It was a crowded session at the November 17 Rochester Conservation Committee meeting. The commission had no less than five public meetings and hearings to attend to and bench space was in short supply.
The meeting opened with a Request for Determination of Applicability filed by Eagle Scout Corbin Blanchard who was seeking permission to reconstruct the Mary’s Pond Beach canoe and cartop boat access on property off of Perry’s Lane. He briefly detailed the process to the committee: reconstruction would include installation of a 4-foot wide asphalt path, two landing areas, and stabilization of the side slopes with riprap underlain by a filter fabric. Siltation control measures would also be implemented. Blanchard also indicated that construction would be done without any adverse effects on the pond. The commission unanimously granted approval.
Commission member Kevin Cassidy lauded Blanchard.
“This is a wonderful idea, and it’s great for the town,” said Cassidy. “I commend you for taking it on and wish you luck with it.”
Property owners Joel and Caitlin Sullivan requested approval to build a new single-family home on their property on High Street. The building construction and associated site work, if approved, would take place within the 100-foot buffer zone of protected wetland areas.
The couple recently received word from the Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program (NHESP) certifying that endangered species within the buffer zone would not be adversely affected by the site work. The commission unanimously voted to approve the building request, with a requirement to pull a large mulch pile away from the wetland areas and spread it out.
Two applicants requested notice of Resource Area Delineation, as both had previously disagreed with Conservation Commission board members on wetland border marking. The first was Melink Corporation for the property located on Snipatuit Road where it proposes to build a solar farm.
The filing was meant to review and properly confirm 4,000 linear feet of bordering vegetated wetland boundary. Melink submitted revised plans to comply with the commission.
“Some of the borders were moved in order to not miss any wetlands,” said Melink’s representative. “We’ve connected several flagging stations in the revised plans to eliminate flagging stations in between.”
The request was granted with unanimous approval.
The second Resource Area Delineation was filed by Clean Energy Collective, LLC of Worcester for property located at 0 New Bedford Road and 268 Mattapoisett Road, the location of a proposed solar farm.
This filing was to confirm 2,750 linear feet of bordering vegetated wetland boundary. The representatives from Clean Energy indicated that they would be asking for a continuation rather than a direct decision, since they do not yet have a formal site plan. They said they were just looking for some feedback.
They acknowledged that most of the border was not in contention, except for one pocket of land in dispute because the land was not tested properly.
Conservation Agent Laurell Farinon, after walking the border, requested test pits in the contended area be dug, but the pits were dug with an auger rather than a spade shovel, which is incorrect practice.
Farinon remarked, “There is a broad swath in the middle which is wetland, and isn’t yet recognized as such.” She asked for more testing of the contended area. Clean Energy’s request for continuation was unanimously approved.
The last business order of the day was filed by David Vermette of VCORP for property located off of Vaughan Hill Road. Vermette requested approval for the building of a new single-family home with attached garage, driveway, and associated grading and utilities. A portion of the work would take place inside the 100-foot buffer zone to a bordering vegetated wetland.
VCORP representative Corey Medeiros said that siltation measures would be implemented at the property. He acknowledged the difficulty with the property in the past, when former owners had attempted to have building plans there approved.
“We’re open to questions on the wetlands,” said Medeiros. “We’ve spoken to wetland scientists about this.”
Farinon said they could not accept the plans as they currently stood. She requested a more recent perc test – the last one was completed in 2013 – and a re-evaluation by a wetlands scientist. Medeiros agreed, asking for a continuation. “I think we can take care of this in two weeks … hopefully,” he said with a smile. The request for continuance was unanimously approved.
Farinon was also pleased to report to the committee that they had received a $42,000 grant for the Haskell Woods Land Preservation Project. The money will be used to purchase 11 acres of land in the name of the Rochester Land Trust, which would provide public access to the area.
The next Rochester Conservation Committee meeting will be held on December 1 at 7:00 pm at the Rochester Town Hall.
By Andrea Ray
