Conservation Commission Meeting November 14, 2023

so I will start the uh meeting of November 14 2023 this is the Dartmouth Conservation Commission and uh we're conducting the meeting remotely as a result of the governor signing uh further extensions of the hybrid remote meeting option to municipalities on March 29 2023 that extension runs until March 31 2025 um there is a raise your hand feature and of course U wave your hand if that doesn't work and we will then

recognize you and unmute you and you can then be uh heard uh otherwise I'd respectfully request that you keep your microphones muted so we don't get background noise when others are presenting and uh the first items of business will be administrative the first is the approval of the minutes of the October 16 2023 meeting so moved second second seconded motion V Kyle yes Patty yes Nat

yes uh Richard yes and I'm a yes that passes unanimously second is the approval of the field trip reports of October 31 2023 a motion to that so moved seconded motion roll call vote Kyle yes Patty yes Matt yes Richard yes and I'm a yes that motion passes unanimously uh third item administratively is to receive the minutes of the October 31 2023 meeting so moved have a second on that motion second okay roll call vote

Richard yes Nat yes Patty yes Kyle yes and that I'm a yes that motion passes unanimously our final order of business is kind of a very good thing to be bringing up we have a new conservation officer Jenna Silva Jenna you want to uh say hello to everybody here hi everybody my name is Jenna as uh Mike said and um yep I'm the new conservation officer for the town of Dartmouth um and just kind

of sitting in and observing today if you need anything please let me know I will thank you we're going to certainly use your services uh and we will I'm sure have plenty of questions maybe not tonight but in future meeting and before future Mark to say about pardon pardon Mike do you have anything you want to say about regarding the introduction Jenna started a week ago yesterday uh she's been very

attentive learning um about a lot of stuff we've been on site uh we've been on site once where she's learning viewpoints and uh you know she's uh very much on the uh on the learning curve she's doing a great job terrific well welcome aboard we appreciate you uh more than you can believe thanks everyone we have two members who aren't here tonight but I'm sure they'll be happy to uh introduce themselves to you

when they can either the next meeting or in between time moving on now to field trip reports our first is a request for a certificate of compliance the EP file 15- 2654 RCC 23-46 it's from Andrea Wilson for the Wetland replication at map 42 lot 10-3 it's 8 Woodbury Lane um Mark staff's comments on this request for certificate of compliance sure before we get into the case specifically uh I do want to

make a little announcement uh this is the first time we've done this but you will notice uh I have added an additional parenthetical number to every public he or every agenda item meeting wise whether it's a field trip report or a public hearing those are the reference numbers for viewpoints uh when uh most people go on to Viewpoint they do not know what the file number is uh but Viewpoint assigns

a uh Viewpoint specific number RCC being certificate of compliance and AI being notice of intent we have specific numbers so uh I thought it prudent since that is a way that people can view these files uh and is actually the way where going to be viewing files in the future uh I figured I'd start putting those numbers on so that's what the those parenthetical numbers represent um moving forward uh think

it's a good idea Mark by the way I think that's a terrific idea to do that on our agendas thank because I think what'll happen is you may bump into people on the street and say yeah I got a question on noi 2346 and you're going to go like what the heck is that so at least you'll have some some record of that and there is always talk of boards and commissions becoming familiar with this

system I don't know when and if that's going to happen but this is certainly an easy way to begin that process so uh you will be seeing those numbers uh from here on in going going to the specific case uh this was a um we conducted an A1 on this site uh one and a half two years ago we observed cutting and removal of vegetation without a permit uh they went

through a planting plan a revation plan uh that was in probably finished in the spring went through the first growing season it's been very successful and therefore staff is uh comfortable in recommending a complete certificate of compliance on uh coc for F number 15 2654 thank you Mark does any commissioner have any question seeing none I'll entertain a motion to issue a complete certificate

of compliance on D file 15- 2654 so moved seconded motion roll call vote Nat yes Patty yes Kyle yes Richard yes and that motion passes unanimously the second field trip report is a request for a certificate of compliance with d file 15- 2574 that's RCC 2349 it's from Carrie Snider car of Richard rayum for the repair of an existing seaw wall at map 121 lot 28 it's otherwise known as two Cottage

Street Mark uh what's staff's recommendation on this request yes uh site inspection was done the seaw wall work was done uh as uh proposed on the plan of record uh there were no visual impacts the shoreline uh off of Cottage Street looks uh very normal the wall looks far more intact and we're recommending a complete certificate of compliance thank you Mark does any commissioner have any

question seeing none I'll entertain a motion to issue a complete certificate of compliance on D file 15- 2574 so moved second give a seconded motion roll call vote Kyle yes Richard yep yes Nat yes Patty yes and I'm a yes that motion passes unanimously our third and final field trip report is a request for a partial certificate of compliance uh with d file 15- 1211 RCC 23- 51 it's from attorney Brian Glover for the

