Member Shaun Walsh reported to the Marion Conservation Commission during its August 10 public meeting on the flooding problem at 112-114 Point Road, where he and Conservation Agent Doug Guey-Lee had met on August 8 with the property owner and Department of Public Works Director Nathaniel Munafo.
The group observed that a swale on submitted plans with a 2014 NOI is no longer evident, and the “very heavily vegetated area” on town-owned property at the site is considered the town’s responsibility for maintenance.
According to Walsh, the sloping roadway has created a channel alongside the road, but a buildup of sediment in that channel is keeping runoff water out of the swale and on the road. So the solution will be to create a couple of new channels from the road down into the swale to provide an outlet for storm runoff.
The DPW will clear-cut the vegetation for a clear look at the problem and then reassess the need to make a channel for stormwater that has been collecting on Point Road. Walsh said it may be determined that the driveway is contributing to the runoff, in which case the property owner may need to consider other measures to mitigate the current conditions.
Walsh said any trench digging that the DPW needs to do will be on land subject to coastal-storm flowage and therefore not applicable to wetlands boundaries.
John Hartwell filed a Request for Determination of Applicability for the removal of an existing tree due to concerns about the root system and to install a 12×9-foot shed at 63 East Avenue on Planting Island.
In the public hearing, Hartwell told the commission that Arne Excavation “was supposed to” remove the tree in 2018 but after preparation to install a septic system did not remove the tree. The roots, Hartwell suspects, are tending toward the septic system. Part of his application is to also put up a shed.
Conservation Commission Chairman Jeff Doubrava, who lives two doors down, recused himself from judgment or comment on the case.
Walsh and fellow commissioner Emil Assing called it a straightforward project. Assing noted that the septic system was installed in a different location than what was on the site plan. He said the applicant might have to shift the shed seaward by 1 or 2 feet and deal with erosion control. Hartwell confirmed that his plan is to use 3-foot footings, driving the tree stump.
Assigned to formulate a motion, Assing called Hartwell’s application a buffer-zone project and concluded that since the work is within the buffer zone, it is subject to the Wetlands Act but will not alter the area and therefore will not require a Notice of Intent.
The commissioners voted a Negative Box 2 and 3 Determination. Any movement of the shed by no more than a couple of feet to complete the project will not require more than notification to the town.
Mariano and Leah Garcia-Blanco filed an Abbreviated Notice of Resource Area Delineation for property at 18 Sippican Lane.
In the public hearing, Brian Grady from G.A.F. Engineering called the property an unusual site and considers the isolated wetland areas at the site a result on construction activity in nonjurisdictional areas. Grady said the plan is not to move the house but make a small addition on the south side and possibly a detached garage adjacent to a relocated tennis court.
Commissioner Marc Bellanger motioned for a vote to acknowledge an accurate drawing of the resource area of delineation on the map. He said he sees no need for an appendix. The commissioners agreed and unanimously voted their approval.
The commissioners also voted to extend by three years the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection’s permit to perform maintenance on the drainage system on Routes 6, 105 and 195.
The next meeting of the Marion Conservation Commission is scheduled for Wednesday, August 24, at 7:00 pm.
Marion Conservation Commission
By Mick Colageo