Salem Conservation Commission
Minutes of Meeting
Date and Time: Thursday, April 26, 2012, 6:00 p.m.
Meeting Location: Third Floor Conference Room, City Hall Annex, 120 Washington Street
Members Present: Acting Chair Gavin McAuliffe, Dan Ricciarelli, Bart Hoskins, Amy Hamilton
Members Absent: Chair Julia Knisel, Michael Blier, David Pabich
Others Present: Tom Devine, Conservation Agent
Recorder: Stacy Kilb
Acting Chair Gavin McAuliffe calls the meeting to order at 6:20 PM. Acting Chair McAuliffe introduces the new commissioner, Bart Hoskins.
Meeting Minutes—April 12, 2012
Minutes are not completed so will not be voted on at this time.
Continuation of Public Hearing—Notice of Intent—DEP #64-523— William Wharff, 30 Federal St., Salem, MA. The purpose of this hearing is to discuss the proposed construction of a parking lot and associated utilities within riverfront area, land subject to coastal storm flowage, and buffer zone to coastal bank at 162 and 150 Federal St.
The applicant has requested to continue to the May 24 meeting. A motion to continue is made by Hamilton, seconded by Ricciarelli, and passes unanimously.
Continuation of Public Hearing—Notice of Intent—DEP #64-525—Mark DeNisco, 10 Bailey Terrace, Peabody, MA. The purpose of this hearing is to discuss proposed construction of a 2-family home and appurtenances at 12 Woodbury Court within land subject to coastal storm flowage.
Applicant requests to continue to the May 10 meeting due to the lack of a quorum for this item. A motion to continue is made by Hoskins, seconded by Ricciarelli, and passes unanimously.
Old/New Business
- 61 and 185 Jefferson Ave.: Discussion of wetlands violation
John Dick of Hancock Associates represents Eric Palm, property owner. National Grid owns the property in question. This is a piece of the old Michaud Bus property; there was activity last in the 1970’s as a dispatch site and parking area which has since spread beyond the property line. Mr. Dick does not know when the fill was put in, but almost the whole area has been filled, then excavated. The intent was to control stormwater flooding. The area used to be tidal with a gate controlling tides at the mouth of the South River. This reduces but does not eliminate tidal shift. The area is not a salt marsh; it probably was not ever a salt marsh but may have been a freshwater estuary. There is no evidence of peat and there is no native soil there. All old lots on that side of Jefferson Ave. were filled in the last 100
years, along the property lines. Parcels were sold out of the railroad and used for commercial/industrial purposes, so filling continued.
The Palms put a building on it in 1997 under an Order of Conditions, now expired, but a Certificate of Compliance was never issued. The building is the same as the one proposed, and is 100’ from the edge of the building to the back of the fill, though the order states it must be 30’ away. Much of the fill is on National Grid property. They are cooperating well, and in general, in the past, have approved of any work done on their property with the exception of heavy excavation and tall plantings.
Mr. Dick has not, thus far, had to file an NOI with National Grid, though they would have to sign off on an Order of Conditions. They don’t want an encumbrance on their title, plus there will be more scrutiny if they were to sign off on an NOI and it would complicate things. Mr. Dick believes the DEP will object to an after-the-fact NOI, since it would make things drag on. The DEP may step in or appeal the Commission’s decision due to timing, so Mr. Dick would rather do the work under an Enforcement Order in the next few weeks, then file the NOI after-the-fact later. Devine clarifies that the commission wants to see the restoration completed under an enforcement order and an after-the-fact NOI will not get in the way of this.
Thus far the Palms have removed all of their hardware off of the encroachment. A field crew has been scheduled to verify grades and Mr. Dick has tried to figure out where the easement came from. One plan by Eastern Land Survey shows an easement on a pipe owned by the City of Salem. Other than that, there is no record of an easement – it is only shown on that one record, which doesn’t exactly show it as an easement. The City allowed the installation of a catch and treatment basin tied into that line. He does not know if the City was intentionally running the pipe out that far since that’s where the fill was. Since he thinks no wetland has been filled, it would be interesting to know what the area looked like in 1970 and in 1997. Surveys should be done in the next week, so he hopes to come before the
Commission regarding restoration of grade at the May 10th meeting.
Mr. Dick reviews some correspondence with National Grid. It will be difficult to choose vegetative material. National Grid wants to see a mitigation plan and stipulates some conditions. Comments were obtained from their engineers and they are waiting on comments from their legal department. He will move forward on an abutter list and filing the Notice of Intent.
Devine says that the Commission issued the enforcement order but it did not yet include the request for filing the Notice of Intent. Mr. Dick comments that the work should be done under an Enforcement Order and National Grid may not let him work under the Notice of Intent, but that does not have to be decided right now. Devine outlines some other conditions of the Enforcement Order, but Mr. Dick is not sure that they have been met yet. Devine points out that he should take the deadlines seriously since the DEP is paying attention to this and is still ready to take over enforcement if they feel that the violation is not being resolved quickly enough.
Ricciarelli asks who confirms the delineation. Devine will ask the DEP Northeast Circuit Rider to look at it. If she is not satisfied, the Commission could have a third party review. Hamilton is disappointed that Mr. Dick has not visited the site, but he is busy with other enforcement actions. He will go there tonight and report back in the morning. Devine asks him to please reiterate to the Palms that the Commission can only stave off the DEP for so long.
- DEP #64-512: 23 Parlee Street: Request for certificate of compliance
The Commission determined that one more piece of information, a letter from the builder stating that the underground infiltration system was installed, was needed, but it was not received, so this is postponed to the next meeting.
