The Rochester Conservation Commission Tuesday night issued a new violation order against the property owner at 89 Box Turtle Drive for clearing land too close to wetlands without a permit and not trying to communicate with commission members.
Town Counsel Blair Bailey, appearing before the commission remotely via Zoom, recommended issuing a new order because the original was signed by an office aide and should have been signed by the commissioners themselves. He then added that the property owner needs to file a restoration plan for his violation of the town’s wetland boundary bylaws.
The property owner’s attorney Timothy Angley who also attended remotely via Zoom argued, “We are working on defining the wetlands border with wetlands experts. It is hard to say there was a violation. We are not going to agree there was a violation.”
Attorney Bailey said he totally disagrees with this stance.
“Only the extent of the violation might be at issue,” Attorney Bailey said. “The board will need a restoration plan. You can appeal where you see fit.”
In the meantime, under the new order, the commission will continue issuing “tickets,” fining the property owner for wetland-code violations, which involve working closer than 25 feet from wetlands without a permit. The order instructs the property owner to file a restoration plan with erosion and sedimentation controls by August 2.
The commission also agreed to get the assistance of the state Department of Environmental Protection with investigating the issue.
“We’ve tried to be helpful to (the property owner),” Conservation Commission Chairman Ben Bailey (no relation to Blair Bailey) said after the attorneys had signed off. “This is an excessively unwise course of action on his part. He approached us to ask if he needed a permit. He never complied, and then he’s refused our every overture to work with him.”
The commission’s other action Tuesday approved an extension of an Order of Conditions approved two years ago for 443 Neck Road, where a house and a subsurface sewerage disposal system are proposed.
Property owner Matthew Magalhaes explained he brought the parcel in 2019, when a previous owner’s OOC was in place. There have been multiple issues delaying construction, including the pandemic. Magalhaes said he will only need a six-month extension. The commission approved the typical two-year extension.
The next meeting of the Rochester Conservation Commission is scheduled for Tuesday, August 2, at 7:00 pm.
Rochester Conservation Commission
By Michael J. DeCicco