EASTHAM CONSERVATION COMMISSION
24 October 2006
PRESENT: Glenn Collins, Steve Smith, Leah Dower, Judith Williams, David Hoerle, Dennis Murley.
STAFF PRESENT: Deputy Natural Resources Officer Katelyn Merrill, Conservation Clerk Kay Stewart-Greeley.
ALSO PRESENT: Mark Haley, Bob McGaw, Victor Stillwell, Sean Smith, Jim Tauras, Dave Fleming, David Fleming, Brian Connor, Jerome Connor, Peter Markunas, Duane Landreth, Tim Brady.
Chairman Collins opened the meeting at 7:00 P.M.
Chairman Collins called for action on the Minutes of 26 September 2006 and
10 October 2006. Ms Williams MOVED approval of the Minutes of 26 September 2006 with one correction. Mr. Smith SECONDED the Motion.
SO VOTED UNANIMOUSLY.
Subsequently, Ms. Williams MOVED approval of the Minutes of 10 October 2006 with several minor corrections. Mr. Smith SECONDED the Motion.
SO VOTED UNANIMOUSLY.
7:08 P.M. Request for Certificate of Compliance, Mary Ann Jones,
DEP SE 19-465, 245 Harmes Way, Map 01, Parcel 106.
Mr. Murley and Ms. Dower recused themselves from this agenda item.
Chairman Collins read a letter from Tim Brady, President of East Cape Engineering, Inc. requesting this Certificate. Deputy Merrill showed photos of the site. This was a very old Order of Conditions from 1989 for a shed which was constructed on a deck. Deputy Merrill said the site was in compliance.
Presently, Mr. Hoerle MOVED and Mr. Smith SECONDED the Motion to issue a Certificate of Compliance for DEP SE 19-465.
SO VOTED UNANIMOUSLY.
Mr. Murley and Ms. Dower returned to the meeting at this time.
7:10 P.M. Request for Certificate of Compliance, Carpentieri, DEP SE 19-1209, 80 Old Orchard Road, Map 11, Parcel 029.
Chairman Collins read a letter from Mary Carpentieri requesting a Certificate of Compliance. Deputy Merrill showed photos of the site. She said the only work within the Buffer Zone was for the well. There was concern about the use of fertilizer. Deputy Merrill said that the construction notes say that all disturbed areas will be revegetated and there are no plantings within that area but it will revegetate naturally.
Mr. Murley MOVED to issue a Certificate of Compliance with Condition #23 relative to fertilizer to be ongoing and that a letter accompany the Certificate stating that the silt barrier shall be maintained until there is substantial vegetation in the area. Mr. Smith SECONDED the Motion.
SO VOTED UNANIMOUSLY.
7:25 P.M. Notice of Intent filed by John Riley, 35 Cedar Lane, Map 21,
Parcel 056.
Chairman Collins announced this hearing. Tim Brady of East Cape Engineering was the applicant’s representative and told the Commission that the applicant would like to withdraw his application at this time.
Mr. Hoerle MOVED and Mr. Smith SECONDED the Motion to dismiss this application without prejudice.
SO VOTED UNANIMOUSLY.
7:30 P.M. Notice of Intent filed by Robert McGaw, 7-A West Shore Drive,
Map 19, Parcel 063.
Chairman Collins announced this hearing. Tim Brady was present for the applicant. He told the Commissioners that this cottage is located north of the Campground Beach parking lot. He said the applicant is proposing a new foundation under the existing building. He said they would like to raise the building about twelve to eighteen inches from where it sits now. He said they would like to excavate under the existing deck and make a walkout from the basement. He said they would also like to replace the wooden retaining wall with a concrete wall. He said the site is well vegetated at this time and will be restored to a well-vegetated site. He said they would like to take some of the sand and nourish the toe of the slope at the top of the stones and also use some of that material to nourish the
beach. He said there is a Title 5 septic system in the driveway area which will remain exactly as it is. He said they can work around it. He submitted a letter from Pam Drolsbaugh, an abutter, saying she is in favor of the project.
Deputy Merrill said she met with Mr. Brady at the site. She said the footings are right at the top of the Coastal Bank and that is her main concern. She asked Mr. Brady if he could submit a construction protocol or have a pre-construction meeting at the site.
Sean Smith, the contractor for the project, spoke from the floor and explained how the project would proceed. He said there is a 4' crawl space under the cottage now and the foundation will extend into the earth an additional 4' more. He said that any runoff will be directed to dry wells in the parking area.
