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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-04-24 Conservation Commission Minutes F �; Town of Reading � `, ' : � � e Meeting Minutes � '� - - � " � . "°'•,Mow.�" Ll� a .�ui �:f �, ii: �a Board - Committee - Commission - Council: Conservation Commission Date: 2024-04-24 Time: 07:00 PM Building: Location: Address: Session: Open Session Purpose: In Person and Zoom Virtual Version: Final Meeting - Conservation Commission Meeting Attendees: Members - Present: Martha Moore- Chair, Brian Bowe- Vice Chair, Andrew Dribin- Member, Tony Rodolakis- Member, Walter Talbot- Member, Bill McCants- Member (signed off at 10:00pm) Members - Not Present: Carl Saccone- Member Others Present: Chuck Tirone- Conservation Administrator, Ryan Percival, Senora- Honora Lovelace Tisell, Jack Sullivan, Maureen Herald, Tom Finn, Tom Walsh, Stephen Stapinski, Kevin Carlton, Caitlyn White, Sophie ]ones, John Weaver, Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Jennifer Velazquez Topics of Discussion: This meeting was held In Person at Town Hall and remotely via Zoom. Chair- Martha Moore called the meeting to order 7:08 at pm. . Hea�inas Scheduled: 1. DPW Roadway Assessor's Map various Lot various RCC File No. 2024-02 Ryan Percival, Reading Town Engineer, gave an overview of the proposed repaving of a few roads within Town. All catch basins will have silt sacks in them, proper erosion controls in place and the limits of work are walked and viewed by Chuck Tirone before work is begun. Mr. Rodolakis asked if there will be any curbing added to the east side of Charles Street to help reduce runoff into Timberneck Swamp. Mr. Percival said there is currently not a plan in place to add curb to that area as it is not in that specific budget However, that area in question has been planned to have grading, manipulating of the roadway and crowning. Mr. Bowe was curious how long the erosion control will stay in place once the work is done. Mr. Percival stated they can stay in place for as long as needed and will be picked up when it is no longer needed. Mr. Tirone would like to know where the staging area will be and will there be areas that can be marked off within the 100- foot buffer to not allow vehicle parking. Mr. Percival and Mr. Tirone agreed to walk the areas and scope out potential areas for staging as well as areas the contractors should be avoiding. The conditions for this project will be as follows- pick up erosion controls at end of the job, have staging areas outside of the Conservations jurisdiction, reseed any areas that the soil was torn apart, Motion to make a negative determination for the DPW Roadway work- Motioned by Tony Rodo/akis, Seconded by Andrew Dribin, 6-0-0. The votes were made by roll call vo[e. Vage I 1 Motion to issue with conditions discussed, Motioned by Brian Bowe, Seconded by Andrew D�ibin, 6-0.0. The votes were made by roll call vote. 2. Road Maintenance, John St and John St Ct., Boston Gas Ms. Tisell is representing BSC Group and spoke about the proposed project of replacing gas lines along John St and John Street Court within the 100-foot buifer zone. Ms. Moore questions the parking of vehicles used for this work. Ms. Tisell states this park within the 100-foot buffer zone will not take more than 1 day and they will not need to park. Mr. Bowe wanted to know why this was being replaced. Ms. Tisell stated this is typical maintenance because the coated steel needs to be replaced and the plastic will last longer. The roadway would be opened and closed daily. Erosion controls will be installed prior to any work being done. Motion to accept Boston Gas letter to exempt them from the proposed work- Motioned by Andrew Dnbin, Seconded by Tony Rodolakis, 6-0.0. The votes were made by roll call vote. 3. 252-262 Main St. & 10 Pinevale Ave Assessor's Map 11 Lot 192, 194, 196 Dep File No. 270-0779 The meeting is closed, Conservation Commission will discuss this project and conditions needed for the order of conditions. The Conservation Commission used this time to discuss the exact conditions for this project. The conditions are as follows- dumpster will be placed outside of the buifer zone, must use wildlife friendly lighting, standard operating procedures in place for proper trash control, three- year survivability on plantings, any fencing put up should have a gap for wildlife to pass through. Motion to issue an approval for 252- 262 Pinevale Ave.- Motioned by Brian Bowe, Seconded by Bill McCants, 6-0.0. The votes were made by roll call vote. 4. 