Minutes of Meeting
July 17, 2014
To: Town Clerk
cc: Members
File
Present: J. Livingstone, D. Gill, P. Harrington, S. Younis, R. Pendkar, George Russell, Conservation Agent
Election of Officers
The election of officers has been postponed until the meeting on August 28th 2014.
There was some discussion regarding the Rules and Regulations and whether they should be revised. There will be a public hearing for the change of rules on August 28th and directly afterward there will be the Election of Officers.
There was a motion made by Steve Younis on holding a public hearing on changes to the rules and regulations for the next meeting on August 28th. The motion was seconded by Ravi Pendkar and accepted with a vote of 5-0-0.
Mr. George Russell’s Agent’s Report has been appended to the minutes.
Public Hearing - Notice of Intent – Camp Haiastan – 722 Summer Street - CE159-1066
Mr. Donald Nielsen, Engineer of Guerriere & Halnon, appeared before the Commission for the upgrade of the septic system.
Mr. Nielsen gave the Commission a detailed overview of the plans for the project. There is riverfront located on the site; i.e., Uncas Brook.
The Commission Chairman questioned if the plans were changed after Mr. Russell’s letter dated June 18th. Mr. Nielsen stated that there were some minor changes made and will return with a complete revised set of plans.
Mr. Russell stated that his concerns are the erosion control barrier details must be changed, requested that the 100 ft. buffer from the bank of Uncas Pond be shown to make sure there is no taking place in the jurisdictional area, and the Town Engineer has comments which will require additional modifications to the plan.
Mr. Russell stated that the Town Engineer also recommends that there will need to be a construction inspector on site when the force main is installed under the culvert and that will have to be a stipulation of approval.
Finally, Mr. Russell stated that he does not approve of a plan denoting year 4 & 5 on it. Mr.
Nielsen stated the Board of Health has issues with the site as well and this is the reason for this denotation.
The Chairman pointed out some issues that need to be addressed on the plans regarding the erosion control barriers.
Mr. Russell recommended that a double row of filter mitts be used on the site for erosion control barriers.
Mr. Mike Bedarian, Board of Directors for Camp Haiastan, appeared at tonight’s meeting and inquired about Commission and Board of Health comments and how they coordinate with each other.
The Commission Chairman stated that Mr. Russell will coordinate these matters.
There was a motion made by Paul Harrington to continue the Camp Haiastan public hearing until July 31st. The motion was seconded by Dayna Gill and accepted with a vote of 5-0-0.
Public Hearing - Notice of Intent – Map 233, Lot 4 Lincoln Street - CE159-1067
Mr. Garrett Tunison, a representative of Tunison Diaz, appeared before the Commission for the installation of utility services on Lincoln Street. He stated that there are 2 resource areas located adjacent to the pond on the site. There is also BVW located on the opposite side of Lincoln Street as well as bank.
Mr. Tunison gave the Commission a detailed overview of the plans for the project. There are 3 resource areas located in this area of work. There will be 4,010 sq. ft. of buffer zone temporarily disturbed during this work. There will be an additional line of silt sock placed along the erosion control barriers. There will be no change in grading.
Mr. Russell stated that he would request the following stipulations be added to the permit for this project. They are #21 through 34, 38 & 46.
Mr. Tunison informed the Commission that he has revised the plans to depict the silt sock for erosion control purposes.
There was a motion made by Dayna Gill to close the hearing for Lot 4 Lincoln Street. The motion was seconded by Paul Harrington and accepted with a vote of 5-0-0.
There was a motion made by Dayna Gill to approve the NOI for Lot 4 Lincoln Street, Harvard Building Corp with the stipulations added 21 through 34, 38 & 46. The motion was seconded by Ravi Pendkar and accepted with a vote of 5-0-0.
Public Hearing – Amendment Request – 14 Garnet Drive – Saidha - CE159-1057
Mr. Virat Saidha, the applicant, appeared before the Commission for an amendment to the existing Orders of Conditions for addition of lawn and removal of retaining wall.
Mr. Saidha is submitting some additional material requested from the Commission at the last meeting. Mr. Russell had requested that the engineer certify that the slopes will remain intact and the changes would not affect the drainage.
The backyard was requested to be extended and the area of disturbance was requested from the Commission at the last meeting. Mr. Saidha gave the Commission all of the square footage areas of disturbance for this site and they are depicted on the plans.