Deputy Merrill said that she thinks the site should be restored as soon as possible. Mr. Brady said the limit of work is only five feet and there is also a bunch of debris which they will remove from the top of the rock revetment.
Mr. Murley asked why they were proposing a concrete wall to replace the existing bulkhead and Mr. Brady explained to Mr. Murley’s satisfaction. Ms. Williams said she is concerned about the installation of the concrete wall and what happens if it is destroyed in a storm. The contractor said a rock revetment exists to protect the property and Mr. Brady said it is a valid concern but there is a lot of stuff which would have to come down before the retaining wall fails. He said the retaining wall will actually help to hold the bank up on the seaward side and there will be no necessity for regrading.
Commissioner Smith asked if there was any way to put a Condition in the Order stating that the owner is responsible for immediate removal of any debris if the wall should fail. Sean Smith said that the wall actually seats the deck and gives it a solid base as it ties into the main foundation with steel.
Mr. Murley said he believes that the existing bulkhead extends farther than the deck and discussion followed relative to where the concrete wall will end. Mr. Smith told the Commissioners that a standard wall pour is a 3,000# blend and stronger concrete cracks more often. He went on to describe how the excavated material will be conveyed to the beach. He said that only about twenty yards or so can be stored in the driveway and most of it will have to be removed from the site.
Dennis reminded them that any nourishment must be clean and compatible and Deputy Merrill said she would be checking it. There were no further questions and Chairman Collins closed this hearing.
Mr. Hoerle MOVED approval with Order of Conditions 1-18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 26, 27, 29, 32 changing the wording from revetment to foundation, 33, 35, 38 removal of debris from the top of the Coastal Bank, 39 pre-construction meeting, 40 removal of debris if the wall fails. Commissioner Smith SECONDED the Motion.
SO VOTED UNANIMOUSLY.
7:55 P.M. Request for Determination of Applicability filed by James A. Tauras, 675 Bridge Road, Map 19, Parcel 063.
Chairman Collins announced this hearing. Mr. Tauras was present and told the Commission that he and his wife are planning on moving to the Cape full time and wanted to build a garage and a sunroom. He said he had spoken with Mr. Murley earlier in the day when he came to the site and that he had suggested a Cape Cod Seed mix for planting. Mr. Hoerle suggested that he add Clover to avoid a monoculture ground cover.
The sunroom was being addressed under an Administrative Review and Mr. Murley said that it will only involve four or five sonotubes. He said that there is well-established shrubbery and suggested nixing the hay bales for the sunroom.
Deputy Merrill said she didn’t see any problems and showed photos of the site. The Commissioners were all OK with the sunroom proposal. Mr. Hoerle MOVED to ratify the Administrative Review for the sunroom and Mr. Smith SECONDED the Motion.
SO VOTED UNANIMOUSLY. Chairman Collins signed the AR.
Relative to the RDA for the garage, Deputy Merrill told the Commission that there were three mature Cedars which would be removed. She said there is sufficient vegetation between this site and the A.C.E.C. and there will be a pervious stone driveway leading up to it. She said that putting some trees in the back might be good mitigation.
Dave Fleming, the builder, spoke from the floor and said that he hoped that a couple of the trees will only need limbing.
Mr. Murley commented that it looked like there was a grade change in the far right-hand corner up against the pine tree. Mr. Fleming said there was not and there should be no change of grade for the whole project.
There were no further questions and Chairman Collins closed this hearing.
Mr. Hoerle MOVED and Ms. Williams SECONDED the Motion.
SO VOTED UNANIMOUSLY.
8:10 P.M. Notice of Intent filed by Andrew H. Cohn, Cliff Cottage Trust, 7 Memory Lane, Map 07, Parcel 151 and Jerome J. & Barbara L. Conner, 5 Jean’s Way, Map 07, Parcel 503.
Chairman Collins announced this hearing. Peter Markunas of Coastal Engineering Company, Inc. was present for the applicants. He said that there had been an on-site meeting on 22 October. He said that both revetments are failing for different reasons. He said that the Conner revetment will be constructed at the same elevation as the Cohn revetment with the basic push back against the bank. He said that plateaus at the top of the rocks allow water to collect after storms, etc. He said the footprints will remain the same and they will be pushed back against the bank. He said access will either be from Campground or Cooksbrook Beach. He said the vegetation is presently fine and they would like to keep it that way. He said that both are licensed revetments.