0 Forest Street(between 126 and 106 Forest Street)Assessor's Map 33 Lot 92 Dep File No. 270-0779 Mr. Sullivan gave a detailed summary of all the updates to the plans that were requested by the Conservation Commission. Norse environmental was hired to do some work and soil testing. The flags in the field now match the labeled flags on the plans and the vernal pool was flagged. Mr. Rodolakis was questioning the size of the Wildlife Corridor of only 15-feet. Mr. Bowe asked a similar question about the corridor and the movement of the turtles who would be the ones to use this and is it useful? Ms. Moore wanted to know how the water from the spring flowing down to the vernal pool will be impacted by building a home within the area? Ms. Moore is concerned there will not be enough Flow to have this vernal pool survive this project. Mr. Dribin would like to see a plan view of how much of the area is going to fill in to get a better sense of how the contours are going to work. Mr. Sullivan ezplained with the visual presentation the greding and how the water will still continue to Flow even with a built house. Mr. Tirone had a question regarding discharge of the perimeter drains in the foundation and would like to see the pipes directed around the 35-foot buffer area. Mr. Sullivan said that was a good suggestion and would look to make the adjustments. Tom Finn, was wondering if the water flowing between the back of the property wetland area and the vernal pool would essentially make one large vernal pool? Maureen Herald gave a brief explanation on why the stream connecting does not make the whole area a vernal pool. Ms. Moore has informed the Commission that she would like to have a hydrologist look at the undeveloped plot. Ms. Herald recommended a watershed assessment in place of that. The Commission agreed the applicant should do the analysis. Mr. Tirone wanted the retaining wall at the end of the project be Flush with top of grade as it shows in the detailed plans. The Commission is also askin9 for the perimeter drain to daylight through the retaining wall somehow to be shown on the plans. Motion to continue hearing to next meeting on May $ 2024- Motioned by Brian Bowe, Seconded by Andrew Dribin, Abstained by Bill McCants, 5-0-L The votes were made by roll call vote. Pa9e I 2 OIdINew Business 5. Town Forest site walk and Town Forest Committee Meeting Discussion, Talbot Mr. Talbot spoke about his site walk through the Town Forest. Area 5 has numerous dead red pines and the plan is to cut the dead pines and drop them in place parallel to the trail and let them rot naturally. Area 12 will have some trees cut into 10 stumps and snags which would then have them eaten by bugs for food and bird habitaL The Commission is overall concemed about the forest management plan and would like to see something more thorough with plans for invasives, new planted seedlings, taking care of saplings and so on for years to come. 6. Certificate of Compliance (3) 123 Lilah Lane, Backus Trust The Commission had done a walk through of the site to determine if the certificate of compliance should be issued. There were observations of discarded plants and yard waste over the wall. Mr. Stapinski reiterated to the Commission that he is requesting a partial order for compliance for conditions that are outside of the 100-foot buffer zone and not in Conservations jurisdiction. The homeowner has agreed to remove the most recent yard waste dumped behind the property. Motion to issue a certificate of compliance for 270-171, 270-196, 1897-12- Mofioned by Brian Bowe, Seconded by Andrew Dribin, Abstained by Bill McCants and Tony Rodolakis, 4-0.2. The votes were made by roll call vote. 7. Certificate of Compliance 52 Louanis Drive, Schellenbach The Commission had done a walk through of the site to determine if the certificate of compliance should be issued. The Commission was concerned with the size of the gap underneath of the fence. Ms. White stated there is a gap under the fence that is 23 inches. It is recommended that the homeowner remove the erosion control. The large DEP sign can be removed from the property. Ms. White is going to gather information on what plants were actually planted within the fenced area as there is conflicting information from the plans to the actual site. The Commission would also live to see the survivability of some of the shrubs in the natural vegetation area over the next month. Motion to continue hearing to next meeting on June 12, 2024- Motioned by Brian Bowe, Seconded by Andrew Dribin, 6-0-0. The votes were made by roll call vote. 8. Violation Notices, yard waste and encroachment on Conservation Land, Follow-ups 51 Cross Street, 30 Henzie, shed, 126 Hanscom Ave, 30 Chequessett, 22, 8, Oakridge Road, 38, 34 Bond, 445 Pearl Street Discussion Items Mr. Bowe gave an update that 30 Henzie has moved the shed onto their property and may be removed from the list. 9. Bare Meadow land-use discussion Postpone Bare Meadow discussions until May 22, 2024. 70. Conservation/DPW Monthly Meeting May 7 Martha Moore will be available to attend the upcoming meeting. 11. Bills approved, 12. Administretors Report: 13. Minutes for approval: 4N012024 ADJOURNMENT Motion to adjourn at 10:20pm by Andrew Dribin, all in favor. Page I 3