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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-01-08-CONCOM-min TOWN OF LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS CONSERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES Monday January 8, 2018 6:30 P.M. Parker Room, Town Office Building 1625 Massachusetts Ave Chair Philip Hamilton opened the meeting at 6:34pm in the Parker Room of the Town Office Building Commissioners Present: Phil Hamilton, Duke Bitsko, Alex Dohan, Kevin Beuttell, Dick Wolk, Ruth Ladd Others present: Karen Mullins, Conservation Administrator and Casey Hagerty, Conservation Department Assistant 6:34 pm 5.2181 The Public Lands Preservation Act Letter of Support Motion to send letter of support made by Ms. Dohan and seconded by Mr. Beuttell. Vote: 6-0 in favor. 32 Woodpark Circle Ms. Mullins explained that back over the summer, it was brought to her attention that the owners of 32 Woodpark Circle had constructed a garden, shed, and deck without a permit. She notified the homeowners through a letter. Since then, they have hired a consultant and are proposing to remove the garden and move the shed to the driveway. The commission stated that they need to see a plan before they can approve the proposed work. Questions and comments from the public: Miriam Sadofksy, 14 Woodpark Circle, explained that the owners of 32 Woodpark Circle should have to do more restoration work. She explained that there is a great deal of invasive species in this area and they should be responsible for removing them. She stated that she was required to do restoration as a part of her Conservation permit. The commission stated that they will look into this further when they receive a more detailed plan. 6:49pm Victory Garden WayOperation and Maintenance Plan Revision Request by Homeowners Association to reduce required catch basin cleanings from 4 to 2 times per year based on annual inspections and monitoring reports, DEP File No. 201-780, BL 740 The commission stated that there are not any alarming changes between cleanings so they are comfortable with reducing the amount of required changes from four times a year to two. Motion to reduce the number of required cleanings made by Mr. Wolk and seconded by Ms. Ladd. Vote: 6-0 in favor. 6:51 pm Wright Farm Parcel 2 House Lot, Update on LexHAB revised lot line request and Town Meeting Warrant Article Proposal Ms. Mullins explained that LexHAB is proposing to change the lot lines of the lot that they own so that the lot is easier to maintain without encroaching into the Conservation Land. The change in lot lines will have to be approved by Town Meeting. Questions and comments from the commission: The commission stated that they do not understand the justification for the change. The commission stated that they are concerned about how this change could affect the timeline for work on the site. The commission asked why this request is just coming up now. 7:02pm Hartwell Avenue Zoning Proposed Changes Update Ms. Mullins explained that there are proposed changes to zoning on Hartwell Ave which may include some Conservation issues. She suggested that the commission appoint a member as a liaison to the Working group. Ms. Dohan stated that she is willing to be the liaison when the time comes. Questions and comments from the public: Charles Horning explained that this project is in the very preliminary stages. He will contact the commission when their involvement will be more appropriate. 7:05pm DEP 201-1082, BL 1039 NOI, 20 Pelham Rd, Lexington Children's Place Owner/applicant: Town of Lexington Project: New school building and associated site work Fred King- Schofield Brothers, Rick Rice- DiNisco Design, Bill Brown- Landscape architect Mr. King stated that the site in question is a 8.4 acre piece of land next to the community center. There is currently an existing school on site. On the site there is an existing catch basin which serves the community center and it will not be disturbed. There is a wooded swamp on site with a vernal pool although it has not been certified yet. The proposed project will be outside the 100ft.buffer to the vernal pool, but portions of the project will be within the 100 ft. buffer to wetlands. There will be a reduction in impervious surface. The entire project will meet the stormwater by law. The fire and police departments are requiring that the applicant add a road around the school and playground area. Mr. King added that there is an 18inch drain line that runs through the property from the abutting property. This line drains to the wetlands. Mr. Hamilton entered the engineering report into the record. Mr. Hamilton entered the interdepartmental review comments into the record. Questions and comments from the commission: The commission stated that they are uncomfortable with approving the project without reviewing the vernal pool. They decided to do a site visit once there is less snow to visit the site. The commission stated that they would like to see the town put an easement over the drain line so that the abutting property can clean it when needed. The commission stated that they are concerned that this line is draining directly to the wetlands. The commission asked for clarification regarding grading on the site. The commission asked the applicant to provide more details on the rubber surface in the playground because it is being treated as pervious. The commission stated that they are concerned about encroachment in the vernal pool area. Motion to continue the hearing to 1/22/18 at the applicant's request made by Mr. Beuttell and seconded by Ms. Ladd. Vote: 6-0 in favor. 