Deputy Merrill said she was at the on-site meeting and she would hope that for construction the applicants will go with the new design of adding compensatory sand. She said the volumes will be determined by the Natural Resource Office and the Engineer. She said there are some areas which have metal sheeting on the bank and she thinks that once these vegetation above the revetment become stable, the metal sheeting should be taken out. She said this should be put in the Order of Conditions. She said that she also thinks that they need to get rid of any trap rock. She said that she will be going on site to measure grain size compatibility. Mr. Markunas said they can do an analysis.
Mr. Hoerle asked if it made any sense to put a sand-drift fence in front of the revetment since there is little or no beach. Mr. Markunas responded that the problem here is that at Mean High Water the water is already on the rocks. He said that both of these revetments got licensed pre-amnesty. He said he doesn’t think a zig-zag wall below high water is going to accrete material and after the first freeze he thinks the fence would be gone. He said he will speak to his clients about this as he has also been giving it some thought. Mr. Murley said he thinks the chances of trapping any sand would be slim to none and Mr. Hoerle commented that long term this problem needs to be solved better than is being done. Deputy Merrill said she spent a day last week at a workshop on Coastal Hazards Remedial Grants
at FEMA and will be researching this.
Chairman Collins said he assumed there would be some meeting to identify elevations and how the construction will proceed. Mr. Markunas said it will proceed a piece at a time and before any rock is removed the new stone will have to be brought in an placed in front of the area where rock is going to be removed.
There were no further questions and Chairman Collins closed this hearing. Mr. Hoerle MOVED approval for both projects with Order of Conditions 1-18, 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, 29, 31 with the amounts to be established, 32, 33, 34, 36, 38 preconstruction meeting, 39 upon stabilization, removal of sheet metal, 40 no exposed trap rock and incorporate DMF suggestions into Order. Ms. Williams SECONDED the Motion.
There was brief discussion about hazardous material spills at the job sites. Deputy Merrill said the protocol for this is incorporated into the Staging Regulations.
SO VOTED UNANIMOUSLY.
8:40 Request for Certificate of Compliance, Mary VanRyswood (formerly Greer), DEP SE 19-854, 55 Herringbrook Road, Map 17, Parcel 500A.
Chairman Collins read a letter from David Lajoie of FELCO, Inc. requesting this Certificate which stated that the conditions had been met substantially (except as noted) and then listed four things which deviated from the approved plan.
Deputy Merrill said the retaining wall referred to is OK. She said she doesn’t feel the changes are detrimental to the resource but thinks all Conditions of an Order should be satisfied. She said the retaining wall does not prevent migration of wildlife.
Mr. Murley said he thinks that on the whole the property is in good conditions and that work to satisfy the Order of Conditions may cause more disturbance at the site. He said that even without the gutters it is OK, but this should be addressed with FELCO so that in the future this sort of request will not be received.
Mr. Hoerle MOVED and Ms. Dower SECONDED the Motion to issue a Certificate of Compliance for DEP SE 19-854 and that a letter be written to Mr. Lajoie addressing requests for Certificates of Compliance.
SO VOTED UNANIMOUSLY.
Deputy Merrill reviewed Administrative Reviews for the Commissioners.
The first was for Milsky, 30 Cedar Lane, Map 21, Parcel 058 for a Title 5 septic installation of pipes from the existing tank to a new leach area. Mr. Hoerle MOVED to ratify this and Mr. Smith SECONDED the Motion.
SO VOTED UNANIMOUSLY.
There followed an AR for a garage for Cahill, 15 Pilot Road, Map 08, Parcel 296, which Deputy Merrill said was between 98' and 100' from the Buffer. Mr. Murley suggested that the limit of work for excavation should be 5' off the slab and that there should be no storage of any excavated materials at the site.
Mr. Hoerle MOVED to approve this proposal. Mr. Smith SECONDED the Motion.
SO VOTED UNANIMOUSLY.
Deputy Merrill then reviewed a request by Nat Goddard for the Town of Eastham for removal of a rock and installation of a granite stone in the same location at First Encounter Beach. There were no objections to this proposal and Mr. Smith MOVED to ratify it. Ms. Dower SECONDED the Motion.
SO VOTED UNANIMOUSLY.
There was no further business and Mr. Murley MOVED adjournment. Ms. Williams SECONDED the Motion at approximately 9:20 P.M.
SO VOTED UNANIMOUSLY.
Respectfully Submitted,
Kay Stewart-Greeley,
Clerk
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