CONSERVATION COMMISSION
TOWN OF GROVELAND
183 MAIN STREET
GROVELAND, MA 01834
(978) 374-1863 FAX (978) 372-6105
September 21, 2005
Present: M. Dempsey, T. Grim, J. Stewart, T. Schaefer, S. Benanti
ConCom Business - Signatures for 752 Salem St. septic system.
Meeting opened at 7:17 pm.
178 Main Street - GRDA
Present: Kevin Desmond. GRDA for an addition. All paperwork submitted. Mr. Desmond has wetlands in backyard. M. Dempsey asked Mr. Desmond to call the ConCom office by the end of October for the status of the project. T. Grim made a motion to approve the GRDA within the 100’ buffer with the provision that of a row of hay bales be placed 50’ from the back of the house between house and wetlands, and that the ConCom review this October 24th (Mr. Desmond will come in that Monday night to give a status report) to discuss any further action needs to be taken regarding the winter construction restriction. M. Dempsey 2nd. All in favor. Unanimous. Hearing ended 7:35 pm.
Veasey Park - The office at Veasey Park will not be ready until November 1st (tentatively) because of heat installation.
166 Main St - GNOI/NOI - Hearing opened 8:01 pm
Present: J. McComiskie, 166 Main St.; Mary Clisbee, 170 Main St., rear; Jonathan Moll, 170 Main St., rear; John Barranco, 170 Main St., rear; Richard B. Johnson, 170 Main St.; Joseph Campbell, 17 Balch Ave.; Jason Krisiak, 14 Balch Ave.; Florence Schacht, 12 Balch Ave.
J. McComiskie submitted green cards and tear sheets. GNOI/NOI for his property at 166 Main St. J. McComiskie intended to clean and remove debris from the property and to bring the property back up to existing street grade and bring in clean fill and establish a lawn. In May, 2005, this property was brought to ConCom’s attention. ConCom had site visits, and had the applicant stop work. ConCom then issued an Emergency Order to fill the property back in and re-grade it. ConCom asked him to stay out of 25’ buffer from the stream that’s behind the property. J. McComiskie then filed an NOI at ConCom‘s request.
M. Dempsey asked J. McComiskie what his intentions were from the beginning and to describe the project. J. McComiskie said the project is going to be green lawn filled to street level so that water does not run off of it. M. Dempsey asked him if he met the plan that Mr. Hancock drew up. J. McComiskie said with the exception of planting trees (six 4-5’ trees and eighteen 3-4’ shrubs at the rear of the property) and grass, the project is complete. T. Schaefer asked if the excavation was done. J. McComiskie said yes. J. McComiskie said the water is shut off to the house at the moment, so there is no watering facilities. He said the heating system is junk. T. Grim pointed out that in addition to the trees, there was to be restoration of wildflower seed mix that
was specified.
Jason Krisiak, 14 Balch Ave., asked if the home has a historical value to the town? T. Grim said that’s outside the scope of this Conservation hearing.
Richard Johnson said it was a swamp that got filled in. He said the swamp is drying up, and that it’s nice to not have mosquitoes. He feels it’s improved, but that it was done contrary to regulations. He wants to know what ultimate plan of the property is? T. Grim pointed out the scope of this meeting is entirely conservation/ wetlands related. He said the purpose of building is more a zoning hearing than wetlands. J. McComiskie said he is still on hold as to what he’s going to do with the property. He said it is zoned for business.
M. Dempsey pointed out for the record that J. McComiskie is not filing with ConCom to do anything with the house. He’s only filing to clean the backyard and grading the backyard. He’s not required to say anything he’s not coming before this board for.
John Moll, Attorney from Seyfarth Shaw, said M. Clisbee has been an abutter for 16 years and is shocked at what has occurred. Not the end result, but that no permit was issued in order to fill a portion of the land adjacent to the stream in the no-build zone. He’s trying to determine the extent of the permission that was given.
An abutter asked for clarification of when a permit is required. M. Dempsey said a permit is needed when you’re within 100’ of wetlands or 200’ from a river. M. Dempsey said for the record, we have no record of a permit being issued for 166 Main St. John McComiskie said he has a paper that’s signed. M. Dempsey explained that that’s not a permit.
S. Benanti remembers that on a Monday night, J. McComiskie asking permission to remove the tires and debris from that particular area. T. Schaefer remembers that it was to be by hand, removing the tires. S. Benanti said that ConCom’s understanding was that that’s all that was going to happen, tires, debris coming out. But then it was done in a different manner with machinery, etc. That’s why he’s filing now and the Emergency Order was given. T. Grim said he heard that he was taking washing machine out, the rusting drums, and the tires, and that it sounded like a good idea and good for the wetlands. Wetlands are not supposed to be filled in.
M. Clisbee has concerns with the amount of trees and canopies and vegetation that were taken down. T. Grim said ConCom has restrictions on what percentage of canopy that can be removed. M. Clisbee said 100% of it was removed and all the vegetation that was underneath it. She also said with the canopy and vegetation gone, at what point are you delineating wetlands from BVW from buildable or usable property. She said you can see where the stream bed is, but you don’t know how far north the vegetation was lost.
M. Dempsey said ConCom had asked Mr. McComiskie to hire a wetland scientist which he did. He looked at it and determined where (interrupted). Jonathan Moll said the engineer was hired after property was filled in and there’s no way to tell.
Richard Johnson has photos from when J. McComiskie dug out the topsoil and before he added the fill and it immediately flooded. A pond was created and he has a photo with 2 ducks in the pond. There is a problem with high water table.