completion of the subdivision entitled Jason Heights by Alfred Pon this is off of Jason drive with a parcel identified as map one25 lot 34-22 it's otherwise known as 11 Mariel Drive uh Mark what is staff's recommendation on this request for a partial certificate of compliance yes this is an old subdivision we see these uh more frequently these days people are transferring title uh subdivision order

conditions was never closed out encumbers each lot within the subdivision because the permit was issued on the current lot uh in this case it was Lot 34 lot 34 has since been subdivided into 30 plus smaller Lots uh this is lot 3422 two previous uh partials have been issued on this subdivision I drive through the subdivision and a look at the subdivision plan indicates that the work for the subdivision was completed

in accordance with the plan therefore staff is uh recommending to issue a partial certificate of compliance for 11 Mariel uh Drive uh or lot 34-22 to free it from the encumbrance of the overall expired yet unclosed order of conditions thank you Mark does any commissioner have any questions seeing none I'll entertain a motion to issue a um partial certificate of compliance on D file

15-1121 and that's regarding uh Lots 34-22 on map5 only moved second we have a seconded motion roll call vote Patty yes yes Richard yes Kyle yes and I'm a yes that motion passes unanimously we're now moving on to our public hearing and U as we've had in the past we have three public hearings in a row which are related um so I'm going to read each one as they come up but I suspect some of the

information the background information that will be given will be applicable to all three so the first is continued public hearing D file 15- 2659 that's noi 22-27 it's on the notice of intent from Potter Street solar LLC for a single family dwelling and a ground mounted solar panel array on the rear portion of the lot within bordering land subject to flooding and the 100 foot buffer to

bordering vegetated Wetland on land described his map 138 lot 144 and that's on Potter Street onor a motion to wave the reading so moved we have a second motion roll call vote Kyle yes Patty yes Natt yes Richard yes and I'm a yes that motion passes unanimously and uh I know that there was uh going to be another continuing Mark is that correct I yeah I I can speak but Tim C

is here he's a partner in the Potter Street Sol or if he wants to speak first as the applicant I think that makes some sense Tim you've got the floor thank you Mr chairman yeah um uh Christian apologizes he had a last minute um conflict that came up so he wasn't able to make the the hearing but based on uh our visit today I think it'd be provent to request a um a continuance for two

weeks I think is we discussed um on the site okay so the two week continuance would bring us to our Tuesday November 28 2023 meeting is that acceptable Tim yes okay so um I'll entertain a motion to continue this public hearing um well first let me stop myself if there's anyone in the audience that wants to be heard on this uh you are certainly uh capable of speaking up tonight or waiting until the continued public

hearing I don't see Patty you've got a question um I just have a question um we're continuing this again on Mark can you explain the basis on yes I can um we have been uh staff and the applicants have been back and forth several times and we uh we were able to get uh mark dakers from Mad Solid Waste out and we had did a site visit this morning um so obviously Mark has not

produced any finding official finding yet he was going back to the EP to speak with his colleagues um we did six more test pits was that at Tim six today 13 through 18 right we did six more test pits uh out there so there is a total of 18 test bits on the site of which we have varying amounts of data this today's test pitting was the first time that these were not done in a

vacuum staff myself and Jenna were there today as were Mark dakers and a colleague of his from MD uh so we observed the the site and and saw the site conditions uh since the was the overriding uh agency here we are awaiting their report uh on what they saw and uh that is the real reason for the continuance on this and the other two and do we feel that two weeks is

enough time for for that information to get back to you and us we were we were told the question was asked of D and they said that they would have a report in a couple of days is that correct yeah that's right yep he said uh day day and a half so is pretty reliable and I think if he said he was gonna do that I believe he'll

he'll get it out to us yeah and we we had said to him that you know specifically that our next hearing was the 28th of November we had another hearing scheduled for December 5th and he said that he could make the 28th you know so the conversation was very direct about that date so that's what we're anticipating seems that seems reasonable if they they didn't guarantee it of course but they gave you every reason to

believe that would be well within the time frame for them to report thank you Mark yep I appreciate that explanation was good questions Patty um so any other Commissioners have any questions seeing none I'll at this point entertain a motion to continue the public hearing until our meeting on Tuesday November 28 2023 at 7.m so moved we have a we have a seconded motion roll call Richard yes

Natt yes Maddy yes Kyle yes and I'm a yes so that motion passes unanimously the second uh public hearing is also continued public hearing on D file 15- 2660 and y 2225 it's on the notice of intent from Potter Street solar LLC for a single family dwelling in a ground mounted solar panel array on the rear portion of the lot within bordering land subject to flooding and the 100 foot buffer zone to

bordering vegetated Wetlands it's on land map 138 lot 144 D1 it's on Potter Street I'll retain a motion to wave the reading almost we have a seconded motion we'll do a roll call vote Kyle yes Patty yes Matt yes Richard yes and I'm a yes that motion passes unanimously we have the same circumstances as we did for the first and I so under those conditions um I believe the applicant is Seeking a

continuance until Tuesday November 28 223 at 7M G have a motion to that effect so moved second roll call vote um Kyle yes Patty yes Matt yes Richard yes and I'm a yes that motion passes unanimously the third uh P public hearing is also continued public hearing and this is on D file 15- 2658 noi 22-26 on the notice of intent from Potter Street solar LLC proposing a ground mounted solar panel array on the