7:58pm Insignificant plan change:19 Bellflower St John and Justine Neely, 19 Bellflower Street Ms. Neely explained that they have removed a trampoline and zip line from the wetland area. The sheds are the remaining concern. They are proposing to add peastone along the edges of the shed to mitigate for the run off. Motion to approve mitigation and insignificant plan change made by Mr. Beuttell and seconded by Ms. Dohan. Vote: 6-0 in favor. 8:05pm DEP 201-1079, BL 1036 (Continued Hearing) NOI, 7 Crosby Dive, Hastings School Owner/applicant: Town of Lexington Project: New school building and associated site work Fred King- Schofield Brothers, Vivian Lowe- DiNisco Design, Bill Brown- Landscape architect Mr. King explained that since the last meeting, they have revised the plans to reflect the changes that the commission requested. The changes included clarification regarding washed stone detail, clarification on subdrain details, level spreader details, the inclusion of biodegradable erosion control blankets, details on manholes, and boulder wall details. Mr. Brown explained that additional native plantings were added along the slope including trees and shrubs. Mr. King stated that they will add shrubs to the biobasins. Questions and comments from the commission: The commission stated that they are uncomfortable with use of cultivar plants. Mr. Brown explained that in some areas on the site, they must use cultivars because of varying reasons such as sightlines and safety. The commission stated that the applicant should have the specific batch of pervious pavement tested that day so that they can determine early on if there will be a failure. Motion to close the hearing made by Mr. Beuttell and seconded by Mr. Wolk. Vote: 6-0 in favor. 8:43pm DEP 201-XXXX, BL XXXX NOI, 45, 65, and 75 Hayden Ave Owner/applicant: King Street properties Project: New office building, garage, and associated site work Doug Hartnett and Jesse Agular- High Point Engineering, John Rockwood- wetlands scientist, Rob Albrook- King Street Properties. Mr. Hartnett explained that the property in question went through a rezoning process in the fall. As part of the process they signed a memorandum of understanding with the town and submitted a conservation restriction. He explained that they had filed an amended order to make some changes on the site, but are going to withdraw that and go forward with this new filing. As part of this filing, they are proposing to build a four story office building and a nine level parking garage. They are going in front of the planning board for approval as well. Four parking spots on site will be dedicated for public parking at the Hayden Woods trail head. The majority of the construction will take place outside of the buffer zones. They will be daylighting two portions of the stream and replacing two culvert crossings with proper stream crossings. There will be a large reduction in impervious surface on the site because a parking lot will be removed. Two footbridges will be built over the streams. The site will meet the town stormwater requirements. Mr. Hamilton explained that the engineering department has recommended that the commission get a peer reviewer to review the stormwater information. Mr. Hamilton entered the planning department comments into the record. Questions and comments from the commission: The commission stated that they want more details regarding the driveway along the wetland. The commission stated that they want documentation about the test pits. The commission stated that they want details regarding how shade from the buildings will affect the wetlands. The commission requested grading details. The commission stated that they need more details regarding the footbridges. The commission asked if the applicant has contacted the Army Corps of Engineers. The applicant stated that they have not because work will be done in the dry season, but they will if the commission wants that. The commission asked that the applicant include more details regarding the location of Hardy Brook. Motion to continue the hearing to 1/22/2018 made by Mr. Wolk and seconded by Mr. Beuttell. Vote: 6-0 in favor. 