Mr. Saidha also stated that the Commission had requested the number of trees to be removed and these are also depicted on the plans. The location of 4 proposed trees to be replanted are depicted on the plans along the boundary.
There are 25 trees proposed to be removed within the 100 ft. buffer zone.
The Chairman asked the applicant what is his proposed mitigation plan for the site.
The applicant was unaware that he needed to provide further mitigation for the work. The Commission members gave the applicant a description of what an acceptable mitigation plan would entail.
There was a motion made by Steve Younis to continue the 14 Garnet Drive public hearing until July 31st. The motion was seconded by Paul Harrington and accepted with a vote of 5-0-0.
Public Hearing – Amendment Request – Villages at Oak Hill – 1000 Washington Street - SE159-739
Mr. Erik Bazzett, Engineer of Heritage Design, and Mr. Bruce Wheeler of Habitat Homes, the new owner and applicant, both appeared before the Commission for changes to the buildings and parking.
Mr. Russell, Conservation Agent, recommended to the Commission that the public hearing not be closed as there are significant non-compliance issues.
Mr. Bazzett gave the Commission a detailed overview of the changes to the plans which were presented at the last public hearing.
Mr. Bazzett stated that he spoke to Art Allen of Eco-Tec, the Wetland Scientist, for the project regarding the reports on the mitigation areas established. The last report submitted to the Commission was in 2006 and Mr. Allen informed him that he was performing the inspections through 2011 for the previous owners. Mr. Bazzett will compile all of the missing reports and submit them all together to the Commission.
Mr. Russell informed the Commission that he has not yet had an opportunity to review the revised plans.
This project is being presented to the Planning Board at their meeting on July 21st.
The Commission Chairman informed the applicant that the Commission wants to see what the Planning Board’s decision is regarding this project, would like to see that the compliance reports are all in order to resolve the compliance issue and move forward with reviewing the final site plans.
Mr. Bruce Wheeler, a representative of Franklin Mews, appeared at tonight’s meeting and stated that the reports are being forwarded to them. The Commission Chairman informed Mr. Wheeler that Mr. Russell needs an opportunity to review the above-mentioned missing reports.
Mr. Samuel Oppenheim of 12 Vando Way, a resident of the property, appeared at tonight’s meeting and expressed concerns regarding the missing reports from the wetland scientist.
Mr. Willam Blimmel of 12 Cassandra Avenue, a resident of the property, questioned as to what are the missing reports regarding. Mr. Russell gave him an overview of the subject matter of these reports.
Mr. Tony DaSilva of 34 Cassandra Avenue, a resident of the property, stated that there is significant stormwater runoff and is presenting a problem for some of the residents.
There was a motion made by Steve Younis to continue the hearing until July 31st. The motion was seconded by Ravi Pendkar and accepted with a vote of 5-0-0.
GENERAL BUSINESS
Certificate of Compliance: 711 Lincoln Street - CE159-912
Mr. Russell stated that he has inspected the property and the silt fencing is completely buried by lawn. The comments regarding the grass clippings have been addressed. Mr. Russell suggested to the Commission that they release the Orders of Conditions subject to the removing of the silt fencing and the applicant will not receive the COC until this has been done.
There was a motion made by Ravi Pendkar to issue a Certificate of Compliance for 711 Lincoln Street with the stipulation that the COC be released once the silt fence has been removed and verified by Mr. Russell. The motion was seconded by Paul Harrington and accepted with a vote of 5-0-0.
Certificate of Compliance: 656 King Street (Partial) - CE159-1029
Mr. Russell informed the Commission that the developer has not yet removed the silt fencing on the site and it is being buried in the vegetation. He does not recommend the Commission issue a partial release of the Orders of Conditions.
Mr. Donald Nielsen, Engineer of Guerriere & Halnon, and Ms. Karon Skinner Catrone, Wetland Scientist, both appeared before the Commission to address the issues at this site.
Mr. Nielsen stated that he has submitted a planting plan for the replication area and provided the Commission with a general overview of the plantings.
Mr. Nielsen stated that the silt fence will be removed within 2 weeks.
There was a motion made by Steve Younis to accept the wetlands consultant’s letter for 656 King Street and proposed plantings. The motion was seconded by Dayna Gill and accepted with a vote of 5-0-0.
There was a motion made by Steve Younis to continue the Certificate of Compliance requirements for 656 King Street until the July 31st meeting. The motion was seconded by Paul Harrington and accepted with a vote of 5-0-0.
