Rochester’s Conservation Commission on Tuesday granted a Negative Determination that wetlands bylaw restrictions do not apply to a proposed large-scale water main improvement project by SEMASS at 141 Cranberry Highway.
The project’s environmental scientist Hailey Page explained that the plant’s main pipe for the employees’ water use failed in December of 2023. It is being replaced by a 550-linear-foot, three-inch wide water main being dug six-foot deep close to where there is a 25-foot no-disturb zone at wetlands. The project will begin in 2026 provided all permitting and funding has been secured, Page said. The commission’s approval vote included the condition that all erosion controls detailed on the plan will be followed.
The remainder of the agenda ended in continuances to the next meeting. The commission continued until March 18 its Notice of Intent (NOI) hearing on converting a wetlands swamp at 224 North Avenue into a wildlife and aquatic habitat, agricultural drainage area and fire emergency pond. The applicant, farmer Cody Wood, argued he does not need an NOI or a conservation plan because of the way regulations read on the matter and an opinion from the DEP. Commission chair Christopher Gerrior said he and his board will need to see for themselves the DEP correspondence and the “workflow” of Wood’s argument against needing ConCom permissions. “It’s on you to prove your case,” Gerrior said.
The commission agreed to schedule site visits on High Street when it continued until March 18 its hearings on four separate Notices of Intent allowing the construction of single-family dwellings on two-acre lots there. These are lots close to cranberry bogs that since early November have drawn the attention of abutters who have raised concerns about its possible effect on flooding and natural resources in their neighborhood.
Discussion of “Lot 12” of this project led the board to also motion that the developer pays for an independent engineer to measure the top of the septic tank proposed on the plan. This vote came after abutter Andrew Roth cast doubt on the accuracy of the measurements on that lot’s plan. “My concern is that some of these lot lines are razor thin,” Roth said.
Jim Morse, the engineer for another abutter, Jeremy Sassone, lodged a similar complaint that plan measurements may not be accurate. Sassone had previously complained his property near County Road frequently floods because of the bog and will flood even more when a house lot is built so close to him.
The next Conservation Commission meeting will be March 18 at 7:00 pm, at Town Hall, 1 Constitution Way.
Rochester Conservation Commission
By Michael J. DeCicco