Salem Conservation Commission
Minutes of Meeting
Date and Time: Thursday, May 24, 2012, 6:00 p.m.
Meeting Location: Third Floor Conference Room, City Hall Annex, 120 Washington Street
Members Present: Chairwoman Julia Knisel, David Pabich, Dan Ricciarelli, Bart Hoskins, Gavin McAuliffe
Members Absent: Michael Blier, Amy Hamiltom
Others Present: Tom Devine, Conservation Agent
Recorder: Stacy Kilb
Chair Knisel calls the meeting to order at 6:05PM. Hoskins is not yet present.
Meeting Minutes—May 10, 2012
A motion to approve the minutes is made by McAuliffe, 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.
Mr. DeNisco submits a “Plan to Accompany NOI” dated May 16, 2012. The building was made slightly smaller to accommodate the volume of some of the water. It is stamped by a civil engineer, who is confident that the smaller footprint will even out the water displaced. McAuliffe asks if only the lower level has shrunk, but the whole building is smaller. Pabich asks if there is an accompanying letter describing what was done and the purpose, from the engineer, since there is nothing on the plan describing why this was done. A bullet point on the plan would be sufficient; Pabich says it is obvious to him why this was done, but to someone else it might not be. Mr. DeNisco says he will cross that bridge when he comes to it. Chair Knisel says they can condition it and Pabich wants to be sure this is noted in the
minutes.
Pabich also asks about the contours and elevations of the site. Ricciarelli discusses this also. Chairwoman Knisel asks if Pabich is satisfied with how the catch basin is tied in--he is but wonders if the City Engineer would agree. The tie-in should be according to City specifications; the applicant must still go before the Planning board, where the City Engineer will have a chance to comment.
Chairwoman Knisel opines that Mr. DeNisco has satisfied the Commission’s conditions. There are no public comments.
A Motion to close the public hearing is made by Pabich, seconded by Ricciarelli, and passes 4-0.
A motion to issue the Order of Conditions with a special condition that final approval be given by the city to tie in to the catch basin is made by Pabich, seconded by McAuliffe, and passes 4-0 (Bart Hoskins is not present but would not have been eligible to vote on this matter anyway). This decision is hereby made a part of these minutes.
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 a continuation of this hearing to June 24th. A motion to continue is made by McAuliffe, seconded by Ricciarelli, and passes unanimously.
Public Hearing—Request for Determination of Applicability—Palmer Cove Yacht Club—74 Leavitt Street, Salem, MA. The purpose of this hearing is to discuss the proposed construction of a storage shed within land subject to coastal storm flowage and buffer zone to coastal bank at 74 Leavitt Street.
This item is being taken out of order, after #3 and old/new business, as the applicants for item #5 are not yet present.
John Burke represents Palmer Cove Yacht Club at 74 Leavitt St. They want to put down a concrete pad to build a permanent storage area. This would be beside two outbuildings already there. The applicants discuss the setup on the plan, (unlabeled and undated). Pabich asks if it is a gravel area – the area is gravel and flat packed dirt, and all is level. A couple of years ago they completed a wash pad for boats, which is also depicted on the plan. Pabich asks for clarification on the setup and Mr. Burke explains.
The yard is so well packed you can find old bricks, Rich Morneau of Palmer Cove says. The slab is very thick and will contain rebar.
There are no members of the public present, thus no comments.
A motion to issue a Negative 2 Determination is made by Pabich, seconded by Ricciarelli and passes 4-0 (Hoskins still not present, arrives at 6:28PM). This decision is hereby made a part of these minutes.
Public Hearing—Request for Determination of Applicability—Pan Am Railways—1700 Iron Horse Park, Billerica, MA. The purpose of this hearing is to discuss verification of wetlands boundaries to determine sensitive areas in planning for the application of herbicides on the Pan Am right of way parallel roughly to the North River between the Peabody line and Leslie’s Retreat Park.
This agenda item was postponed until all other business had been discussed but the applicant is still not present as of 6:28PM. There are no audience members. A motion to continue to June 14th is made by Pabich, seconded McAuliffe, and passes 5-0.
Old/New Business
- 61 and 185 Jefferson Ave.: Discussion of wetlands violation
This item is taken out of order (just after item #3) since Hoskins is not yet present. Devine was hoping to issue the enforcement order last week but National Grid has not given final approval. He thinks they should just go ahead and issue the Order now. The timeframe would include 30 days to implement the plan, then 30 days to file an after-the-fact Notice of Intent for the purpose of having a public process. Annual monitoring for the 2013-2014 seasons would be required.
The commission issues the enforcement order. This order is hereby made a part of these minutes.
- Update on City of Salem and Town of Marblehead’s efforts to acquire the former Chadwick Lead Mills property for use as parkland
Marblehead is spending $1.5 million to acquire part of this site that is on their side. Salem is responsible to pay $100,000 for their portion. The two municipalities are jointly applying for a $400,000 grant to support the acquisition. Devine state’s that if the city acquires the property, it would be in the hands of other the Conservation Commission or Parks and Recreation Commission. The commission indicates willingness to accept the land. Devine may later ask the commission for a support letter.
The city is also applying for a grant for improvements to Bertram Field and Devine wonders if the commission would be willing to host an information session for this. The commission has no objection.
The City Solicitor wants Devine to share the policy on the videotaping of meetings with the Commission. If an audience member wants to record video at a meeting, the commission must allow it, provided it doesn’t interfere with the meeting.
A motion to adjourn is made by Hoskins, seconded by Ricciarelli, and passes unanimously.
The meeting ends at 6:32PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
Stacy Kilb
Clerk, Salem Conservation Commission
Approved by the Conservation Commission on July 12, 2012
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