Certificate of Compliance: Lot 188, 14 Eisenhower Drive - SE159-661
Mr. Russell informed the Commission that the Certificate of Compliance that was originally issued for this site did not reference the lots and it was much too costly for the applicant to file it at the Land Court. This is a reissuance of the COC and is lot specific.
There was a motion made by Ravi Pendkar to issue a Certificate of Compliance for Lot 188, 14 Eisenhower Drive. The motion was seconded by Dayna Gill and accepted with a vote of 5-0-0.
Certificate of Compliance: 5 Alexandria Drive - CE159-1046
Mr. Russell stated that he has inspected this site and it is in compliance and recommends the issuance of the COC.
There was a motion made by Dayna Gill for the issuance of the Certificate of Compliance for 5 Alexandria Drive. The motion was seconded by Ravi Pendkar and accepted with a vote of 5-0-0.
Discussion: Annual Report
There was a discussion among the Commission regarding the Annual Report. A discussion ensued regarding some minor changes and Mr. Russell will make the 2 changes requested by the Commission.
Discussion: Bench Policy
There was a discussion among the Commission members regarding some changes recommended by the Town Attorney to this policy.
There was a motion made by Dayna Gill to accept the amended bench policy. The motion was seconded by Paul Harrington and accepted with a vote of 5-0-0.
Minutes:
There was a motion made by Paul Harrington to accept the minutes of the June 26th meeting. The motion was seconded by Ravi Pendkar and accepted with a vote of 4-0-1; 4 Yes, 0 No,
1 Abstention.
Violation: 860 West Central Street
Mr. Leonard French, appeared before the Commission to address a violation at this site. There was an Enforcement Order sent out by Mr. Russell regarding the sewer overflow from a manhole. It is in close proximity to Mine Brook. There was a requirement for restoration of the site and the filing of an NOI to address a permanent solution to the problem.
Mr. Russell provided the Commission with background information regarding the Enforcement Order for this site and how it could be remediated.
Mr. French stated that he believes that the backing up of the manhole is coming from the restaurant across the street from his site.
Mr. Russell stated that the issue is coming from the Incontro Restaurant to the one manhole uphill of the other three 3 manholes.
The Commission Chairman stated that the matter at hand must be fixed. If it can be fixed as an internal problem, there is no requirement for the applicant to file an NOI. If it cannot be fixed internally, then the applicant is required to file an NOI in order to do the work.
The building inspector would like to have all concerned parties have a meeting to address the problem at hand and how to proceed in remediating the problem.
The Chairman stated that we would like to have George Russell attend this meeting to address the problem and find out how to repair the problem. The Chairman stated that the Commission will hold the enforcement matter in place until we find out what needs to be done.
There was a motion made by Steve Younis to extend the Enforcement Order for 860 West Central Street until the August 28th meeting. The motion was seconded by Ravi Pendkar and accepted with a vote of 5-0-0.
Violation: Wachusett Street
Mr. Mark Bulen, a resident of 20 Wachusett Street, appeared before the Commission to address a violation of removing some stones in the brook between 20 Wachusett Street and the neighboring property.
Mr. Bulen submitted a restoration plan in a letter and Mr. Russell recommended that the Commission approve of Mr. Bulen performing the work as outlined in his restoration plan.
There was a motion made by Dayna Gill to approve the restoration plan detailed in the letter as dated as received by the Conservation Commission on July 9th. The motion was seconded by Steve Younis and accepted with a vote of 5-0-0.
Comments:
The Commission members conducted an interview of a prospective new Conservation member, Scott McLean, who would like to become a member of the Commission. Mr. McLean is an attorney and would be a great asset to the Commission.
There was a motion made by Paul Harrington to recommend Scott McLean’s appointment to the Conservation Commission. The motion was seconded by Dayna Gill and accepted with a vote of
5-0-0.
Signed Certificates of Compliance & Orders of Conditions
Certificate of Compliance – 5 Alexandria Drive – Tanner - CE159-1046
Certificate of Compliance – 14 Eisenhower Drive - SE159-661
Orders of Conditions – Lincoln Street Utilities – Harvard Bldg. – CE159-1067
Certificate of Compliance – 711 Lincoln Street – King’s Lane RT - SE159-912
There was a motion made by Dayna Gill to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by Steve Younis and accepted with a vote of 5-0-0.
The meeting adjourned at 9:45 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Kathleen Celorier
Conservation Secretary
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