- DEP #64-468: 1 Parallel Street (lot C): Request for certificate of compliance
- DEP #64-469: 1 Parallel Street (lot B): Request for certificate of compliance
Steven Lovely presents. He owns the two remaining lots. He outlines the situation and mentions the swale on Lot A, which did not meet City Engineer approval. Drainage issues onsite were to be addressed. To resolve this issue, money will be placed into escrow to allow these two lots to be in Compliance. Dave Knowlton submitted a letter and Devine shows the Commission the escrow agreement, which is for Steve Lovely to put aside $10,000 to address the drainage issues. If they are not resolved, the City may use the money and move forward on its own. This was worked out with Mr. Lovely, the City Solicitor, and David Knowlton. Mr. Lovely can sign the agreement now. He thinks it will cost less than that amount and will try to satisfy Mr. Knowlton’s requirements. Work on the study will be ongoing and will not hinder the
conveyance of the two above lots. David Knowlton will be satisfied as long as Mr. Lovely signs the escrow agreement.
Devine verifies that all other conditions on the Order were satisfied. Mr. Lovely explains that there was some misunderstanding as to the requirements for Lot A, but they don’t want to hold up conveyance on lots B and C. The area is too low for drainage since it would draw water from the pond.
Mr. Lovely signs the escrow agreement; a motion to issue the two Certificates of Compliance is made by Hamilton, seconded by Hoskins, and passes unanimously. These decisions are hereby made a part of these minutes.
- Greenscapes North Shore Coalition: Discussion and vote regarding annual funding renewal
Barbara Warren, director of Salem Sound Cosastwatch, in coalition with Ipswich River and other towns and nonprofits, runs the Greenscapes program. It has been in effect for five years and she is requesting $900 to renew Salem’s membership.
She passes around the Greenscapes guide and for this year, more are needed. It will be revised and condensed but will basically have the same message. They are offering 500 per community; it will cost $50 more per hundred beyond that amount. Last year the program printed the “Be a Greenscaper” and others flyers and in the past has also done magnets.
In MA the EPA does the stormwater permit for the state; one is in draft form and was supposed to be out this past year, but is not yet. There will be many more requirements on cities and towns. It applies to the entire stormwater system. This is the NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) MS4 Permit. It will also require public education and outreach, which Greenscapes has traditionally provided. Greenscapes said they would do that component for the permit last year. They developed a document outlining what they will do regarding public education and outreach. The City can no longer just check the “we’re doing outreach” box; there must be different audiences that are well defined. Four audiences are defined; they will reach out to two per year, skip a year, then do the other two over the
course of the five year permit. They will target residents and developers in the 1st, 3rd and 5th years, and business and industry in the 2nd and 4th years. Greenscapes must also measure effectiveness. But changing behaviors takes time. Barbara will discuss this with Devine and David Knowlton. Lawn care will not be emphasized again until year 5 so this is a good year to get the message out again, since the NPDES draft is not out yet.
The City is responsible for getting the stormwater message out to developers, however they want. Greenscapes would like to do a brochure and contact them personally, to discuss it with them. They are also discussing imperviousness and onsite infiltration (in year 5) and will also provide a workshop on low impact development for the Zoning, Planning and Conservation boards. It is an opportunity for the Commission to extend its impact beyond its usual wetlands permitting.
Greenscapes is seeking $900 from the Water Department, and $900 from this Commission. The program fee is $1800-- $1500 is for the program fee itself, and $300 for materials. Julie Rose in the Water Department has traditionally paid for half and we have paid for the other half.
A motion to fund Greenscapes is made by Hoskins, seconded by Ricciarelli, and passes unanimously.
- 121 Leach Street: Discussion of possible land donation
Michael Gibney would like to donate a small parcel of waterfront property to the Commission; his brother wants to stop paying taxes, but wants the land open to the public and to remain undeveloped. Mr. Gibney says that it was once called “the flats” and is a beach at the end of Leach Street. Mr. Gibneys’ brother owns 17,500 feet of beach, which was used by neighbors once but is unusable since it has been filled in. It costs $350 year in taxes. The area is not sellable, and the taxes are a burden. The original owner thought Salem would build a bridge to Marblehead, but that never materialized. It has a little bit of sand but no beach nourishment has occurred in years. Now it is just rocky and there has been some encroachment by various people, and no one swims there because of the shape it’s in.
Mr. Gibney has authority from his brother work with the city on this. There is a public right of way down to the water. The Commission has to show interest before the legal department will pursue accepting the property. If the Commission is not interested, Devine can help the current owner connect with other organizations that may be able to assist him.
The Right of Way is at the end of the street, going all the way down to the water. Devine thinks that this street might be a good candidate for a “please enjoy this public way” sign whether or not the commission accepts the donated land. Mr. Gibney outlines the property and the right-of-way. Barbara Warren has a newspaper article from 1913 where it shows Salem planning to fill the area and make a promenade to Forest River Park, so perhaps that is what the original owner thought would happen. Mr. Gibney says it is a good place for launching kayaks. The beach used to be nourished every year, but now there is no sand there.
The Commission would like the City to pursue acquisition of this parcel. Devine will ask the City Solicitor to begin the process and will be in touch with Mr. Gibney.
Mr. Gibney has a warranty covenant on the property; it may need to be surveyed again. He also has copies of the deeds and the will; the City Solicitor will want copies.
A motion to adjourn is made by Hamilton, seconded by Hoskins, and passes unanimously.
The meeting ends at 7:30PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
Stacy Kilb
Clerk, Salem Conservation Commission
Approved by the Conservation Commission on May 10, 2012
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