Rochester’s Conservation Commission Tuesday agreed to the much-debated proposed Conservation Restriction on 13 acres at Red Brick Farm East, contingent on the Mattapoisett Water Department abiding by the town’s requested conditions.
The commission motioned that it would sign the CR upon receipt of a Letter of Intent stating that Mattapoisett will never develop a well on the 13 acres on Long Plain Road and the north side of Wolf Island Road in Rochester and will make every attempt to transfer the land to the Town of Rochester for $1.
Brendan Annett of the Buzzards Bay Coalition said it was too late to put these conditions in the multitown Conservation Restriction on 241 acres of aquifer land from Acushnet to Mattapoisett that this parcel includes. The state legislature must release the funding for the CR by the end of the legislative session in June.
Annett said the commission could sign the signature page that would only be released when the Letter of Intent regarding the concessions to Rochester is received. The commission agreed to this plan after board member Ben Bailey emphasized that the $1 purchase offer needed to be part of the letter’s language. He instructed Conservation Agent Merilee Kelly to release the signatures only when the Letter of Intent with Mattapoisett’s concessions is received, then reviewed by Rochester’s town counsel.
When they first heard of the CR plan weeks ago, commission members complained that Rochester has lost the right to use its own water resources too many times over the decades.
The regional agreement would give Mattapoisett the water rights to the Rochester parcel, including possibly digging up to four new wells, under a coownership agreement with the Mattapoisett Water and Sewer Authority. The commission was united in their refusal to sign the Red Brick Farms CR without more information, especially as to whether the CR can be rewritten to give Rochester rights to some of that water.
Tuesday night, Mattapoisett Water Department representative Henri Renauld noted several points to ease Rochester’s concerns. He said none of these four wells mentioned in the agreement will be dug in Rochester, and the fact is Mattapoisett is only allowed to draw a limited amount of water from the aquifer. And it must receive the Rochester Conservation Commission’s permission to dig those wells.
Renauld agreed to the commission’s response that these conditions be in writing. The board agreed to set a future, special, one-issue meeting to sign the signature page.
Later in the evening, the commission approved the invoice that will give the Buzzards Bay Coalition the $70,000 grant funds the town received for the Red Brick Farm Conservation Restriction. But it voted to not release the check until the Letter of Intent from Mattapoisett is received.
The commission began the meeting by approving the Certificate of Compliance for the completed plan to build a single-family home with septic system, well and lawn at 69 Paradise Lane, after Kelly reported no problems with inspection of the site.
Lastly, the board received good news regarding the 89 Box Turtle Drive dispute over owner Doug Rose clearing land there too close to wetlands without a permit over a year ago.
Rose’s attorney, Timothy Angley, told the board his client’s engineering consultant has been fired because he was dragging his feet on completing the plans the commission was seeking. A new engineer, Brad Holmes of ERC in Plymouth, has been hired and will deliver new plans to the board soon.
The board asked that the owner’s no-trespassing order be lifted to allow a site visit. Angley agreed that these visits could happen as soon as Thursday, June 22.
The commission set its summer-schedule meetings for Tuesday, July 18, and Tuesday, August 15, at 7:00 pm at Town Hall, 1 Constitution Way.
Rochester Conservation Commission
By Michael J. DeCicco