EASTHAM CONSERVATION COMMISSION
26 May 2009
MINUTES
PRESENT: Glenn Collins, David Hoerle, Dennis Murley, Steven LaBranche.
STAFF PRESENT: Deputy Natural Resource Officer Amy Usowski.
ALSO PRESENT: Sandra Larsen, Paul Pazniokas, Peter McDonald, Katelyn Siddell of East Cape Engineering, Inc., Stephanie Sequin of Ryder & Wilcox, Inc., Attorney Sarah Turano-Flores, Rocky Melchiorri, Kevin Melchiorri, David B. Lajoie of FELCO, Inc., Bob Perry of Cape Cod Engineering, Inc., Peter Rosen.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Mr. Collins MOVED and Mr. Hoerle SECONDED the Motion to approve the Minutes of 26 March 2009.
SO VOTED UNANIMOUSLY
After a few minor corrections, Mr. Hoerle MOVED and Mr. Collins SECONDED the Motion to approve the Minutes of 12 May 2009.
SO VOTED UNANIMOUSLY.
Deputy Usowski reviewed the Certificates of Compliance which were approved by the Commissioners for Russo, DEP SE 19-1228 and Mouchantat, DEP SE 19-1221, explaining that they should be full Certificates of Compliance with an ongoing condition and not Partial Certificates of Compliance.
7:15 P.M. Request for Determination of Applicability filed by Thomas J. & Susan B. Nally, 169 Sunset Avenue, Map 19, Parcel 052.
Chairman Murley announced this hearing. Stephanie Sequin of Ryder & Wilcox was present and explained the proposal to the Commissioners. She said this was previously approved under an RDA but when the well was installed in the approved location the sodium levels were so high they had to come up with a new plan and basically, the well and septic system locations switched.
Deputy Usowski said she had no problems with this proposal. She said the area is very flat and a silt fence will be fine for the Limit of Work. She said the area is greater than 70' from the Flood Zone. She said that going from a cesspool to a Title 5 Septic System is a good thing.
After brief discussion, Mr. Hoerle MOVED and Mr. LaBranche SECONDED the Motion to approve this project with a Negative Determination for Reason #3.
SO VOTED UNANIMOUSLY.
7:30 P.M. Notice of Intent filed by Paul Pazniokas & Phyllis A. Mondelli, 50 Bay Shore Lane, Map 13, Parcel 136E.
Chairman Murley announced this hearing. Katelyn Siddell of East Cape Engineering, Inc. was present for the Applicants along with Mr. Pazniokas and Peter McDonald the architect for the project. She explained the proposal to the Commission to construct an addition, construct a deck and some remodeling at the above-referenced property. She said that all work will take place within the 100' Buffer to the Coastal Bank.
Deputy Usowski said it is her understanding that this proposal will have to be approved by a number of other boards before it actually takes place. She said she feels that the Limit of Work can be pulled tighter and since there is already an existing footpath, instead of creating a new footpath could they keep the existing footpath and skirt it against the building. Ms. Siddell said that this could be done. Deputy Usowski said that if anything on the plan changes during Site Plan Review, it would need to come back before the Conservation Commission for review.
There was discussion about whether or not there should be a full foundation under the new addition, re-vegetation, establishment of a “No Mow” Zone, and the size of the deck. The architect suggested changes to the size of the deck so that the proposed deck doesn’t reach any farther into the 50' than the existing deck. This change was acceptable to the Commission. It was also agreed that there would be a 4' foundation rather than a full foundation under the new addition, that the Limit of Work would be tucked tight to the proposed deck on the southwest side, that the work limit on the North side is all but eliminated and the footpath has been re-configured, a 30' “No Mow” Zone will be established following the original Limit of Work line, and the deck has been shortened and a corner cut off.
There was no further discussion and Chairman Murley closed this hearing. Mr. Collins MOVED and Mr. LaBranche SECONDED the Motion to approve the proposal with Order of Conditions 1-18, 19, 20, 21, 22 4' around the west side of the building, 23, 26, 29, 32, 33, 35, 37 a “No Mow” Zone shall be established at approximately 32' from the Top of the Coastal Bank, 38 the foundation for the new addition shall be 4' in depth, 39 all work is to be staged from the existing driveway.
SO VOTED UNANIMOUSLY.
8:10 P.M. Continuation of Hearing on Notice of Intent filed by David White, 485 Bridge Road, Map 20, Parcel 072A.
Chairman Murley announced this hearing. David Lajoie of FELCO, Inc. was once again present for the Applicant. Ms. Williams said she could not hear this proposal because she had missed more than two hearings on the matter. Mr. Lajoie said he had no problem with everyone voting as they have all been brought up to speed on the matter and what has transpired previously.