rear portion of a lot within land sub flooding and the 100 foot buffer zone to bordering vegetated Wetlands it's on land described as map 138 lot 144 D2 it's on Potter Street I'll entertain a motion to wave the reading no moov second second have a seconded motion roll call vote Richard yes Matt yes Patty yes Kyle yes and I'm a yes that motion passes unanimously again these are all companion is similar or similar it's

identical to what we just heard for the reasons for continuances on the first two so at this point I'll entertain a motion to continue this third public hearing on until Tuesday November 28 2023 at 7 pm mve a second second roll call vote Nat yes Patty yes Kyle yes Richard yes and I'm a yes that motion passes unanimously good luck with the report thank you we're going on to our fourth public

hearing it's a continued public hearing on D file 15- 2708 23-2 it's on the abbreviated notice of resource area delineation anrad at map 33 lot 18-6 it's on Woodcock Road um entertain y second mov second seconded motion roll call vote Patty yes Kyle yes Matt yes Richard yes and I'm a yes that motion passes unanimously is there somebody here for the applicant yes Mr chairman Christopher

acres in size with approximately 6.5 Acres of Uplands the Wetland delineation was flagged in the field um with flags A1 through a24 uh just off the screen the agent uh made a correction at flag number A6 and eliminated the flag here and relocated it in this direction so we now have uh an increased area of wetland represented on the plan and this comes with a revision date of 10 2423 uh so we're requesting approval of

that delineation as shown if you have any questions please let me know thank you thank you uh Mark I'd like to hear staff's comments on this request Chris uh covered most of it uh I did a site walk with South Coast and we did uh based on soils and vegetation make that one adjustment other than that the line was uh I thought pretty clearcut um in the field and I agreed

with it almost in its entirety uh so I staff is going to make a motion uh to approve the uh delineation uh via an oad as adjusted uh in accordance with plan datting October 24th 2023 as a non-jurisdictional issue though I am going to mention for the record if um a review of the plan indicates that a large portion of this site is encumbered By Priority habitat so this will need to go at some juncture

to natural heritage for some some level of review depending on the type of development and the size of development out there thank you Mark uh does any commissioner have any questions is there anyone wishing to be heard Mr chairman I only like to add that there is an existing area cleared pre-existing area that has been cleared on the property so there was a previously approval there is a building

envelope uh currently existing on the site so we will meet the natural heritages requirements as we move forward with the project thank you Mr coone yes I would assume that you would have to thank you but I appreciate you bringing that up and acknowledging um just as a matter of record staff was unaware that I mean I know the clearing was there but uh I was unaware that there had been Communications with natural

heritage well that's fine I'm glad we brought it up anyway Mark I think it's a good idea just to you should have been put on the record I think so um so um at this juncture I didn't see any I see somebody with their hand raised David is his hand raised David question you're David's muted yeah do we need to unmute him I don't know we can't hear you David if you're

there I know your hands raised and I don't want to skip over um I don't see him oh there he is yeah I don't TV unmute him we asked to unmute him I'm gonna I'm asking DCTV if they can unmute

him now David's unmuted okay David if you have a question you're more than free to raise it or comments hello well maybe maybe the question was answered um okay I will um I'll enter well David's uh moved okay so I will um at this point entertain a motion to close the public hearing so moved second second so we have a roll call vote Kyle yes Richard yes Matt yes Paddy yes and I'm a yes that passes

unanimously Commissioners what's your pleasure on this request um I make a motion to uh approve this oad as adjusted um as and as submitted on 10 2423 I think it is it is that is that the correct uh but I would like to ask uh is that the correct uh it's in we're approving an oad okay order resource area not an nrad the nrad is the applic I said did okay I just wanted to I just

wanted to make sure that that was correct okay we have a motion now which is correct a second on the motion second second we have a second in motion roll call vote Patty yes uh Kyle yes Richard yes mat yes and I'm a yes that motion passes unanimously we're thank you Mr chairman Happy Thanksgiving thank you to you as well same to you uh we're moving on now to our fifth

uh public hearing which is a continued public hearing on D file 15-276 noi 23-45 it's on the notice of intent from silus Costa to construct a single family home with garage subsurface sewage Disposal system and regrading in the 100t buffer zone to bordering vegetated Wetland it's on land described as map 24 lot 731 it's on Rocko dundy Road entertain a motion to wave the reading so moved

second second seconded motion we'll do a roll call vote Kyle yes Matt yes Addie yes Richard yes and I'm a yes that motion passes unanimously and we have someone here this evening on behalf of the app applicant yes good evening Mr chairman Andy stackpole from field engineering am I coming through okay you are great um I'm I'm gonna just share my screen quickly here um we are um see here I want to give

you a uh can you see that okay nothing's

yet I just wanted to show you the geography of the subject parcel off of rad dundi you can see it's fairly long elongated um yet can I your screen hasn't been shared oh I'm

