Salem Conservation Commission
Meeting Minutes
Date and Time: Thursday March 12, 2015, 6:30 p.m.
Meeting Location: Third Floor Conference Room City Hall Annex, 120 Washington Street
Members Present: Chair Gregory St. Louis, Vice Chair Bart Hoskins, Bob Pond, and Dan Ricciarelli
Members Absent: Amy Hamilton, Tom Campbell
Others Present: Tom Devine, Conservation Agent
Recorder: Stacy Kilb
Chair St. Louis calls the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m.
Washington and Dodge Street Utility Relocation—Public Hearing—Request for Determination of Applicability—City of Salem, 93 Washington Street, Salem, MA. The purpose of this hearing is to discuss the proposed relocation of underground utilities at 219, 231-251 Washington Street and 11-13 Dodge Street within an area subject to protection under the Wetlands Protection Act MGL c131§40 and Salem Wetlands Protection & Conservation Ordinance.
Bill Ross of new England Civil Engineering represents the City of Salem Engineering Dept. Mr. Ross outlines the project. The applicant wishes to build a large mixed-use project. Utilities will be relocated for this project. The work zone extends into a resource area; the applicant does not feel they should be required to file an NOI since the impact is negligible. The existing utilities will be abandoned in place. The actual redevelopment project will come to the Commission as a separate filing.
Chair St. Louis opens to the public but there are no comments. Devine recommends a Negative 2 and Negative 6 determination.
A motion to close the public hearing is made by Ricciarelli, seconded by Hoskins and passes unanimously.
A motion to issue a negative 2 and 6 Determination is made by Ricciarelli, seconded by Pond, and passes unanimously.
Swampscott Road Drainage Improvements—Public Hearing—Notice of Intent—City of Salem, 93 Washington Street, Salem, MA. The purpose of this hearing is to discuss proposed drainage improvements, including two new catch basins and a new outlet sediment trap, at 161 Swampscott Road (between Aggregate Industries and Thompson’s Meadow) within an area subject to protection under the Wetlands Protection Act MGL c131§40 and Salem Wetlands Protection & Conservation Ordinance.
Bill Ross also represents the City of Salem for this project, though the land is owned by Marblehead while the roadway is Salem’s. There is not enough drainage and the road floods during heavy rain events. There are no outlets on the southbound lane. One pipe has been blocked by sediment and the outfall pipe is below accumulated sediment in a phragmites bed. This is also in rare species habitat so it must undergo Massachusetts Endangered Species Act (MESA) and Natural Heritage & Endangered Species (NHESP) review; Heritage said it is not exempt from MESA and the species is unknown. When the nearby Aggregate berm came before the Commission they identified a couple of species.
The applicant is proposing installation of catch basins with deep sumps, dredging of accumulated sediment and installation of a splash pad to make sediment removal in the future easier. Sediment buildup will be an ongoing issue.
Erosion and sediment controls are outlined, as is the current flow of water. Additional details of the outfall and splash pad are further discussed.
Chair St. Louis opens to the public but there are no comments.
No comments have yet been received from MESA. The Agent can insert a condition for flexibility stating that if MESA comments require changes, they will be reviewed by the Agent or Commission. Otherwise the item can be continued but that might delay work, which they would like to commence in the spring.
There aren’t many other options other than this one, except to re-do the entire drainage system, in a way that would either not improve things or have more of an impact. For that reason, the applicant is comfortable moving forward since the risk of project-altering comments from MESA is small.
A motion to close the public hearing is made by Hoskins, seconded by Pond, and all are in favor.
Special conditions:
If comments received require changes, the agent will decide if a new filing is needed or if they are only minor changes.
