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MINUTES LEXINGTON CONSERVATION COMMISSION 8/22/00 PAGE 4 <br /> question about who will then assume the responsibility for maintenance of the proposed Vortex <br /> drainage system, Mr. Miller said the Town Engineering Department has stated that they will not <br /> maintain the drainage system. Therefore he believes there will be a need to establish a <br /> homeowners' association to be comprised of these four lots to maintain the drainage system. In <br /> response to how this system is to be maintained, Mr. Miller said he believes the manufacturer's <br /> maintenance manual has been submitted to the Commission. Mr. Miller is not aware of any <br /> other responsibilities the homeowners' association would have other than responsibility to <br /> maintain the drainage system. The Town will be responsible for plowing and the street could <br /> become accepted, but the Town would still not be responsible for the drainage system. <br /> The Commission questioned whether there had been options and alternatives studied and <br /> presented regarding access to the site at locations other than from Blueberry Lane to prevent the <br /> impact they are proposing for their access. Mr. Miller used a plan to illustrate how there could <br /> be no access possible from either Woburn or Winchester because of ownership issues or because <br /> of difficult topography and wetlands crossings that would be required. The area north of the <br /> wetlands on the site is too limited to propose building except for the one lot. There would be <br /> greater impact to the wetland if it had to be crossed from the north. The applicants would have <br /> no difficulty with placing a deed restriction on the property to further protect the land from being <br /> accessed at other locations. The projects in Woburn and Winchester are totally separate projects <br /> and owned by others including the Towns. <br /> In response to assigning responsibility for seeing that the replication area succeeds, Mr. Sanford <br /> said that normally this is required through the Commission with annual monitoring reports being <br /> required. Normally a 75 percent success rate must be achieved within two years. The <br /> Commission would have ultimate control and without success, a Certificate of Compliance could <br /> not be issued. The replication area is on two lots, and for these lots generally money would be <br /> held in escrow at the closing to cover the costs of dealing with the replication. Again the <br /> applicants were asked, if the replication does not take, how would this be resolved? Mrs. Etsell <br /> summarized the possibilities: the Commission could require a bond that they would use if the <br /> replication was unsuccessful, the Certificate of Compliance would be withheld until the owners <br /> of the two lots on which the replication was located had satisfied the replication success. The <br /> homeowners would have money from the developer that had been held in escrow from the sale <br /> of the lot. She said replications done by this applicant have been snccessfiil. An example is <br /> located in Woburn off Julian Circle. J <br /> Mr.Newman said that if they were given access to do test pits, he feels that they would expand <br /> the wetlands line. This would expand the buffers and change the nature of the design of the <br /> development. He said they are not allowed to access the site for their study, but it will happen <br /> during the adjudicatory process. He explained that if they were given permission to go on the <br /> site now,based on the pits they dug on the site in 1996, the wetland line would expand 15 to 20 <br /> feet. <br /> Carol Barlow, 9 Thornberry in Winchester, explained that in her experience when neighbors <br /> share responsibility the work does not get done. <br />