EASTHAM CONSERVATION COMMISSION
08 May 2007
MINUTES
PRESENT: David Hoerle, Glenn Collins, Judith Williams, Terry Kelleher, Dennis Murley.
STAFF PRESENT: Deputy Natural Resources Officer James Gallagher, Conservation Clerk Kay Stewart-Greeley
ALSO PRESENT: Tim Brady of East Cape Engineering, Inc.
Chairman Collins opened the meeting at 7:00 P.M.
Commissioner Kelleher MOVED approval of the Minutes of 24 April 2007 with a couple of minor corrections. Mr. Hoerle SECONDED the Motion.
SO VOTED UNANIMOUSLY.
Mr. Hoerle presented a puzzling question for Mr. Murley and asked him if he could identify a piece of a pine bough that he had with him. Mr. Murley correctly identified it as Japanese Umbrella Pine. Mr. Hoerle was impressed and told the Commissioners that there are very few of the trees in the area and that the first one was brought to the country by a serviceman returning from Guam.
Mr. Kelleher brought up the project at 300 Samoset Road and said that he feels too much vegetation has been removed. Deputy Gallagher said he would take a look at it. Mr. Brady spoke from the floor and said that the project is exactly what was approved.
Mr. Kelleher asked about the work he had observed on the stairway at 385 Shurtleff Road. Deputy Gallagher said it was his understanding that they were just replacing the post holes, but that there had been no notification. Deputy Gallagher said he had spoken with the neighbor when he visited the site. He said he would speak with the owner of the property.
Mr. Murley said he had seen a Swallow-Tailed Kite, a southern bird which he has seen perhaps only one other time on the Cape. He said it is of the Hawk family with very pointed wings and an exaggerated forked tail.
7:15 P.M. Notice of Intent filed by Natalie Alden Living Trust, 345 Shurtleff Road, Map 07, Parcel 165.
Tim Brady of East Cape Engineering, Inc. was present for the applicant and told the Commissioners that the stairway is typically repaired by the homeowners who live in the South. He said they have probably been repairing the stairway without a valid Order of Conditions in the past so they wanted to get that taken care of. He said the proposal is just for normal repairs.
Deputy Gallagher showed photos of the site and said it doesn’t seem like there will be much adverse effect from repairs.
Mr. Hoerle asked what percentage of the staircase is going to be replaced and Mr. Brady said he thinks they do minimal repair each year.
Mr. Kelleher inquired about the deck on the house and said he doesn’t believe it was there two years ago. He said the Commission should let the owners know that nothing can be done between the house and the beach without letting the Conservation Commission know. Ms. Williams said she is always happy when she sees a natural setting such as this site and that tends to make her lean more favorably toward a project.
Mr. Brady said he has a plan of the site from 1998 and the deck was present at that time.
There was discussion about the wood which should be used for repairs. Mr. Brady said the Mean High Water is below the stairway six or seven feet.
There was no further discussion and Chairman Collins closed this hearing. Mr,. Hoerle MOVED approval with Order of Conditions 1-18, 19, 20, 21, 22 3' on either side, 25 the two most seaward posts, 27, 29 re-vegetation inside the limit of work, 33, 35, 36. It was determined that removing old debris in the area would cause too much disturbance. Mr. Kelleher SECONDED the Motion.
SO VOTED UNANIMOUSLY.
7:30 P.M. Notice of Intent filed David Hale, 75 Bay View Drive, Map 13,
Parcel 013.
Chairman Collins announced this hearing.
Tim Brady was the applicant’s representative for this hearing. He told the Commissioners that this proposal was for a new stairway. He said the entrance ramp to the stairway was particularly bad.
Mr. Brady said they are proposing to do some nourishment in the area of the stairway. He said there are some gouges in that area which may be from runoff from the yard. He said they are planning on placing 300 cubic yards of sand directly under the stairway. He said the stairway will be re-constructed in exactly the same location or may be pulled closer to the bank but this will be a completely new stairway.
Deputy Gallagher showed photos which showed evidence of runoff from the top of the bank. He said that the proposal seems pretty straightforward and asked the Commissioners to consider the materials used for the bottom of the stairs.
Mr. Murley inquired about access and Mr. Brady said access will be from the property driveway.
Mr. Hoerle said he had worked for the applicant in the past but didn’t think there was any conflict. The Commissioners thanked him for letting them know and agreed there was no conflict. Mr. Hoerle went on to say that at the time they are doing the fill on the bank it would probably be wise to build up the area and pitch it away from the bank so it won’t drain over the bank.