Mr. Lajoie explained that the plan has been revised so that essentially all of the work is outside of the A.C.E.C. boundary. He said that for the proposed dwelling with a garage the access would be from Bridge Road coming in the Southeast corner of the lot, across the neighbors property, down to the Southeast corner of the property to where the proposed leach area would be, into the garage with a backing up area to the South. He said the leach area has been modified to be a raised leach area with a containment wall, so they will be filling on the South side of the property outside the A.C.E.C. He said that they wrapped the deck around and the house is faced to the North. Mr. Lajoie showed the Commissioners drawings of the proposed house location.
Deputy Usowski thanked Mr. Lajoie for addressing the concerns of the Commission. She reviewed the dimensions with Mr. Lajoie and said this is an improvement over the previous plans.
Mr. Collins said he thinks the proposal has come a long way since the last few hearings and commended the Applicant for that. He questioned the location of the proposed well and Mr. Lajoie said that they could consider relocating it.
Brief discussion followed about the deck, the well, and the establishment of a “No Mow” Zone, after which Chairman Murley closed this hearing.
Mr. Hoerle MOVED and Mr. Collins SECONDED the Motion to approve this project with Order of Conditions 1-18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 32, 33 covered container within the proposed driveway, 35, 37 50' from the Top of the Bank, 38 the deck shall be cantilevered with no sono tubes within the A.C.E.C.
SO VOTED UNANIMOUSLY.
At this time there was a 5-minute break.
8:40 P.M. Continuation of Hearing on Notice of Intent filed by Silvano & Lillian Melchiorri, 1140 Kingsbury Beach Road, Map 10, Parcel 332.
Chairman Murley announced this hearing. Bob Perry of Cape Cod Engineering, Inc., and Attorney Sarah Turano-Flores, and Coastal Geologist Peter Rosen were present for the Applicant. Chairman Murley announced that Mr. LaBranche, Ms. Giovinazzo, and Ms. Williams were not present for the previous hearing, but had received and reviewed the Minutes. Attorney Turano-Flores told the Commission there is a state statute that says that if a Commissioner misses a meeting, they can review the Minutes and sign and Affidavit which is filed with the clerk, then they can sit on the hearing. She said that those are the statutory pre-requisites and if the Town of Eastham has not adopted that she doesn’t want to create a procedural problem. She said that if there was a quorum without those members she would prefer to stick with
that quorum. It was agreed that Mr. Murley, Mr. Hoerle, Mr. Collins, and Mr. Smith would be the adjudicating members.
Attorney Turano-Flores reviewed the concerns of the Commission. She said the first two, the work limit and the driveway size were revised to tighten the work limit and narrowing the proposed driveway to 20' with a walkway leading to the stairs rather than having the driveway the full width of the dwelling.
She said another concern raised by Deputy Usowski was that there was no written environmental assessment relative to how the dune on this property would react in the long run to this dwelling on pilings and that Dr. Rosen had submitted a narrative to the Commission concerning this. She said that in addition, Chairman Murley reminded them of a 1995 Regulation which contains outright prohibition of any leaching component within 100' of a resource area as defined by the Wetlands Protection Act.
She said she reviewed here files of the Gedrich case and went to the Barnstable Superior Court and obtained a copy of the 1998 decision invalidating that bylaw and remanding the case back to the Commission for consideration without application of that bylaw.
Ms. Turano-Flores said that Don Poole has submitted written confirmation relative to the datum that he used for the elevations shown on this plan. She said that a detailed Construction Protocol has been submitted. She said they have submitted confirmation that the project will meet Zoning regulations and that it meets setbacks and the height limitation of 30'. She said that this project meets the Performance Standards criteria for new dwelling and that Dr. Rosen’s report amplifies the reasoning that they presented at the last meeting that this construction won’t adversely impact the Coastal Dune. She said that the approval of this project will not set a precedent as there is another home with a retaining wall bulkhead to the front and roads on both sides so it’s function has been greatly compromised
and that the location of the house in this case makes it very improbable that a precedent should be set should the Commission approve this proposal.
Dr. Rosen presented his environmental assessment and Mr. Perry detailed the Construction Protocol for the Commission.
Deputy Usowski presented her concerns about the Performance Standards and altering a resource and the elevation of the proposed dwelling. Mr. Perry said it will not be in any way detrimental to the owners or to the dune.
There was discussion about the placement of gravel under the house, the placement of the snow-drift fence segments, and the existing, informal beach access pathway. There was no further discussion and Chairman Murley closed this hearing.