sorry okay screen two here we go sorry about that well as long as we get to see it there we go is that can you see that yep yes we can okay great yeah this is just off your GIS system I just want to give you ge geography where the the lot is it's very long elongated seven and quarter acre lot um primarily the had a former Building located structure located on the upper portion

of the lot and that's where the proposed uh site uh project will be constructed um are you able to see the plan view here yes yes I can okay great so we have um two resource areas on the Northeast and southwest sides of this property which made it a little bit of a challenge so we have a um a section up the speaking of the Northeast um the sorry Northwest section you can see

there's a a a wetland area um the upper left uh lower left lower right is there's a pond with an intermittent stream that comes through and exits to the South um the where the proposed dwelling is right underneath there and the existing conditions you can see there's a rubble Foundation that was previously a structure so we're proposing to put the uh the new new structure in the same

approximately the same location we had to move it over to meet the setback locations um distances and then proposing to put the uh septic syst uh the Lee field um where the test bits it's about out where the previous uh system existed um we have a raised bed system it's going to be a um see if I can zoom out a little bit here

um

so that's basically the cross-section of the rais bed system

um all Gravity from septic septic tank down in into the system here so basically you see 31 slope coming down um the closest point we're going to get to the resource area is up where the garage is um you know we're meeting a 20 foot setback from the property line the uh Wetland uh approximate Wetland brown Le Brown leav another 15 feet from the property line so it's about 35

feet um the other distances you can see on the on the uh on the figure we're 91 feet off to the Northwest and about 83 feet from the resource area on this on the uh South East section uh where the bed will

go as you can see the property um there is access Frontage on Rocka dundy but they we're going to be putting an easement through the um silas's uh grandmother's house here um so the proposed driveway will come through on the on her existing property and over on to where the proposed garage is um we do intend on putting a obviously erosion control around this entire um project um 25 feet of making

sure there were 25 feet off the uh resource areas does anybody have any questions um I don't yet but um I think I'd like to hear from staff and hear what their comments I've been sir this Andy you can leave that up there for a second um conceptually uh I've walked aside I have no problem with the proposal uh unfortunately Andy and I emailed earlier today and I had not completed my final review of the plan

and I'm going to ask it as a question because it appears some somewh uh confusing to me um if we go to the lower left corner we see the 100 foot buffer zone which comes in from the west then uh gets to a point at the system and then doubles back to the South Southwest but we have a line that continues a buffer zone line that continues from the West going north

and that buffer zone appears to be the buffer zone 100 foot buffer zone from the uh Wetland to the West offsite however we have a onsite Wetland to the east of and the northeast of the proposed dwelling that ends in uh CC 4A which I believe was a flag that Adam put out in the field when he did an A1 um and the buffer zone as I'm reading the plan the buffer zone is far closer

than 100 feet uh from that particular flag so I really don't know that that buffer zone line has depicted on the plan continues through the site as shown and I I kind of believe that that buffer zone should be coming down and then doubling back away towards La laam Lane which is the C sack you see to the tops Central Edge So the plan is a bit deceiving and uh unless I'm misreading the plan which is

certainly possible and Andy you can you can correct me if I'm wrong I think the plan does need to be revised to show a more accurate buffer zone having said that that minor correction as I have read the rest of the plan I'm comfortable with uh recommendation for approval with conditions but I'm not yet making that because we don't have in my mind a clean plan of record that yet

maybe Andy can change that for me yes I yes I can I I can see what you're saying and that is correct here it needs to be um better shown on this plan but then I would I then having said that uh I I would suggest that we request the continuance until we get a corrected plan and then I think I you know based on uh a another review based

on my comments I would be comfortable at a later date in recommending approval thank you Mark um do any Commissioners have any questions um is there anyone in the audience that's here this evening on this application and they want to be heard tonight of course I don't see any so at this point um I believe applicants in agreement that they would like to request an a continuation of the public hearing until

Tuesday November 28 2023 at 7 pm correct have a motion to that effect um motion to continue uh public hearing D file number 15-276 otherwise known as no- 23-45 until 11:28 of 2023 at 7 p.m. motion a second and motion roll call vote Kyle yes Richard yes paty yes Matt yes I'm a yes that motion passes unanimously thank you very much we're going on now to our sixth public hearing which is a continued public hearing the

file 15- 2705 noi 23-43 it's on the notice of intent from John peski uh for to construct a stone wall in the 100 foot buffer zone to a bordering vegetated wetland in a single pole osprey nest in the salt M of land described as map 112 lot 30 it's 16 born place I attain a motion to wave the reading no moved second second second in motion roll call vote mat yes

