Rochester’s Conservation Commission Tuesday reacted positively to a Notice of Intent application for work within the wetlands buffer zone at 532 Snipatuit Road to remove an existing houseboat and dock from the edge of the pond, demolish an existing house and construct a new, single-family home with associated site work, a new septic system, an upgraded gravel-base driveway and stone cover.
Noting that the plan was sparked by the commission’s Enforcement Order against previous, unpermitted cleanup work there two months ago, the petitioner’s engineering consultant, Rick Charon, acknowledged there were a variety of wetlands designations on the property but described the variety of measures the design will include to earn it a permit.
The plan, Charon said, will include removing an old rotting house and replacing an “inadequate” driveway with a new one, but it will also feature a siltation containment system and containment buoys.
“I like the design,” Commissioner Bill Milka said.
Chairman Christopher Gerrior questioned if there would be an overlap between the work to remove the old and build the new. Charon answered he doesn’t have a timeline set but will supply one when he reaches that stage.
Even an abutter, Steve Crawford, likes the project. He said he has been the property’s neighbor for seven years, and the old structures there used to scare him because of their hazards. “The demolition would be an improvement,” Crawford said. “The structures there were dangerous, hazardous.”
Charon said he needed a continuance because he was waiting to hear from Natural Heritage regarding a possible requirement that the project be designed to protect the freshwater mussels in the pond.
The commission approved member Ben Bailey’s motion to begin drafting an Order of Conditions for the project. Gerrior asked Charon to prepare a work timeline. The commission then continued the public hearing until its next meeting on April 2.
In other action, the commission, upon the petitioner’s request, also continued to April 2 the Notice of Intent hearing for JPF Development’s plan to construct a 15-acre, self-storage facility within 100 feet of a bordering vegetated wetland at Kings Highway and 25 Cranberry Highway.
ConCom took the unusual step of dismissing a Notice of Intent application filed for work within the 100-foot buffer zone to wetlands at 120 Snipatuit Road and to refund permit-application fees.
The public hearing was sparked by complaints that the property owners were clearing vegetation close to a wetland pond there, Conservation Agent Merilee Kelly said. The commission learned the property is designated Agricultural and the property owners, Harrison and Kathleen Harding, raise deer there and need to clear land for them to graze on.
The commission learned its plan to clean up the sometimes-clogged, herring-run area from Hartley Farm Pond to the start of the Rochester Boat Race and the Mattapoisett River using just hand labor and minimal equipment if possible.
The commission met over a Zoom call with Brad Chase of Mass Marine Fisheries as a follow-up to the members’ February 10 site visit of the herring-run area. The commissioners’ conclusion after that tour was that “mat of vegetation” might soon impede the herring run there. Chase said hand labor to do that work would not need a Notice of Intent; a NOI would be needed only if equipment is used. The membership said such equipment is available to them.
Chase said he would like to schedule an in-person visit to the site at the commission’s convenience. Town Herring Inspector David Watling said the time to do this work is July or August, when the pond is at its driest and that the group Alewives Anonymous could file the NOI for the work with the Rochester Conservation Commission. Gerrior agreed to set up the visit with Chase for around that time.
Kelly reported that the Buzzards Bay Coalition has purchased 34 acres at 84 New Bedford Road for $1,100,000.
The Rochester Conservation Commission will meet next on Tuesday, April 2, at 7:00 pm at Town Hall, 1 Constitution Way.
Rochester Conservation Commission
By Michael J. DeCicco