9:21pm DEP 201-XXXX, BL XXXX NOI, 6 Hancock Ave Owner/applicant: Debby and Mark Fortin Project: Garage addition, home addition, driveway expansion Mary Trudeau- wetlands scientist, Debbie Fortin-homeowner Ms. Trudeau explained that a couple of months ago, they came in front of the commission for a determination. At that point, the wetlands were found to be closer the property than originally thought so they are now filing the Notice of Intent. The proposed work includes an addition to the garage and house as well as an expansion of the driveway. An infiltration system has been designed to mitigate for the two additions and the additional driveway area. Mr. Hamilton entered the engineering report into the record. Motion to close the hearing made by Mr. Wolk and seconded by Mr. Beuttell. Vote: 6-0 in favor. 9:30pm DEP File 201-XXXX, BL XXXX NOI, 55 Cary Ave Owner/applicant: Stephen Strafford Project: Raze and rebuild SFD Rich Kirby- LEC Environmental, Terry Stevens-representative of homeowner Mr. Kirby explained that this project is a raze and rebuild of a single family home. The existing house extends within to the 50 ft. buffer. The lawn area extends into the wetland area. Portions of the proposed house will extend into the 50 ft. buffer, but is significantly further from the wetlands than the existing house. A large portion of the lawn will be restored to wetland vegetation. Mr. Hamilton entered the engineering report into the record. Questions and comments from the commission: The commission stated that they are concerned about approving the wetlands line because they have not seen it without snow cover. The commission stated that they need to do a site visit without snow before they can approve this project. The commission stated that they are concerned that the infiltration system behind the retaining wall will leak through the wall. Mr. Kirby stated that he will talk to the project engineer regarding this issue and look at installing a polyliner. The commission stated that they want to see FENO markers on the plan. The commission discussed where they would like to see the FENO markers placed. The commission discussed their performance standards and whether they can allow this project because it is within the 50 ft. buffer. Although the existing garage and house extend into the 50 ft., buffer, the commission stated they are comfortable with the project. Motion to continue the hearing to 1/22/18 at the applicant's request made by Ms. Ladd and seconded by Ms. Dohan. Vote: 6-0 in favor. 10:09pm DEP 201-1075, BL 1032 ANRAD, Dunham and Webb Street Owner: Lawrence Trebino Applicant: Angie Kavlakian Project: Confirmation of wetlands line Motion to continue the hearing to 1/22/18 at the applicant's request made by Ms. Ladd and seconded by Ms. Dohan. Vote: 6-0 in favor. 10:10pm DEP File 201-1081, BL 1038 NOI, 160 Lincoln Street Owner/applicant: Yi Yue, Lyre Investment and Development Project: Renovation of existing house and addition Scott Smyer- Oxbow Associates, Yi Yue- owner/applicant Mr. Smyers explained that since the last meeting, the applicant has included the driveway runoff in the stormwater calculations. They have also added a note to the plan regarding the pruning of the trees on site. The distance between the wetland and the existing wall is 41 ft. Motion to close the hearing made by Mr. Wolk and seconded by Ms. Dohan. Vote: 6-0 in favor. 10:12pm DEP 201-1080, BL 1037 NOI, 81 Westview St. Owner: Cheryle West Applicant: Nash Quadir, KUQ Construction Project: Raze and rebuild SFD and associated site work Rich Kirby- LEC Environmental,Nash Quadir- applicant Mr. Kirby explained that the entire project is outside of the buffer zone. The site plan has been revised to add contours and FEMA flood elevation. There is a slight change in the wetlands line because of a survey error. As a result, the house was reduced slightly to keep it outside of the 100 ft. buffer. Questions and comments from the commission: The commission discussed the FEMA flood elevation conversion process and determined that the applicant incorrectly converted the numbers. Motion to continue the hearing to 1/22/18 at the applicant's request made by Ms. Ladd and seconded by Ms. Dohan. Vote: 6-0 in favor. 10:30pm Rule for Performance Standards, Section 5(9) Work on Steep Slopes Motion to adopt steep slope standards made by Mr. Wolk and seconded by Mr. Beuttell. Vote: 6- 0 in favor. 10:30pm Approve minutes from 12/11/2017 meeting Motion to approve minutes made by Mr. Wolk and seconded by Ms. Dohan. Vote: 6-0 in favor. 10:31pm Review Draft Buffer Zone Performance Standard Section 5(5) Amendment Proposal This will be discussed at the next meeting. 10:32pm Approve expenditure from Lexington Nature Trust for $838.07 Motion to approve expenditure made by Mr. Wolk and seconded by Ms. Ladd. Vote: 6-0 in favor. 10:33pm Schedule Site Visits for the 1/22/2018 Meeting Site visits were scheduled for 1/20/2018. 10:34pm Motion to adjourn made by Mr. Wolk and seconded by Mr. Beuttell. Vote: 6-0 in favor. Respectfully submitted, Casey Hagerty Conservation Department Assistant Approved 2/5/2018