected originally based on soil testing conducted during the permitting process The lowering of this outlet does not increase the peak discharge from the basin since there is significantly more storage volume in the basin This wet pocket would actually treat the smaller storms more frequently She recommends that the original orifice be closed off, so that only the lower 5"orifice and higher 12"orifice remain To address the pondmg of water near the townhouses, Lisa believes that the high groundwater elevation in the wet pocket 2 coupled with the existing topographical low point in the meadow near the outlet are contributing factors to the persistent pondmg of flow, since there is more frequent discharges from the smaller storm events She recommends that a drainage pathway/channel be created from the low area towards the wet meadow be created or possibly piped under the driveway Since this wet meadow is still mowed on an annual basis, creating a drainage channel from the approximate location where the water ponds to edge of the wet meadow would release the water to the resource areas This could be completed under an enforcement order during early summer months As previously stated, the applicant is seeking$47K of the original 57K that was posted, 21K was released in November, leaving 36K remaining until Lisa Eggleston reviewed the wet pockets Based on her findings,the wet pockets perform as intended Since the applicant has not requested a PCOC for the townhouses buildings both within the Buffer Zone for a 6K, Ms Merrill recommend releasing $22K leaving the remainder for monitoring reports for two years, which would come out to $14K Mr Lynch stated that he has been out there in very heavy rainstorms to see how the drainage was working He stated that the elevation of the driveway was 2 feet higher than the wet meadow He stated that blocking out the orifices and running a pipe under the driveway would likely fix the ponding in the wet meadow The Commission would have to issue an enforcement order in order for additional work to be performed since the Order of Conditions has expired A motion to issue a partial bond release of 22K was made by Mr Lynch, seconded by Ms Feltovic Unanimous 1 242-1169,Extension Request,2357 Turnpike Street—The Meadows (Valley Realty Development)(West Environmental, Inc.) Mr Scott Masse, Chairman left the room because of a conflict Mr Mabon became acting Chair Ms Merrill stated that the Order of Conditions was issued on January 22, 2003 for the construction of 270 unit condominiums and townhouses with associated appurtenances, roadways,parking lots, stormwater structures, and site clearing and grading within the Buffer Zone to a BVW, ILSF and Vernal Pools 1,055 s f of wetland restoration is proposed, along with 19,558 s f of Buffer Zone restoration The project was filed under MGL Chapter 40B affordable housing The Order would expire on January 22,2007 The department was in receipt of the extension request prior to the 30-day deadline This was the 2"d and final extension request West Environmental, Inc was retained as the Environmental Monitor and has been submitting weekly reports Construction has been on going throughout the 2 5 years The 3rd phase of the development has been completed and fully landscaped, including detention basins 1-4 and all underground utilities Basin 5 was brought to final grade and was seeded in the fall of 2006 for stabilization,but is not on-line The 4"'and final phase consists of buildings 16-27 All of the foundations were previously installed backfilled and temporary stabilized for the winter Framing has not commenced on these buildings The wetland buffer zone restoration took place during the late spring early summer 2006 and is thriving Ms Merrill also stated that she and Earl Chase of West Environmental, Inc reviewed the wetland line and determined that it was consistent with the original delineation West Environmental, Inc refreshed the wetland flags in the field A motion to issue the final extension for one-year was made by Ms Feltovic, seconded by Mr Lynch Unanimous 242-1172,COC Request, 180 Marbleridte Road(McDermott)(Oak Engineers) No one was present Ms Merrill stated that an Order of Conditions was issued in November of 2002 for the construction of an addition within the Buffer Zone to a BVW The Order also required the applicant to retain an environmental monitor and reports were submitted Measurements were confirmed in the field and the disturbed areas are well stabilized against erosion The as-Built plan was consistent with the record A motion to issue the COC and release the bond was made by Ms Feltovic, seconded by Mr Manzi Unanimous 242-1162,COC Request, 10 Commerce Way(Grasso)(Hancock Associates) The applicant, Vincent Grasso, was present Ms Merrill stated that the Order of Conditions was issued on March 17, 2003 for the expansion of an existing parking lot and driveway with associated drainage improvements for construction of a car wash facility within the Buffer Zone to a BVW Hancock Associates was designated as the Environmental monitor and submitted reports during construction The Commission voted previously to release $25K of the original $50K performance bond The construction of the car wash was completely finished including all stormwater drainage structures Richard Doherty, P E of Hancock Associates monitored the drainage structures since they were installed A statement provided by Hancock relative to the restoration areas was submitted, stating that the shrubs were healthy and that no shrub replacements were needed The wetland markers were posted along 25-foot No-Disturbance zone or close to the limit of work as required No snow stockpiling signs were installed along the rear of the property as