Richard yes Kyle yes hadie yes and I'm a yes that motion passes unanimously is there someone here this evening on behalf of the applicant I do not see anybody I would assume it would be uh Josh or Shan from uh Northeast Consulting Engineers and I don't see either one of them here yeah I don't either um if I may Mr chairman uh this is the no notice of intent that was

filed uh on behalf of Mr kopesky for Stonewall and an ospring Nest on a property which has two open orders of conditions one has expired long long since expired the second one uh has been extended they're Le they're living in the uh the house uh there's still active work going on and I am very uncomfortable with uh entertaining a uh another notice of intent when we can't even get the other

ones closed out we have a uh an abutter who is very very concerned about this property and has been for some time we've asked for an ASU with ASB built Topo to make sure that the site as it currently stands is uh in accordance with the plan of record the amended or plan of record uh so at this time I am not prepared to make a recommendation on on

this notice of intent uh this is a habit that seems to go along with this particular applicant uh I do know that uh he has been uh impacted by the changes uh site Tech site design C and now he's with NEC in five years he's been probably with four Engineers uh I'm a little sympathetic with that however uh the coc's what we're ask asking is not very complicated uh we

were told a month ago that this was going to be done and we're still we're still caring this as a line item um at this point if the commission so chooses to continue one more time I wouldn't have a problem with that uh but I think I should be authorized in telling sending out some sort of Correspondence indicating that this is the last time you would do that this has just been ongoing and frankly from an

administrative point of I'm tired of babysitting these things that we're going to be told things we're going to get things and we don't get them and we got to carry them and got to carry them uh it just it it's hard to set an agenda not being sure what's going to happen down the road uh so I am I am a bit frustrated with this one I can I can sense that um and for good

reason um and I'm I I concur with you uh it's bad business to be granting more um when we haven't had compliance with what's already out there yet so um and this is not life or death this is a stone wall and an osprey nest it's not like it's you know has to do with the functionality of the pro the project itself or the or the development it's it's an aesthetic it's a pleasing

athetic and I'm just not willing to open up another file number that staff whomever it is has to chase down in four or five years I agree I could you think Tuesday the 28th is going to be enough to get them to do what they need to do or well my my fear is we're now at a point where we're loading the 28 we've got quite a few I would almost suggest

that this gets pushed to the fifth of December I think that makes a lot of sense to me um I mean we have we have four big ones if if Potter Street goes as we anticipate it will and there'll be a discussion on that one uh whatever the decision is uh we have Rockland Farms Lane which has been continued out uh you know that's a complicated Coastal uh site uh that we've had issues with and

questions about so that's four big ones uh right out of the shoot and we we have things coming in that need to be scheduled for that too so I would my recommendation would be to the fif and that you know then I think we make a serious decision as to what we want to do with uh whether we're going to continue it yet again or we're going to require them to refile or they can

withdraw without prejudice whatever they want to do I I don't see any problem with it I I honestly uh I mean this is not an emergency as you said this is a aesthetic you know it's a stone wall and an osprey nest there's really no reason to uh uh put it in a earlier uh uh meeting date as far as I'm concerned I I think we should have a letter that goes out

saying this is the last this is the last one um so that I I agree with you completely Mark okay so do somebody want to make a motion to continue this until the 5th of December motion to continue uh D file number 15-27 05 otherwise known as no- 23-43 um till December 5th 2023 a second second roll call vote Nat yes mie yes Kyle yes Richard yes and I'm a yes that motion passes

unanimously our seventh public hearing is on can we wait wait before we move forward do we need to authorize uh Mark to send out letter I think we would do that in our items for discussion okay thank you I've made a note of that for items for discussion um on our next uh public hearing it's on D file 15- 2549 noi 2348 it's on a request for an amended order of conditions to modify the

permitted single family home and Associated site grading and layout at map 128 lot 49-9 on Avis Street uh I obain a motion to wave the reading no moved moves second so roll call vote Kyle yes Richard yes padie yes Matt yes and I'm a yes that passes unanimously the applicant has requested by email a continuance this until the 28th um mark I don't know if we have room on that

agenda for the 28th for this but this one we do yes this one we do and just as a quick explanation uh they are uh revising the plan as per some DPW comments uh so that we'll have a final plan everybody else is signed off DPW had some lingering comments so uh they agreed to incorp orate those comments and it's just a matter of getting the plan prepared okay that that does make sense

they're making progress here yeah so I'll entertain a motion to continue this public hearing until Tuesday November 28 2023 at 7M so moved second with a seconded motion roll call vote n yes Richard yes Kyle yes yes and I'm a yes so that motion passes unanimously our final public hearing this evening is on D file 15- 2707 noi 23-46 it's on a notice of intent from Eric and Jessica Medeiros to construct an

addition to a single family home in an inground pool and a vegetated water CL Swale and Rain Garden in the 100 foot buffer zone to bordering vegetated wetlands it's on land described as map 153 lot 20 it's 50 white weed Drive I entertain a motion to wave the reading so moved a second on the motion we'll do a roll call vote Kyle yes mie yes Matt yes Richard yes yes yes that motion passes

unanimously and is there someone here this evening on behalf of the applicant good evening for the record Terry McGovern from Zenith L surveyors uh presenting and I'll share the plan on my screen thank you and hopefully everybody can see that I've been getting too used to being in Microsoft teams lately we can see it fine thank you that that is always good um this site's a little bit different in the the filing

