Conservation Commission
Minutes of July 28, 2011
Public Hearings
Mashpee Town Hall - Conference Room 1
Commissioners: Vice Chairman Ralph Shaw, Brad Sweet, Mark Gurnee, John Rogers, Patty Jalowy
Staff Present: Drew McManus (Conservation Agent) and Kris Carpenter (Administrative Secretary)
Call Meeting To Order: 6:55 pm
Pre/Post Hearing Agenda:
- Minutes: Approval of the following minutes: June 30, 2011
John Rogers suggests changing the wording on page three. Agent McManus also recommends a revision.
Motion made, seconded and unanimously carried to approve the minutes of June 30, 2011 as amended.
- MACC memberships have been renewed for the upcoming year and Ms. Jalowy has been added. Agent McManus states that the MACC is a great organization in which they provide many opportunities to learn more about wetlands and resource protection. MACC has two conferences a year.
- Quashnet Restoration Committee- membership update: There are now four individuals that are interested in serving on the Commission. They are all members of Trout Unlimited and the Agent would like to have a little more diversity. All four members are knowledgeable about the area and the ecosystem. The Agent will reach out to the Mashpee Environmental Coalition to see if there is any interest.
HEARINGS
7:00 David Parsons (229 Hooppole Road) Prune six trees - RDA
Resource Area: Buffer Zone to Pond Front (Johns Pond)
Material submitted: 1992 Plan Accompanying Petition 7/6/11 Owner
Dave Parsons is requesting the ability to prune some branches that are hanging over his house and also, after an onsite visit from Agent McManus, it was recommended to remove one of the trees that appeared to be unstable and diseased. Mr. Parsons also corrects for the record that there are only five trees and he was mistaken when he submitted the application for six to be pruned. The tree recommended to be removed is one of the trees that he would like to prune. The Agent states that he will follow up with an inspection after the project is complete.
Motion made, seconded and unanimously carried for a Negative Determination
7:03 Richard Miller (44 Little Neck Lane) ATF – Add/tie on jet ski float to existing dock - RDA
Resource Area: Land Under Ocean
Material submitted: Plot Plan (hand drawn) Dock & Float 7/7/11 Owner
Rich Miller is requesting a permit for his duel jet-ski dock. Agent McManus states that this is an “after-the-fact” application. The performance standards would allow for a jet-ski float attachment but it is a requirement to come before Conscom for any changes to the records on file. The Harbor Master has reviewed the application and has no comment.
Motion made, seconded and unanimously carried for a Negative Determination
7:06 Thomas Sadlemire (62 Cayuga Ave) Upgrade septic system to Title V – RDA Cont’d to 8/11/11@ 7:12pm
Resource Area:
Material submitted:
A continuance is requested by the applicant.
Motion made, seconded and unanimously carried to continue to August 11, 2011 at 7:12pm
7:09 John Rogers (39 Popponesset Island Road) Construct an addition over an existing deck - RDA Cont’d from 7/14/11
Resource Area: Land Subject to Coastal Storm Flow
Material submitted: Plan of Land 6/21/11 Cape & Islands Engineering
John Rogers recluses himself from this project presentation.
John Slavinski from Cape & Islands Engineering is representing the homeowner and explains that they would like to add a 6’ x 19.8’ addition most of which is over an existing deck. The dwelling is away from any wetlands but is within the flood zone. They will require one additional sonotube on the north-westerly corner. The Agent reads the Board of Health comments for the record which instructs the applicant that they will need a new H20 tank to withstand vehicle loading. Mr. Slavinski states that he was only just informed of such comments earlier in the day and would like to include the new tank into the filing.
Motion made, seconded and unanimously carried for a Negative Determination
7:12 Marion Oost-Lievense SE 43-2646 (2 Kim Path) Proposed addition and septic repair – RDA***WITHDRAWN***
Resource Area:
Material submitted:
Project has been requested to withdraw by applicant.
Motion made, seconded and unanimously carried to approve the withdrawal of the Notice of Intent
7:15 Richard Kuusela SE 43-2507 (379 Monomoscoy Road) ATF – Revise septic tank/pump location, additional decks on garage and garage size – AOC
Resource Area: Land Subject to Coastal Storm Flow, Buffer to Salt Marsh
Material submitted: Plan of Land 7/14/11 Cape & Islands Engineering
John Slavinski from Cape & Islands Engineering is representing the homeowner and is requesting an amendment to the plans on file to revise the size of the garage and add an additional deck. Both are in the flood zone but they need to change the location of the septic tank/pump chamber closer to the wetlands but still within the work limit. The reason for the location change is because they would have had to change all the plumbing in the house and they would prefer not to. Agent McManus states that this is an “after-the-fact” filing and explains that the applicant should have had knowledge of the issued conditions where it states that any changes to the Order of Conditions should be addressed through an amended order or
administrative review. The Agent continues to say that the resulted project did not disturb any resource areas as it was all done on mostly existing lawn. The garage & deck are in a pre-disturbed area. He then reads the comments from Board of Health for the record which state that the application was approved.