required Snow storage areas were designated in two locations to the front of the property The restoration area was stable and shrubs continue to do well A motion to issue the COC and release the bond was made by Ms Feltovic, seconded by Mr Manzi Unanimous 242-257, PCOC Request,Lot 13A-40 Equestrian Drive(Rubin,Weisman, Colasanti,Kaiko, Stein)(The Neve-Morin Group,Inc.) No one was present Ms Merrill stated that the Order was issued in March of 1985 for construction of Equestrian Drive The Order required the applicant to submit separate filings for the jurisdictional lots, one of which was Lot 13A The developer was issued another Order of Conditions DEP# 242-296 in October of 1985 for the construction of several lots, including lot 13A A PCOC was requested to clear the title since lot 13A was never constructed under this DEP number A motion to issue the PCOC for Lot 13A-40 Equestrian Drive only was made by Ms Feltovic, seconded by Mr Napoli Unanimous 2 242-296,PCOC Request,Lot 13A-40 Equestrian Drive(Rubin,Weisman, Colasanti,Kaiko, Stein)(The Neve-Morin Group, Inc.) No one was present Ms Merrill stated that the Order was issued in October of 1985 for construction of several lots within the Equestrian Estates subdivision, including lot 13A However, work never commenced under this filing and was superceded by another Order of Conditions, DEP#242-708 A COC was issued for 242-708 in November 1996 A PCOC was requested to clear the title since lot 13A was never constructed under this file A motion to issue a PCOC to Lotl3A-40 Equestrian Drive only was made by Ms Feltovic, seconded by Mr Napoli Unanimous Small Project NACC#24,27 Fuller Meadow Road The applicants Mr &Mrs Barrett were present Ms Merrill stated that the project falls within section 4 4 2 K for the construction of an open deck The wetland resource area is 83-fect away and the land was flat The project would require limited ground disturbance to install five hand-dug sonotubes The size of the open deck is proposed at 318 2 s f The stairs are what makes go beyond the 300 s f requirement for the small project Mr Lynch stated the project was a K but this good filing no problem with this filing for small project A motion to ratify as a small project was made by Mr Manzi, seconded by Ms Feltovic Unanimous Town Meeting Warrant Article-Quorum Law Ms McKay explained that a warrant article would be placed at this years Town meeting that would make it possible for Boards and Commissions to participate in the vote if a public meeting was missed if the board member was able to study the evidence of the missed meetings Public Hearings 8:15 P. M. Town Counsel Thomas J Urbelis was present Plisinski v.Town of North Andover Conservation Commission Scott Masse,Chairman of the Conservation Commission signed the settlement agreement with Plisinski v Town of North Andover Conservation Commission A motion to accept the settlement agreement that Scott Masse, Chairman of Conservation Commission, signed was made by Mr Manzi, seconded by Mr Napoli Unanimous Abbreviated Notice of Resource Area Delineation 242-1375, 575& 549 Osgood Street(Ed2ewood Retirement Communit3:, Inc.)(Wetlands Preservation, Inc.)(cont. 11/15/06) Curt Young of Wetlands Preservation, Inc was present Ms McKay stated that the plans were revised to reflect the additional IVW of 2,477 s f in size and the omission of certain buffer zone areas No further issues A motion to close and issue a decision within 21 days was made by Mr Mabon, seconded by Ms Feltovic Mr Albert Manzi, Jr, abstained The vote was 5-0-1 242- ,116 Marbleridge Road, (Innovative Properties, Inc)(Rimmer Environmental Consulting,LLC) The applicant, Innovative Properties, Inc , and Mary Rimmer of Rimmer Environmental Consulting, LLC were present Mr Mabon read the legal notice Ms McKay stated that the filing was for the confirmation of the wetland resource delineation only No work was proposed The resource areas on site include BVW and associated bank to a drainage swale intermittent stream channel Ms McKay stated that water flows to this wetland resource system via a culvert on the southern property boundary and flows across the lot to the rear into a pond and larger wetland system The wetland boundary was delineated by Rimmer Environmental Consulting, LLC on October 11, 2006 and consists of an A&B series The A-series delineation is located towards the front of the lot and the B-series delineation is located towards the rear of the lot Ms McKay stated that she reviewed and approved the A-serves flagging only She stated that she was of the understanding from Rimmer Environmental that the B-series would not likely be defined for any future work the applicant may propose No other additional resource areas such as Riverfront or Floodplain exist within jurisdictional limits of the property The property does fall within the boundaries of Priority habitat for stated protected Rare Species in accordance 3 with the recent Natural Heritage Estimated Species Protected map Ms McKay noted several items aside from this filing application, which she recommended to address during future project filing These items were as follows the property lies within Watershed Protection District and the 25-foot No-Disturbance zone and portions of the resource area were currently being maintained as lawn Assessor's records indicate that the existing single-family dwelling was built in 1923 and that the existing garage was built in 1940 and the shed in 1980 No building or conservation permits were found Other violations were observed on site such as evidence of a few tree cutting within the 25-Foot No-Disturbance zone along the B-senes boundary and several large mulch piles located within the no-disturb upgradient and between flags A-1 & A-2 Lastly, Ms McKay indicated that DEP has not issued the file number yet, so a continuance was needed A motion to continue to the December 27, 2007 meeting was made by Mr Manzi, seconded by Mr Lynch Unanimous Notice of Intent(s) 242-1377,95 Old Cart Way(Murtha)(Giles Surveying) The applicant Thomas Murtha, III and Scott Giles of Giles Surveying and Abutter Gail Wolf, corner of extension of Old Cart Way, were present Mr Mabon read the legal notice Ms McKay stated that the filing was for the construction of an mground swimming pool with a Jacuzzi, cabana, storage shed, fence, retaining wall, crushed stone walk, and other landscaping appurtenances The work is proposed to comply with 50-foot No- Build and 25-foot No-Disturbance zone The proposed pool and surrounding patio will be constructed greater than 53' from the wetland resource area Ms McKay recommended that erosion controls be extended past the existing crushed stone walk to just beyond the proposed fence line to ensure that the proposed fence would not intrude into the 25-foot No-Disturbance zone upgradient to flag A-4 The resource area was delineated by Arrow Environmental, LLC, and was reviewed and approved with the exception of the off property wetland flag A-16 In addition, A-14 was removed in the field to more accurately depict the wetland boundary and flag A-12 was moved upgradient approximately 2' The site is not within estimated or priority habitat Ms McKay also recommended conditioning construction access through the existing driveway only, or if not practicable in the field due to the existing wood gate and extensive landscaping in that location to the west side of the property Access should not traverse across the existing septic system During the field review, it was observed that the applicant had started cutting some of the existing vegetation in preparation and anticipation of the project Ms McKay stated that fortunately it appeared that the majority of the trees cut were located just outside 25-foot No- Disturbance zone and that the stumps were left and not pulled out However, several large trees and associated cuttings fell towards the wetland resource area and into resource area She recommended removal of the cuttings and fallen trees branches by hand during construction Specific conditions should include back wash filter system, no pool waters discharged towards resource areas, construction access as indicated, extension of erosion controls as indicated, wetland markers, restoration of the 25-foot No-Disturbance zone area as a result of recent cutting and clearing, if any, and clean up of tree cutting and branches within the 25-foot No-Disturbance zone and wetland resource are The project was still under review with DEP Abutter Mrs Wolf of Old Cart Way wanted to know what the Buffer Zone meant Mr Lynch stated that a Buffer Zone meant that any work within 100 feet of a wetland resource area required a filing with the Conservation Commission to justify why they are encroaching within 100-foot Buffer Zone and ensure that impacts to the resource area would not occur A motion to continue to the December 27, 2006 meeting was made by Ms Feltovic, seconded by Mr Mabon Unanimous 242-1376, 1257 Turnpike Street-Boston Hill (Boston Hill,LLC)(Marchionda &Associates,L. P.) The applicant Allen Russell of Mesiti Development Corporation, John Barrow of Marchionda& Associates, L P and abutter Bernice Fink of 1250 Turnpike Street were present Mr Lynch read the legal notice Ms McKay stated that the applicant resubmitted the same exact project as previously submitted and approval as the final extension expires on March 6, 2007 Preliminary comments and conservations were made to and with the applicant These comments and conservations included the same concerns raised by DEP such as MEPA refilling, whether or not the project would still be considered exempt from the riverfront regulations In addition to the above, Ms McKay indicated that the site was now designated by NHESP as Priority habitat of Rare Species in which it was not designated before She indicated that the applicant had submitted the project filing to Natural Heritage for review Ms McKay indicated that her review was not yet complete and requested additional time to review the project Mr Barrow stated that the priority habitat of Rare Species was Frosted 4 Elfin Butterfly Mr Russell stated that since an ENF was filed before 1996,the project was exempt from refiling with MEPA Mr Lynch stated that so much time had passed from last fall to late spring because of the soft market for selling homes and that the applicant was not sure in moving forward with the project Mrs Fmk indicated that the applicant was requesting many waivers and was not in agreements that the Commission should honor these waivers She also felt that there would be a drainage problem with significant run-off from the site She mentioned that the sewer pumping station was higher and could also be a concern and contribute to environmental impacts A motion to continue to the December 27, 2006 meeting was made by Ms Feltovic, seconded by Mr Mabon Unanimous Decisions 242-1375 575& 549 Osgood Street(Ed2ewood Retirement Community,Inc.)(Wetland Preservation,Inc. No one was present Ms McKay stated that the revised plans reflected the additional NW of 2,477 s f A motion to accept the ORAD as drafted was made by Mr Mabon, seconded by Ms Feltovic Unanimous Minutes A motion to approve the minutes of October 25, 2006 meeting was made by Mr Manzi, seconded by Mr Mabon Unanimous A motion to approve the minutes of November 1, 2006 meeting was made by Ms Feltovic, seconded by Mr Manzi Unanimous A motion to adjourn the meeting at: 9:00 P.M. was made by Mr. Manzi, seconded by Ms. Feltovic. Unanimous. CJul