that we made and I I know that Mark has been out there um the area and I'm going to try to blow this up I just need to move it sideways a little bit to do that um and then just move your tab out of the way there we go it's a little better um in that the the vegetated area that's considered a wetland in the middle of the site uh it

literally sits in the middle and it's cross-hatched in this area behind the existing house and the existing above ground pool and it's it does function as a wetland although I suspect now the primary um use of it is more habitat than anything because at one time it was a drainage ditch if you will that was fed by a culvert that runs under Hawthorne Street to the West um there's a a ditch that comes down through the

neighborhood goes into a cul and originally emerged on the other side and fed this this ditch where it then went back into a another Culvert on the opposite side and down the back of the the adjacent properties and that covert was tied into the street drainage uh somewhere in the past I do actually have some pictures of it if nobody's been out there it basically now street is very

flat and we still have um we do still have runoff that comes off this side of the street there's a little area kind of at the end of the former trench that's got a little bit of stone in it and maybe a small amount of scour um and you can see that the the runoff sheets off kind of in that area still as well as along underneath the fence or this part

of the the rear yard so it still does c carry water just not to the volume that it used to and so the Wetland plants that are in there which are pretty dense pretty tall um for the most part are still pretty healthy but it's not you know it's you can walk through it and the Bottom's pretty dry and it's I'd say now it's while it contains a lot of wetland vegetation probably its best

function is as as habitat as much as anything because it's such a narrow Bend and the Moses would like to take the area that's presently uh it also has a a stone wall that basically borders it from the the backyard that's been there since the um since the house was built and by the way I I should have noted at the top of the meeting is it um this property has been through the commission

I think I did make a note on the plan about it it it did receive uh two earlier orders of conditions for clearing and Grading of vegetation um in the past and I did make a note of that so the property's been in front of the commission before going back over the last 10 or 15 years um in any event what they would like to do is to um push this area that's

contained by the stone wall out a little bit in order to take the area that's now an above ground pool and and stone around it and actually put an inground pool with a about a five foot wide patio on the the outside edge of it tying that back into the house and then do a uh Garage in a master bedroom suite on the right side of the house and what they're

proposing or what we're proposing is to by way of grading um so that we continue to move water through the property is to relocate the sale and simply push it back roughly 8 to 10 feet from where it is now bring it around the back of this new uh this new area where the pool patio is going to be and to also create a vegetated replication area um over here to the

kind of to the left side of the property um in order to eventually replace the habitat and we've noted a couple of typical type species that could be planted in there certainly you know if Mark has other suggestions we can we can supplement it we did put um kind of a schematic planting plan um on the side of the plan and this area B basically would surround the area including across the outlet pipe with a

silt sock erosion control area which would not only protect the area from disturbance but um protect that outlet pipe from disturbance getting in as well um the grading would all really take place in exist within existing lawn area in the back um over time certainly this soil could could be allowed to rate and take some of its former shape we've kind of envisioned it as a um more

of a grass soil at the moment so that it can continue to carry water and again we've shown kind of a schematic of that and the um the replication area which is going to fall at the natural low point of the yard kind of over here in this this uh Westerly corner and just a little bit in from uh a wood chip play area and a basketball court that exists

so it will have it will be um fed by runoff which should allow any Wetland plants planted in that area to proliferate and grow and I think we've also made a note on here on uh regarding monitoring them for at least two growing seasons and replacing um any plants that are CA that are died off or look like they're not going to make it we put some pretty extensive notes regarding um the construction and monitoring some

suggested species as long and also putting in a a wetland seed mix um containing certain species which can go in the soil as well um a little bit of an ongoing maintenance um schedule to just make sure that everything is monitored again watching the um plantings for a couple of growing seasons and um and that essentially is is it it's it's a little bit different in the fact that it it's a wetland that

its primary source was cut off but it's still functioning as a wetland and it still is receiving some runoff um probably just not to the degree it was when the subdivision was originally constructed and again the area all around it has been used as a little wooden bridge there that we could move over just as decorative more than anything for the soil but um the rear area and the area all the way around it

pretty much has been used as backyard and Lawn since the previous orders the entire site itself is a buffer zone um because of the adjacent Wetland and this this thread through it so you're you've got kind of this odd internal Wetland to it and with that I'll I'll step back and take any questions or comments from the commission and for mark thank you appreciate that thank you Mark I'd like

to hear staff's comments on this yeah uh Terry could you scroll over so I can see the plant list and the schematic yeah that's fine um My overall comment is that I do not have any problem with what's being proposed uh I think there was some misidentification of resources in the previous um submittals to concom that Terry referred to earli in his presentation that really had nothing to

do with this was I think Terry probably described it as accurately as one can um do want can we uh scroll up a little bit to the plant list Terry keep going okay uh one of the things that I will note one of the things I disagreed with is under note number six they're proposing uh one gallon plant sizes uh and ju just for your information Terry conservation uh requires for shrubs three to five gallon

