After two meeting cancellations in a row, Rochester’s Conservation Commission’s Tuesday agenda was top-heavy with seven projects vying for Certificates of Compliance.
The board approved the Certificates of Compliance to the order of conditions: For the Double M Cranberry Co. Inc. bog project on County Road. For the 62 Nathaniels Drive project to build an in-ground swimming pool, patio, cabana, and fencing within the 100-foot buffer zone of wetlands. For the construction of a single-family home with garage, onsite well, and septic system at 158 Snipatuit Road. For the project to remove fill within the wetlands resource area and 25-foot No Disturb Zone at 127 Mary’s Pond Road. For the construction of a firearm training facility on County Road with associated site work included filing and replicating a wetlands area. For work associated with confirming a 6,662-foot wetlands boundary at 75 Vaughan Hill Road.
Then came the commission’s public hearing review of an Abbreviated Notice of Resource Area delineation for a project to confirm a wetlands resource area on 183 acres at 0 Snipatuit Road, proposed by ReWild Renewables. The commission approved the project’s Order of Resource Area delineation of its wetland borders after Conservation Agent Merilee Kelly’s reported observing, “a good delineation. Lots of trails, some wide enough for roads. It took two and a half weeks to find all the flags.”
Next, with a roomful of abutters looking on to raise concerns about how the project will affect flooding, natural resources, and wildlife in their neighborhood, the board began its review of the separate Notices of Intent to build six single-family dwellings with attached garages, driveways, and associated clearing, grading and utilities installation on two-acre lots at 0 High Street.
The hearings on four of the lots were continued to the commission’s next meeting on November 19 due to consultant Brian Wallace’s report that these lots are within the jurisdiction of state Natural Heritage Foundation protections. He asserted he needs to hear the agency’s response to how those lots should be handled.
A fifth lot received approval of its Order of Conditions with standard conditions after Wallace acknowledged this lot was close to three wetland resource areas: a cranberry bog and its buffer zone, vegetated wetlands, and a riverfront. Wallace emphasized, however, that the developer is trying to keep the bog off all of the house lot plans. That is why some lot configurations are different. But the developer will allow the bog owner easement and access to the bogs, he added.
Discussion of the sixth lot led to a decision to continue its hearing to November 19 and schedule a site visit on November 17 at 7:00 am. Abutter Jeremy Saccone sparked this move after noting his property near County Road frequently floods because of the bog and will flood even more when a house lot is built near him. “I’m going to have more of a flood,” Saccone said. “There will be nowhere else for that water to go.”
The commissioners concluded that they need to see the problem for themselves and recommended that Saccone join them at the site visit.
The next Conservation Commission meeting will be November 19 at 7:00 pm, at Town Hall, 1 Constitution Way.
Rochester Conservation Commission
by Michael J. DeCicco