Chairman Collins spoke about this proposal being for a new stairway and wondered if perhaps it might make sense to get all the treads made out of non-treated materials. He said he can see ACQ posts and stringers perhaps but wondered about the treads.
Mr. Hoerle said it is his personal view that if one can avoid the possibility of any contamination you should do what needs to be done to avoid it and so he would like to see less treated materials used.
Ms. Williams agreed. Mr. Murley said the By-law is very specific about materials which come in contact with the water and Mr. Hoerle said this is something to think about as a possibility for the future. Mr. Hoerle suggested writing a letter to the applicant asking that they consider using as much non-treated lumber as possible.
Ms. Williams asked why the applicant requested a maintenance condition. Mr. Brady said that once they obtained a Certificate of Compliance they would still be able to do ongoing maintenance. There was some discussion regarding this and Mr. Murley said he thought the three-year duration of an Order of Conditions was fine because of the possibility of changes in the regulations over time.
There were no further questions or comments and Chairman Collins closed this hearing. Mr. Hoerle MOVED approval with Order of Conditions 1-18, 19, 20, 21, 22 10' either side of stairway, 25 the two most seaward posts, 27, 29, 31 starting with sand shall, 33, 35, 36. Ms. Williams SECONDED the Motion.
SO VOTED UNANIMOUSLY.
8:00 P.M. Notice of Intent filed by Mark Mongeon, 70 Blue Heron Way, Map 18, Parcel 276.
Chairman Collins announced this hearing. Tim Brady was the applicant’s representative once again.
Mr. Brady explained the proposal for a small addition at the back of house. He said there is a walk-out basement and the addition will be on posts so that it will be at the level of the main floor. He said the only construction on the ground will be sono tubes to support the structure and there will be a short connector from the new addition to the existing deck supported by posts. He said the construction is pretty straight forward in an area that is entirely lawn. He said the pile of grass clippings southwest of the proposed addition will be removed. He said there is some wetland vegetation near the ditch itself but the original plan for the house shows a limit of work at the property line adjacent to the ditch, so no work is proposed beyond the original limit of work.
It was decided to give back some of the buffer zone even though the lawn does not extend beyond the original limit of work shown on the plan. Mr. Murley suggested that since the area is virtually flat there could be a line marked off the ditch. Mr. Brady drew a line 20' from the ditch which would be allowed to re-vegetate.
Mr. Murley said he thought at first that Mr. Brady had underestimated the resource, but it is, in fact, a ditch. He said he thinks it is a ditch which drained a wetland. He said it is a textbook for invasive species and not a very natural wetland. He said he doesn’t mind them mowing, but thinks there should not be any fertilizer used.
Deputy Gallagher commented on the wetland delineation on the plan. Ms. Williams said she would like to pull the wetland line up much more. Mr. Murley said he thinks the Commission would be very hard pressed to extend a Bordering Vegetated Wetland. He said that can’t be determined by the vegetation and he would have a hard time pushing for it because it’s almost 100% invasive species. He said that if you went in and obliterated all the invasive species there would be nothing left. He said he feels that eliminating 10' of the lawn and banning fertilizer use would be the way to go. He said he doesn’t think any planting will help the area.
Mr. Murley said that the “No Mow” zone should be delineated and the area could be augmented with native plantings.
Chairman Collins closed this hearing. Mr. Kelleher MOVED approval with Order of Conditions 1-18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 29, 33, 35, 37, 38 grass clippings southwest of the proposed addition shall be removed. Mr. Hoerle SECONDED the Motion.
SO VOTED UNANIMOUSLY.
Mr. Brady spoke to the Commissioners about the pier extension which they had approved for Dan Elliott a few weeks ago. He said that the Commission had ordered that the pile placing be reviewed with Officer Lind. He told the Commission that Mr. Elliott would like to have two permanent piles at the start of the float. He said that Mr. Elliott does all the work himself and it would be easier for him to put the pier in and take it out if he had the two permanent piles in place. He said he needs to submit a final plan so he was asking beforehand.
The Commissioners said they thought it would be OK, but Mr. Murley said to check with Officer Lind before doing the final plan.
There was no further business and Mr. Hoerle MOVED to adjourn at approximately
8:30 P.M. Mr. Kelleher SECONDED the Motion.
SO VOTED UNANIMOUSLY.
Respectfully Submitted,
Kay Stewart-Greeley,
Clerk
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