buckets or balls so okay one gallon is and we put that in the order of conditions uh okay one gallon is just too small uh for for our purposes uh so that would be one change if you could scroll over so we can see the the entire site View and scroll yeah okay thank you that's good enough okay I do agree that the the swell intermittent stream whatever we're going to call which does

convey water the day I was out there was a nice sunny day it was rather warm and the soil was moist so water does whether it's groundw seeps or surface water run off water is Con made along the what is now on this plan hatched uh the realignment of that SW uh further to the back really doesn't change its functionality um I think that uh while it does create some habitat uh that's

probably giving it more credit than it's due it's really a weedy Thicket uh probably a lot of nuisance vegetation I I didn't take time to do the species but just by the growth and the entanglement that's what it showed me so that the realignment of the swell uh you know further to the back make makes perfect sense to me uh they are proposing it as a grass Swale Terry I would uh in my recommendation I think

that the Wetland seed mix that you're proposing for the uh the restoration area probably should be extended up the bottom of that Swale I would agree with that I would definitely agree with that as opposed to just a Turf Lawn and I think that would give it some real habitat value in terms of the layout of the plan uh of the restoration area it looks fine I think it's you know pretty close to a oneto

one especially if you do seed to sell with h with a wetland mix as opposed to a Turf mix I think that would work very well the other thing that I would recommend to the commission is and I'd like to see this I I think part and parcel it has to happen this way uh I'd like to see this Swale and the restoration area constructed and planted prior to the construction of the

inground pool and the finalizing of the you know the the landside amenities get that in place I also think that planting that prior to March 1st of 2024 would probably be problematic since we'll be in the dead of winter but I think planting that in the early to mid spring and then following up with the construction afterwards I think I I I would be very comfortable with that thank you Mark does any

commissioner have any question of either uh Mr McGovern or or Mark I don't see any is there anyone in the audience this evening that wants to be heard on this application I don't see any um at this point mark are you comfortable with just making those conditions you mentioned or do we want to see them on the plan no I'm I'm I'm I'm comfortable with those conditions I mean these These are slight

modifications to what is already being proposed on the plan so I I have no problem with that I can give Mark a revised plan just as a followup just changing that one gallon to three to five gallon well if you want to vote this evening we'll have to do it as a condition otherwise I can add a condition okay sure okay um I'll entertain a motion at this juncture to close the public

hearing so moved a second have a seconded motion roll call vote we're gonna go Richard yes Kyle yes pdie yes Matt yes and I'm a yes as well so that passes unanimous unanimously Commissioners what's your pleasure on this request uh just a quick question um Mark what's the uh date of the plan of record the plan of record is October 20th 2023 uh so that will be the plan of record on the plan but the condition

excuse me that will be the plan of record on the order of conditions but there will be a condition for a revised plan just for some details we won't have that date thank you um can I make a motion uh for a standard order of conditions according to the plan of record which was dated October 20th 2023 um with the following conditions um number one a revised uh plan of record uh showing uh corrections

to the planting sizes uh planting container sizes which would go from one gallon to 3 to five gallons um the second condition uh is uh that the planting these plantings would be done prior to the construction of the inground pool um in early to mid spring okay we have a motion on the floor do we have a second motion I amend could I make an amendment to that or recommended amendment to Patty uh

standard order conditions with our standard restoration conditions also oh sorry sorry um uh so amended can I say so amended or do you need another motion no no I think that so amended will work soed okay thank you Mark so we have a motion do we have a second to the motion as second have a second so we're gonna go with a roll call vote Matt yes Kyle yes

Richard yes Paddy yes and I'm a yes as well so that motion passes unanimously thank you thank you very much everybody have a wonderful Thanksgiving you good night night we now have our items for discussion and the first is we have,000 we reposal so I guess that you're looking Mark for us to payment of that bill uh I need an authorization to sign the invoice since it's greater than $200 whatever the

small amount is that I signed for so uh this is a $1,000 bill this is for the completion of the storm water review of Potter Street I did uh email you a copy of Gus's report he they finally got that squared away and he was able to approve that okay so I will um entertain a motion to authorize Mark to sign the invoice for Gus reposa $1,000 drainage review for the PO Street solar matters

so moved second we have a second motion roll call vote uh Matt yes Richard yes Addie yes Kyle yes and I'm a yes that passes unanimously um before we get too far along on the items for discussion at this point I would like to uh you know entertaining motion to authorize Mark to send a letter to Mr John P kopachi uh 16 born Place regarding his um filing for an noi in D file 15- 2705 noi

