Rochester’s Conservation Commission Tuesday said “not so fast” to the withdrawal of a Notice of Intent application to convert a wetlands swamp at 224 North Avenue into a wildlife and aquatic habitat, agricultural drainage area, and fire emergency pond.
The petition was axed just prior to the board’s February 4 meeting after Conservation Agent Merilee Kelly consulted with the DEP and concluded the work was exempted from wetlands bylaw restrictions because it is 61A agricultural land. During the meeting, the board declared that applicant and farmer Cody Wood still has to seek its permission to do this work.
Commission member Ben Bailey said his research reveals that Wood must submit a Farm Conservation Plan that the board must review and approve. He said exemptions from wetlands bylaw restrictions do not include the creation of a pond, only the expansion or reconstruction of an existing one. “It’s not something he can just do on his own,” Bailey said.
The other board members agreed. Commission Chair Christopher Gerrior said review of such a conservation plan would then need to be followed by a Notice of Intent application. He added that the pond creation needs to be an integral part of the kind of farming the applicant is planning. “He needs to describe what he wants to do there,” Gerrior said.
“He has to go through those hoops,” Bailey added.
Gerrior instructed Kelly and administrative assistant Danielle Craig to immediately inform Wood in writing of what he must do and find out if he already has a written farm plan.
In other action, the board issued a Certificate of Compliance marking the successful completion of the Order of Conditions for the construction of a new storage shed and yard improvements at 129 Dexter Lane.
The board issued a Certificate of Compliance endorsing the successful completion of the Order of Conditions for the construction of a new residence and associated work for property owned by Joel C. Sullivan on High Street.
The board learned state engineering consultants will be studying the railroad track embankment near SEMASS as part of a project to detect why a recent track embankment failure and collapse occurred. Engineering consultant Ellen Douglas explained via Zoom that a serious embankment failure occurred in Sandwich on October 27, 2020. The study will assess whether climate change is affecting Massachusetts rail infrastructure this way. Drought conditions may have caused the 2020 collapse. This Cape Cod Rail Resilience Research project will be funded totally by state funds, she said. Two other Cape Cod locations are also being studied.
The next Conservation Commission meeting will be on February 18 at 7:00 pm, at Town Hall, 1 Constitution Way.
Rochester Conservation Commission
By: Michael J. DeCicco