Motion made, seconded and unanimously carried to Close and Issue
7:18 Robert Allen (53 Seconsett Point Road) Install 10 x 12 pre-fabricated shed, remove four small scrub oaks, two pitch pines with beetle damage, three pines that were topped by NStar and prune branches from several other trees- RDA
Resource Area: Land Subject to Coastal Storm Flow/ Buffer to Coastal Bank
Material submitted: 2005 Plan Accompanying Petition 7/18/11 Owner
Robert Allen would like to install a shed for storage which would involve the removal of several small scrub oaks. Other trees they would like to remove have been confirmed to have beetle damage and a couple of trees that were topped by NStar now have turpentine beetle damage. Agent McManus confirms that the trees are damaged and need to be removed.
Motion made, seconded and unanimously carried for a Negative Determination
7:21 Marianne Pawlicki (93 Bluff Road) Construct fieldstone wall, gravel pathway, remove lawn and replace with paver patio, repair edge of cobble apron with cement - RDA
Resource Area: Buffer to Coastal Dune, Coastal Beach/ LSCSF
Material submitted: 2009 Mortgage Inspection Plan of Land 7/18/11 Dreamscape
Richard Roser from Dreamscape is representing the home owner and requests the ability to construct a retaining wall to protect the dune. Local residents have been trampling through the dune and leaving bikes and such in the area. Mr. Roser would then place gravel in front of the wall. He states that there would be no disturbance to the dune itself. They will remove the grass area to install the wall and the gravel will allow drainage. The wall is approximately 2’ high with native stone and is only meant for delineation. A cobble stone area will be removed and replaced with cement. Agent McManus states that the proposed wall meets performance standards along with the revegetation behind the wall which the Agent says will be
conditioned in the RDA.
Motion made, seconded and unanimously carried for a Negative Determination
7:24 Michael Martone 43-2667 (78 Buccaneer Way) Construct 8’ addition, rebuild existing deck and also replace failed septic system with new Title V - NOI
Resource Area: Buffer Zone to Riverfront and Inland Bank
Material submitted: Buffer Strip Restoration Plan 8/5/11 Vaccaro Environmental Consulting / Site Plan 8/9/11 J.E. Landers-Cauley
Jack Landers-Cauley is representing the home owner and explains that the plan presented shows trees to be removed, the location of a new septic and the relocation of a driveway. Mr. Landers-Cauley also explains that they would like to remove a portion of the deck for an 8’ addition. Another deck is to be completely rebuilt and there is a small change to the entryway. The existing septic will be pumped, filled and either removed or abandoned. There will be minor grade changes to the new driveway. The trees have been flagged and the Agent has confirmed that there is turpentine beetle damage. There are two trees that need to be removed for the new septic. Mr. Gurnee questions the removal of the trees and the fact that
all the trees are not shown on the plan. Agent McManus states that the property has been abandoned for some time and there has been an encroachment of invasives which has taken over the back yard. All proposed changes are taking place within the previous footprint of the yard. The Agent states that there is no encroachment or alteration to the bank and also no alteration of riverfront. The Agent questions the necessity of removing two of the trees near the proposed new location of the driveway and asks if pruning would be more acceptable. Mr. Landers-Cauley states that the trees are very close to the house. Mr. Martone states that one of the trees is in the location of the new driveway but he can accept the pruning of the other one. The Agent states that they can make a notation on the plan with the change. Mr. Gurnee states that he is uncomfortable with the tree removals. Mr. Landers-Cauley explains that there are no trees being
removed from the bank, only from the area of the new septic and trees that are close to the house that have turpentine beetle damage. All trees that are being removed are within a previously disturbed area. Agent McManus informs Mr. Landers-Cauley that this project does not include any re-working of the lawn. Mr. Martone asks if he can do anything in the area where there previously was a garden of some sort. He mentions that the previous owner had dumped old deck material and an old barn which is all hiding within the area of invasive growth. Agent McManus states that the Order of Condition template has a condition that the area must be restored with native ground cover whenever there is any ground disturbance that leaves exposed soil. The Agent basically states that the entire area outside the former garden, the whole lawn area; if it is not in the narrative that was submitted then it will have to come back before the Commission under an Amended
Order request. A planting plan will have to be submitted. Mr. Gurnee states that he would like to see the planting plan that shows all the trees on the property. Agent McManus suggests a site visit for Mr. Gurnee. The Agent states that a landscape plan will need to be submitted and it must be specific. The Vice Chairmen requests a continuance.