23-43 indicating that we have continued that public hearing until Tuesday December 5 5 2023 at 7 p.m. and that there will be no further continuances of this matter it will uh so it's and he must uh do I guess the the work to get a certificate of compliance on the previous orders of conditions which have been outstanding now for quite a while so move second we have a roll call vote Kyle yes Richard yes

mat yes padie yes and I'm a yes that passes unanimously all right now we'll move on to your Wetland bylaw revision update Mark yes uh very quickly I uh contacted attorney Cruz probably about a week and a half two weeks ago uh you know we an administrator took the uh bylaw discussion off the fall town meeting warrant uh we heard about it secondhand uh so the efforts that we put

into meet a timeline were you know not addressed uh for fall town meeting and I don't want to fall into the same P problem again uh so I indicated to him that we had sent com comments back to him uh and we would like his responses to those or the commission would like responses to those we definitely would like to do this for spring town meeting this is now the third town meeting that

we're trying to get on on the a warrant on for this uh and as we speak filing requirements are further changing so uh we need to really lock this down uh in my discussions uh BR attorney Cruz uh indicated that he had a conversation I believe with uh mikio uh regarding ing the conditions associated with uh negative determinations and he seemed to be uh understanding uh our position that it is

prudent to condition certain things uh he was of the opinion that they were asking whether they were in our jurisdiction or not and I think both Mike and I kept telling him no they are in our jurisdiction in the matter of whether the project is significant enough to Warrant a full permit or an abbreviated review so I think he is revising the language accordingly um and he said that he would have

something to me soon uh but he didn't really give me a specific date but I certainly believe it'll be either before Thanksgiving or just after uh and he was talking about you know sitting down and having a meeting with the the commission and I suggested to him that uh I didn't think it was prudent to try to piggyback this on a regularly scheduled meeting so uh and I realize it's the holidays and times are

getting busy uh but we should probably think of having a singular agenda item meeting with uh Town Council uh to discuss this so we can pretty much move the bylaw portion forward so we can get that squared away um not asking for a date just yet I don't know what his comments are going to be I don't know how significant the changes are uh but just putting that on your radar

screen okay is there anything else that we want to discuss on items for discussion any enforcement issues yeah I got a couple uh and the first one I've invited Rich freom here uh for 25 Talen Pat Uh there's been a bit back and forth uh the um applicant shall we say is being a little obstinate and uh he's being obstinate with the wrong person in me uh so uh we had a little to do about

it but he seemed to have uh come to terms so I'll let Rich discuss it real quick rich and I did a site visit yesterday morning everything has been done and I'm ultimately going to request a vote to lift the cease and assist that was voted on so that they can proceed with work on the house they've done everything they could to stabilize the site and uh having said

that I'll turn it over to Rich if the commission does not mind what do you mean um if you recall this was where the applicant had cleared a lot of knotweed right down to the paner river um without um Sil control without permission um in uh the engineer Beach basically resigned so we came in did topographic survey uh prepared a plan that that showed uh trees and shrubs uh with silk control

um and and that was uh approved and the applicant did go out and and do all of that work so the the site is stable and we here just request you to lift the season assist uh we're still going to have to monitor um you know in the spring to see did everything survive and at the end of the growing season again is is everything uh uh in strong shape so

we're not going to be ready for certificate compliance for for at least a year um maybe maybe more but we like the season assist be lifted thank you Rich and Mark you do you think this I'm recommending I'm recommending that the season assist be lifted they've done everything they can to correct the the problem the site site is stable actually site looks really good uh I mean there's not a lot of on it

obviously but the site looks really good and it's you know it's I think it's going to be an attractive amenity on that that reach of the river uh so uh they've done the work uh been bumpy ride but they've accomplished what they need to accomplish so I compare with Rich I think the cease of theist should be lifted do any Commissioners have any questions I don't see any so at this juncture I'll entertain a motion that

you may want to make on this request to uh lift the cease and assist with staff's recommendation uh make a motion to lift the cease desist order um on this filing we have a motion have a seconded motion we'll do a roll call vote uh Nat yes Dy yes Richard yes Kyle yes and I'm a yes so that motion passes unanimously thank you for your help uh thank you very much

really appreciate than you as well you well okay just yeah just two two quick ones uh the mar site uh uh is progressing uh I Brad Holmes the Wetland consultant and I have concurred uh they've gotten everything done that they can do this fall uh now it's a question of going back next spring and doing corrective action which we anticipate you're going to have to do we're dealing with not

weed and frag mes and you know the first year you don't the first cut you don't knock it all down so uh but uh the site looked pretty in pretty good shape and I think it's the first time in a long time that you can actually see the Buttonwood Brook as it crosses the mar property so that was that was kind of a a bonus if you will so the maray site is again

we've kind of bumped and grind on that grinded on that one but uh it's coming along the last item I have is just a really quick update uh Brendan fanf is updating the uh Francis restoration plan to incorporate the comments that I had made to the uh to him and to the commission uh and as you voted his plan with my amendments and he is in the process of doing that I should have a

copy of the amended uh plan uh for you uh by the end of the week wonderful news both of those are wonderful news thank you Mark time one it's I know but you know sometimes those are the most sweet persistence and persistence pays sometimes you need to have a pitbull you know do you know you have to be relentless um in any event and thank you Mark this point uh before I entertain a

motion to adjourn I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and hope you all uh enjoy your time not too much turkey or stuffing in my case because I happen to like a lot of that um just monit the intake um in any event at this point I'll entertain a motion to adjourn so move second I can have a roll call vote Kyle yes Richard yes Patty yes Matt

yes and I'm a yes as well meeting is adjourned