Members of the Rochester Conservation Commission will be visiting 32 Gerrish Road on Saturday, December 17, to see for themselves if a plan to build a single-family home, patio and landscape wall within a wetlands buffer zone there requires a Notice of Intent application.
Brian Grady of G.A.F. Engineering, representing property owners Kevin Crimmi and Christine Gagnon, said the wetlands in question are an old resource area that was a cranberry bog but is now “naturalizing.” He noted the parcel was once a tree farm that at one point was owned by Conservation Commission member Ben Bailey, who had already recused himself from commission participation during the public hearing.
Grady said the portion of the work closest to the wetlands will be a landscape wall and erosion controls.
Conservation Agent Merilee Kelly asked how far the landscape wall would be from the wetlands. Grady responded that the wall will be approximately 60 feet away and 6 feet high.
Conservation Commission Chairman Christopher Gerrior noted the buffer zone is not being marked or delineated in any concrete way. Grady responded he would be willing to discuss doing this as the plan develops.
That left only one question for Gerrior to ask: When would an on-site visit be most convenient for both the commission members and the petitioners? The two sides settled on Saturday, December 17, at 8:00 am, and the commission voted to continue the public hearing to Tuesday, December 20.
In other action, the commission also continued until December 20 its hearing into the Notice of Intent application filed by Jon Roth at 119 Dexter Lane. Roth’s plan is to clear the land he owns that is overgrown with invasive plant species so his horses and cattle can graze there.
Kelly reported that the town is still waiting for correspondence from the state; the Natural Heritage Foundation needs to approve the plan because the area is a designated priority habitat.
The commission set its next public meeting for Tuesday, December 20, at 7:00 pm in the library at Old Colony Regional Vocational-Technical High School, 476 North Avenue. The meeting is also accessible live via Zoom.
Rochester Conservation Commission
By Michael J. DeCicco