Jonathan Moll said nothing‘s been done to establish the historical extent of the wetlands was. Someone answered polluted. Jonathan Moll said that the vegetation that’s been proposed for installation is tiny compared to what was taken out. There were mature trees based on pictures were 50’ or more in height. The applicant is proposing to install of handful of 4’ to 5’ trees. He said allowing him to do so creates an incentive for anyone who wants to fill wetlands, because the cost is small compared.
T. Grim said we have received a proposal for the number, kind, size of trees, etc., but that’s by no means taken by the Commission as what we want for a final disposition of this. He wants to hear from the abutters as to a reasonable resolution.
J. Moll said his clients aren‘t looking to be punitive. He said it‘s difficult to determine what the true extent of wetland was without testing the soil. On top of the destruction of wetlands, the grade has created problems to his client’s property. When it rains, the soil comes under the fence onto their property. The grade was much lower historically than it is now. He questions the extent to which the Commission is going to enforce the bylaw. He said there is additional concern raised regarding what was stored on property; cars, auto parts, and whether there has been contamination of the property. Whether the soil and/or ground is contaminated. He hopes that the Commission requires the applicant to restore the property as close as it was before, as
opposed to putting in a few small trees and allowing him to profit by action he took.
Abutter said it was simple, come in, violate the rules, take the wetlands, fill it in and make a buildable lot. Another amount of buildable space, ie lawn is there. It’s the creation of a buildable lot by the destruction of a wetland and the taking down of numerous huge trees. Someone who violates ConCom’s rules shouldn’t prosper and benefit from that so that it’s a buildable lot. All of this was avoidable. He said there were cars with gas tanks leaking. And a few years ago, there was water right up to the back of that house, completely flooded. T. Grim asked if it was in 1996 when there was a 13“ rainstorm? T. Grim said presumably it won’t happen again. M. Clisbee said the storm project drained the property for the water that runs
toward the center of town. She said what floods them is the water that runs in the opposite direction.
John McComiskie said he’s lived here for 49 years and played in that backyard. He said there was a swing set where they claim the swamp was. It had a lot of rotted weeping willows, five feet deep. Beaver dam caused the water build up. He said they put a three foot berm on both sides of the brook. From that point on, the water couldn’t drain in the brook. He said he brought it to a level grade and that it’s lower than Mary Clisbee‘s. He said there is a telephone pole preventing the drainage with a berm appx. 8” high, and when it rains, the mud backs up into her property.
M. Clisbee said she disagrees, and that the grade of the property is significantly higher than it was before. She said the soil was pushed back to the back of the property, then truckloads of fill were brought in, and brought up to the grade of the street. She said the property wasn’t at street level.
Richard Johnson said he took pictures after a rain storm and that the topsoil ran into her driveway. He said the pictures show big pools of mud because his land is higher than her driveway. J. McComiskie said it is because of the telephone pole.
An abutter said one 6” telephone pole is not making a flood. He said he suspects appx. 2 ½ - 3 feet of fill and counted appx. 15 trucks coming in there. He wants to establish the depth of the fill. He wants to know the remedy of this.
J. McComiskie added that he owns 250’ from the street to the brook. He asked at what footage the control is. 100’ from the wetlands. T. Grim added that if grading work, etc., is done that affects the wetlands, if you cause mud to erode, etc. T. Grim said we need to focus on these three issues: grading, replanting of trees, and potential soil and groundwater contamination issues. He said if storm water is draining not near the wetlands, but onto her driveway, it’s outside ConCom’s jurisdiction.
M. Clisbee questioned the establishment of line where wetlands stops. M. Dempsey read from Hancock Associates letter, “the intermittent stream is the northern extent of resource area.” M. Dempsey said a scientist can determine where the wetlands end regardless of what’s been done to it. He said ConCom is basing their decision on that.
J. Stewart said even at best, where that stream is now, there is a 200’ buffer zone to that brook, 100’ on one side, and 100’ on the other.
This project is still awaiting a DEP case #.
John McComiskie presented his signed written permission. M. Dempsey explained that it was not a permit. He was given permission to clean and renovate. There was nothing about cutting, plowing, filling, etc. M. Dempsey pointed out that as soon as he started that, ConCom was at the site asking him what was going on and to stop what he was doing.
J. Moll requested the applicant to spread some hay along the property line to stabilize it to stop the run-off. T. Grim said staked bales of hay will help stop run-off. T. Grim said it’s not within our jurisdiction, but it would be a reasonable thing to do. J. McComiskie offered to take a bulldozer to rectify the problem. Commissioners all said, no, that is not our request. As a Groveland citizen, he recommends putting hay bales between the abutting property.
This hearing has been continued until October 5th, 8:30 pm continued hearing date.
Hearing closed 8:50 pm.
461 Main St. - RDA - Hearing opened 8:54 pm.
Present: Alex and Andrea Johnson. They submitted a “Plan for back-yard clean up” and a hand-drawn map of their home and barn. The barn was torn down and fell leaving a lot of debris. M. Dempsey asked them to put the hay bales at limit of work and buffer. They discussed the lot and wetlands. No change of grade. Commissioners drew on map where hay bales should be placed. He was told not to change the grade and not to bring fill in. He needs to have a Commissioner come look at the site once the hay bales are in. T. Schaefer asked him that if he needs to use a backhoe, to use the smallest type. They will call T. Grim when hay bales are in. They can call in the spring to see if they hay bales can be removed. M. Dempsey will
issue a letter detailing these requirements. M. Dempsey made a motion to accept the plan for back-yard cleanup with the above-mentioned conditions. T. Grim 2nd. All in favor. Unanimous. Hearing closed 9:12 pm.
S. Benanti made a motion to close the meeting. T. Schaefer 2nd. All in favor. Unanimous.
Meeting closed at 9:19 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Lori Felch
Administrative Consultant
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