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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000-01-05 Conservation Commission MinutesREADING CONSERVATION COMMISSION 7' 4 Minutes of Wednesday, January 5, 2000 Town Hall Selectmen's Meeting Room ~ PRESENT: Chair Nancy Eaton, Members Bethann Matathia, William Finch, Vincent Falcione, Leo Kenney, Ronald Tanner, Conservation Administrator Karen DeFrancesco and Recording Secretary Joy Mohr ABSENT: Consultant, Harold "Lucky" Hulse 7:10 PM Mark Gillis arrived. 7:14 On a motion by Mark Gillis, seconded by William Finch the Conservation Commission unanimously voted to approve the minutes of the December 1, 1999 meeting. 7:15 PM Discussion of Route 129 Project Plan Change, P & S Convenience Store Parking Lot Town of Reading's Engineer, Joe Delaney stated Mr. Buonorosa could not attend the meeting. Mr. Buonorosa would like to park two employee vehicles on the right side of the building and continue the pavement back 8'. He would. consider allowing a filter strip area on the adjacent Aberjona River if these two spaces are allowed. The inappropriate grading on the left side of the building will be changed in the spring. Joe Delaney will see if the State will add a couple of bumper logs or a line of boulders at the end of the pavement. Karen DeFrancesco requested Mr. Buonorosa stops cutting the area near the river and returns it to a natural vegetated state. Nancy Eaton continued the meeting for two weeks. Joe Delaney will add some kind of barrier at the proposed end of the pavement. He will take the triangle area next to the street and turn it into some kind of natural state. 7:40 PM Joe Delaney discussed the beavers living on the Aberjona River. If it becomes necessary the State will allow trapping of the beavers and remove them. Then the dam can be removed. The trapping is allowed up until February. 7:45 PM Public Hearing, DEP#270-xxx, RGB#1999-42, Harvest Road, Lot 198, Dorothy M. Jones, Proposed Single Family House Mark Gillis swore in the applicants. Atty. Scott J. Consaul, Richard O'Neill Jr. & Assoc. and Peter J. Ogren, Hayes Engineering, Inc. represented the applicant. A Special Permit was granted February 1997 and an extension has been requested. Reading Conservation Commission Minutes of 1/5/00 Page 2 The applicant is requesting a Permit under the Wetlands Protection Act, Chapter 131, Section 40 and the Town of Reading Wetland Protection Bylaw to build a single-family house on this property. The property borders a vegetated wetland stream and bank area. The stream is a dug channel with 2 to 1 slopes. Prior to the River Protection Act this was a buildable lot under zoning. The applicant is requesting a variance from the 25' Zone of Natural Vegetation. They are proposing a silt fence. Karen DeFrancesco stated the 100' river front area; the high water elevation and the bottom elevation of the stream need to be added to the plan. Nancy Eaton added into evidence the latest Commission Quad sheet showing it is a perennial river from regulations 10.58, paragraph 4D3. Nancy disagrees with the placement of the wetlands line. Leo Kenney said the line should be on the top of the slope and that the vegetation shows it is a wetland. Bethann Matathia said there are a couple of large trees, with above ground roots, on the footpath that runs through the lot. Bethann requested that the trees that will be removed be noted on the plan. William Finch stated that if trees were removed from the riverbank, the bank may need to be shored up. Atty. Consaul stated the property consists of two lots that were requested to be combined in 1994. They received a Special Permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals in February 1997 to construct a single-family dwelling. Mark Gillis asked why was there a three-year gap from 1994 to 1997? Paul MacDonald, 39 Line Road asked how they could squeeze a house on the property? They would have to take all the vegetation away, and the house would be 15' from his property line. Christine Levesque, 33 Line Road, stated the embankment keeps eroding. On a motion by Bethann Matathia, seconded by Mark Gillis, The Reading Conservation Commission voted to continue the public hearing on DEP#270-xxx, RGB#1999-42, Harvest Road, Lot 198, Dorothy M. Jones, until January 19, 2000 at 8:00 PM. Voted 6-0-0. 8:40 PM Violation, removal and alteration of BVW and its buffer zone without proper permits at 637 Haverhill Street, Albert DeMarco Richard DeMarco and Bob DeMarco represented their father, Albert DeMarco. They stated they were only cleaning up the debris from fallen trees. There was no intent to alter the drainage flow. Nancy Eaton stated that 25 to 30 trees were cut down. The shrub and ground cover layers were removed. Karen DeFrancesco recommended Mr. DeMarco stop removing trees and replant some red maple trees. She asked him to remove their wood chips. The Commission will revisit this site in April 2000 to determine what needs to be replanted to return it to its natural vegetated state. The Chair requested this be put on the agenda for the last meeting in April. Reading Conservation Commission Minutes of 1/5100 Page 3 9:05 PM Violation, removal and alteration of BVW and its buffer zone without proper permits at 201 Salem Street ~ Mr. Boschetti hired Steve Johansson, D & R, to pave his driveway and add additional parking space. The work was being performed 2' from the wetlands with no erosion controls. Mr. Johansson stated the homeowner assured him the "wetland issue" was all set. Mr. Boschetti stated he was only repairing an existing driveway and not adding any additional work. Karen DeFrancesco stated she had advised Mr. Boschetti he would need a special permit before adding parking spaces. The Commission's site visit referenced additional work being performed to the left of the house. Mr. Boschetti was previously issued a violation notice for improper activity on September 19, 1996. Steve McGloughlin, 195 Salem Street stated Mr. Boschetti has removed many trees over the years. He submitted pictures of the tree removal and the driveway. The Administrator stated she had mailed a Notice of Intent form to Mr. Boschetti, 201 Salem Street, Reading, MA 9:45 PM Partial Cert. of Compliance and Cert. Of Occupancy, DEP#270-319, RGB#199-15, 25 Cory Lane, Lot 3, Lucio Perrina Mr. Perrina stated he has reinstalled the erosion controls and purchased 50 bales of hay. On a motion by Mark Gillis, seconded by Bethann Matathia, the Reading Conservation Commission voted to allow Karen DeFrancesco to sign off on a Certificate of Occupancy for DEP#270-319, RGB#199-15, 25 Cory Lane, Lot 3, Lucio Perrina. Voted: 6-0-0 9:46 PM Discussion, Richard Tomczyk, EOEA/DEP NERO, Ipswich/Parker River Team Leader, Potential Areas of Open Space Acquisition for Protection of Wildlife Habitat Richard Tomczyk is working with 21 communities to create a 10-year master plan for Great Meadows and acquisition of conservation land. He is here to discuss what local areas would be applicable. The focus is on the 600-foot buffer zone from rivers. Maps were reviewed and locations were discussed. Most of the land in Reading is already protected and assigned for water supply, Town Forest and Conservation purposes. 10:20 PM On a motion by Mark Gillis, seconded by Ronald Tanner, The Reading Conservation Commission voted to adjourn their meeting. Voted: 6-0-0 Respectfully submitted, w-Joy Mohr Recording Secretary