A motion to issue an order of conditions with standard and said special conditions is made by Ricciarelli, seconded by Hoskins, and all are in favor
Riverview Place (Salem Suede Redevelopment)—DEP #64-579—Continuation of Public Hearing—Notice of Intent—Riverview Place, LLC, 5 Broadmoor Lane, Peabody, MA. The purpose of this hearing is to discuss the proposed mixed-use redevelopment of 72 Flint Street, and 67 & 71 Mason Street (former Salem Suede) consisting of 3 buildings and appurtenances within an area subject to the Wetlands Protection Act and Salem’s Wetlands Protection & Conservation Ordinance.
The applicant requests to continue to the April 9 meeting.
A motion to continue to April 9 is made by Ricciarelli, seconded by Hoskins and passes unanimously.
Old/New Business
41 Palmer Street (Mary Jane Lee Park): Request for minor change
There was a Determination of Applicability for a splash pad as per the master plan for the park. Devine describes the work done so far. The Mayor would like a pavilion which was not on the master plan.
Whether or not this would qualify as a minor change is discussed. Several examples of similar pavilions are shown. The material under the pavilion should be porous. It is unclear what is currently proposed but will either be grass or play surface, and both are permeable. A concrete slab foundation would not be preferred. It is unclear if it would have a solid roof or not, but as long as the area underneath is porous it should not matter since the area is not enclosed, thus water can still infiltrate.
Hoskins motions to approve this as a minor change, provided that the surface under the pavilion remain porous, Pond seconds, and all are in favor.
Witch Hill Subdivision, DEP #64-391: Request to extend Order of Conditions
This would extend the order to Mar. 24, 2018,
A motion to extend the order of conditions is made by Ricciarelli, seconded by Pond, and passes unanimously.
8 Nurse Way, DEP #64-537: Request for Certificate of Compliance—Confirmatory Vote
This is also part of the above subdivision; previously there were 2 requests for certificates and both were approved, but one was omitted from last month’s agenda in a clerical error, so a confirmatory vote with the item on the agenda was recommended and is posted here.
There is some discussion of procedural issues regarding who voted then and who is present and can confirm at tonight’s meeting. There is also discussion of the procedural issues of the agenda and its functions.
No members of the public are present regarding this item. The Certificate has been issued and may or may not be recorded already.
Ricciarelli motions to again issue the Certificate of Compliance, and Pond second. Ricciarelli, Pond, and Campbell vote in favor; Hoskins abstains, as he was not present at the previous meeting.
Discussion of scope for Forest River Conservation Area trails and bridges assessment
The Commission requested a map of Forest River Conservation Area; an existing map was found by an intern and a scope of services for evaluation of trails and bridges was created. Devine is seeking CPA funding and will put out an RFP.
Devine may come up with another draft for the commission. Ideally the trail system would be improved and existing boardwalks and bridges repaired. The latter would be the focus of the study which is Phase 1. Someone with experience in this area – who has done 5-10 such projects within the past few years - should be solicited. Riciarelli will provide an estimate of how much this should cost
Meeting minutes—January 22, 2015
A motion to approve the minutes is made by Hoskins, seconded by Ricciarelli, and all approve
Miscellaneous
Exempt utility activity: Devine describes proposed National Grid gas line upgrades on Lafayette Street near the Marblehead Line and at Jefferson Ave. and Wheatland and Lawrence Street. The Commission determines that because this involves an expansion of the gas lines, it is not exempt. Devine will issue a letter to National Grid.
Snow removal and storage: The City asked the Commission to allow disposal of snow into Dead Horse Beach and Devine authorized it. The original Emergency Certification for this expires March 14. They cannot dump more there after that date. St. Louis would like Devine to notify the City that if they continue to dump snow tonto Dead Horse Beach after the 14th, they will be in violation of their permit at the state level. He is concerned that they may be bringing additional snow from other snow farms to the beach.
Devine requests that Commissioners respond to the Salem Park, Recreation, and Open Space survey online.
A motion to adjourn is made by Ricciarelli, seconded by Campbell, and passes unanimously
The meeting ends at 8:15 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
Stacy Kilb
Approved by the Conservation Commission on June 11, 2015
| 