Mr. Collins MOVED and Mr. Hoerle~SECONDED the Motion to approve this proposal with Order of Conditions 1-18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 Shell is preferred, but natural gravel may be used if necessary after approval of the Natural Resource Officer, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 33 as outlined in the submitted Work Protocol, 35, 38 Shell shall be placed underneath the dwelling, 39 Signage shall be placed on the existing access pathway saying that the access is closed during vegetative management until vegetation is established, 40 Construction Protocol submitted on 19 May 2009 shall be followed.
SO VOTED UNANIMOUSLY.
9:35 P.M. Continuation of Hearing on Notice of Intent filed by Town of Eastham, 0 Salt Works Road, Map 04, Parcel 009.
Chairman Murley announced this hearing. Neal Andres, Eastham DPW Superintendent, was present and explained the proposal to construct a public-access stairway at the above property. He said the existing location works very well. He said that the bottom of the stairs wash out every Winter and it’s a safety hazard. He said they would put a little platform in to where the dune erodes to each year and then in the Winter they would take the stairs away and put a sand-drift fence across to block the wind. He said that in the Spring it’s a lot easier to put it back, take the fence down, and it’s open.
There was brief discussion about the Town paying for these stairs and Mr. Andres said the Massasoit Hills Homeowners’ Association had tried to do the job but it is on Town property and the Town would be liable for any injuries due to unsafe conditions, so it’s better for the Town to do the job correctly. Mr. Andres told the Commissioners when the sand-drift fence would be installed and removed and the stair put back in place.
There was no further discussion and Chairman Murley closed this hearing. Ms. Williams MOVED and Mr. Hoerle SECONDED the Motion to approve this project with Order of Conditions 1-18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 29, 30, 33, 35.
SO VOTED UNANIMOUSLY.
9:55 P.M. Request for Extension, Levine DEP SE 19-123, 2 Campground Road, Map 07, Parcel 322.
Deputy Usowski reviewed this request with the Commissioners. Ms. Williams MOVED and Mr. LaBranche SECONDED the Motion to grant a three-year Extension for DEP
SE 19-123.
SO VOTED UNANIMOUSLY.
10:00 P.M. Adao, DEP SE 19-1333, 125 & 155 McKoy Road, Map 11 & 8, Parcels 359A and 295A.
Deputy Usowski reviewed this file with the Commissioners. Mr. Adao was required to file a Notice of Intent ro re-plant within the 100' Buffer Zone to Krogman’s Pond after cutting around 40 trees in violation of the Wetlands Protection Act, the Eastham Wetlands Protection Bylaw and a Conservation Restriction on the property. Mr. Adao was required to re-plant by May 15th. This has not been accomplished.
Chairman Murley read a letter from Mr. Adao requesting a two-year extension on the planting to financial problems. Deputy Usowski said that when she spoke with Mr. Adao he requested a one-year Extension and then when she received the fax he requested a two-year Extension. She said she spoke with Mark Robinson of the Compact of Conservation Trusts and Henry Lind, who is the President of the Eastham Conservation Foundation. She said they understand it might be a financially difficult time; but, Mr. Adao is responsible for this property. She said that she and Mark Robinson thought a way to still get something done on a time line is to require 10 to be planted now, 10 to be planted in the Fall, etc., so as not to be a financial burden to him and still get it done. She said that her fear is that he will try sell the
property even though there is a lien on it and no planting will get done at all.
Discussion followed and it was agreed that he should be required to plant a minimum number of plants right away as this is the planting season and if he does not comply he should be fined again. Then, 10 plants should be planted in the Fall of ‘09, 10 in the Spring of 2010, and 10 in the Fall of 2010.
10:06 P.M. Deputy Usowski told the Commission that there is trap rock on the Beach
by the Driscoll property on Harmes Way. She said it was supposed to be taken care of. She said Mr. Driscoll wants to nourish now which is outside of the nourishment window and there are Plovers on the beach to the North of there. The Town does not allow any work on the beaches after April 15th so if they were to allow Mr. Driscoll to nourish it would be setting a precedent. She said she hasn’t yet spoken to Bob Prescott of the Audubon who is an abutter.
Mr. Smith said the easiest way to remove the trap rock is by hand. He said that Mr. Driscoll has not expressed a great deal of ambition as far as doing this previously. It was agreed that nourishment should not be done at this time but that the trap rock should be removed.
There was no further business and Mr. Smith MOVED to adjourn at approximately
10:15 P.M. Mr. Hoerle SECONDED the Motion
SO VOTED UNANIMOUSLY.
Respectfully submitted.
Kay Stewart-Greeley,
Clerk
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Town Clerk Planning Board
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