Motion made, seconded and unanimously carried to continue to August 11, 2011 at 7:15pm
7:27 Steven Dubbs (63 Monahansett Street) General landscape and hardscape - RDA
Resource Area: Buffer Zone to Riverfront and Inland Bank
Material submitted: Landscape Plan 7/6/11 Maffei Landscape
Bob Maffei from Maffei Landscape is representing the home owner and he explains that the application is for landscape renovations. There are creosote ties in the back that are rotted out and need to be replaced. Also, they would like to make a better egress with driveway as the entire yard pitches all the way down. They would like to remove the grass from the right side of the house and place a wall with either boulders or a segmented retaining wall to ease the pitch which they will place two steps in to bring them to the front door. There is an existing outdoor shower in the back yard that needs to be shored up. The creosote ties around the shower will be replaced with segmented retaining walls. The Vice Chairman asks if
the shower is hooked up to the septic and Mr. Maffei is not sure and he is told that it is required to be connected to the septic. Mr. Maffei states that they will be revegetating specific areas as well.
Motion made, seconded and unanimously carried for a Negative Determination
7:30 Tom Jalowy (236 Shore Drive / New Seabury Beach Club) Remove diseased & distressed pines, top dress existing parking lot with crushed seashells, create handicap ramp and parking area for access to beach, remove invasive plantings and revegetate with mitigation plantings - RDA
Resource Area: Buffer to Coastal Bank/ Coastal Beach/ LSCSF
Material submitted: New Seabury Beach Club Handicap Ramp – Parking 7/14/11 Tom Jalowy Landscape Design / New Seabury Beach Club Plant List 7/28/11 Tom Jalowy Landscape Design
Patricia Jalowy recluses herself from this project presentation.
Tom Jalowy is representing New Seabury and he passes out a plant list for the record. The New Seabury Corporation would like to create a handicap access ramp from the entranceway which will be 6’ wide (per code). There is also a parking issue where there were a few trees that had turpentine beetle damage along with scuff marks from vehicles in the existing lot. The trees had become a liability/hazard so they were removed and seashells were spread. Agent McManus states that due to the upcoming busy weekend and in the interest of safety, they had asked if the work could be done prior to this meeting which he approved.
The access ramp is a handicap access project and the Agent recommends a negative determination. It was recommended to Mr. Jalowy to make the parking areas more apparent with some kind of barrier. Mr. Jalowy states that he will be walking the site with the Agent and will take a look at it then. They will be marking an area for handicap parking. Mr. Sweet mentions an area at the rear entrance that shows signs of erosion and it is recommended to put either plantings or swale in that area.
Motion made, seconded and unanimously carried for a Negative Determination
- Regulations subcommittee update: This meeting was called to specifically address the residents of Cotuit Bay Condos vista pruning. The residents have expressed concern about not having the same views as some of their neighbors and have said that it is unfair. The subcommittee members reviewed Regulation 29 which deals with buffer zones and naturally vegetated buffer strips. Within this regulation, it makes reference to the guidelines of activities within naturally vegetated buffer strips. The real issue when it comes to Cotuit Bay is that riverfront is one of the most strictly protected resource areas under the act. It is possible that the 50’-200’ can be allowed some accommodations for additional limbing and possible removal of saplings. The Agents states that when they are through figuring out the wording
for the revisions, it will be sent out for review.
- Feedback on potential town meeting warrant proposal to restrict motor boat usage on Moody Pond to electric motors only (no gas powered engines) – The Agent would like to propose an article for the Town Warrant that would restrict gas powered motor boats on Moody Pond in the Johns Pond Conservation area and limit to electric engines only. The Agent explains that Moody Pond is adjacent to Grafton Pocket Road and the grade is all downhill with a dirt road and allows run off directly into the pond which has also created a sandy beach area. People are now parking there and if there is one large truck then no one else would have access. Agent McManus mentions that he would like to expand the area across the street on Grafton Pocket to allow more parking which would in turn allow the ability to install some water bars
and erosion control measures. He will be scheduling a site visit with the Board members. The Agent has placed this item on the next Waterways Commission meeting.
- Discussions on recent actions to control illegal dumping at Johns Pond Conservation Area – Agent McManus mentions that he has not seen anything new recently. The boulders have been placed. There were some images on the cameras but the license plates were not clear. It is a matter of placing the cameras in the right spot. The entrance to the sandpits is the next area on the agenda which as of today, there are a few new piles in the pits. He believes they are ‘repeat offenders’ as the piles are right next to the old piles. The Agent states that he will have DPW remove all the recent piles and then immediately block off the entrances with concrete barriers. Another major location is Noisy Hole and Agent McManus would like to include the area on the site visits with DPW and the Town
Manager. He would like to gate it off somehow as it looks like a town dump.
Motion made, seconded and unanimously carried to adjourn the meeting at 8:27 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Kris Carpenter
Administrative Secretary
***All material submitted for hearings can be found on Conservation Flash Drive dated 7/1/10***
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