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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-01-28-CONCOM-min 1 TOWN OF LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS CONSERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES January 28, 2019 6:30pm Parker Room Town Office Building, 1625 Mass. Ave, Lexington, MA Commissioners Present: Phil Hamilton, Alex Dohan, David Langseth, Duke Bitsko, Kevin Beuttell and Dick Wolk Commissioners Absent: Ruth Ladd Others present: Karen Mullins, Conservation Administrator and Katie Luczai, Conservation Department Assistant 6:30pm Issue Order of Conditions: 4 Lake Street, DEP 201-1116, BL 1073 On a motion by Ms. Dohan and seconded by Mr. Beuttell, the Commission voted 6-0 to issue the Order of Conditions. Request for Certificate of Compliance and Extension to Order of Conditions: Clarke School DEP4201-1014 BL 971 and Diamond School DEP4201-1013 BL 970 Mr. Fred King represented the Clarke and Diamond schools. Mr. King stated that the Clarke and Diamond schools are ready to be issued partial or complete certificates of compliance. Mr. King noted that restoration efforts are still in progress at both locations. The Clarke and Diamond schools are additionally asking for an extension to each Order of Conditions if the Commission would rather issue complete certificates of compliance when the restoration efforts are complete. The Orders of Conditions for the schools expire in February and March. The Commission decided to extend the orders of conditions and will revisit the requests for Certificates of Compliance later in the spring to allow for further restoration progress. On a motion by Mr. Wolk and seconded by Mr. Beuttell, the Commission voted 6-0 to extend the Order of Conditions by one year for the Clark School DEP4201-1014 BL 971. On a motion by Chairman Hamilton and seconded by Mr. Beuttell, the Commission voted 6-0 to extend the Order of Conditions by one year for the Diamond School DEP4201-1013 BL 970. Request for Certificate of Compliance: 3 Fiske Road DEP4201-1023 BL 980 Mr. Robert Bibbo and Mr. Edward Chiang presented before the Commission. 2 Mr. Bibbo presented the completed work. Mr. Bibbo presented several changes completed that were not approved in the original Order of Conditions. Due to the extent of changes made following the issuance of the conservation permit, the Commission asked the applicant to file for requests for an amendment and an extension to the Order of Conditions. Mr. Langseth asked about the drainage of water on the property, voicing his concern about the height of the driveway grate. Mr. Bibbo stated that no water will leave the driveway Mr. Langseth stated that normally the Commission approves depressed drains, noting this drain system did not appear to be built as such. Mr. Beuttell asked that the storm water calculations be updated based on the cover charge. Chairman Hamilton asked why the backyard area was expanded into the buffer zone without approval from the Commission. The homeowner stated that they wanted a larger lawn area for their children and it looked like it was outside of the buffer zone. Chairman Hamilton stated that though it may be reasonable to desire more lawn area, when an applicant wishes to make changes to a plan for which an order of conditions has been issued, the applicant must first go before the Commission for approval. Mr. Hamilton stated that this violation of the order of conditions could subject the applicant to fines of up to $100 per day. Mr. Wolk asked what margin of error was used. Mr. Bibbo stated that they calculated everything in 1 foot intervals, rounding to the nearest tenth. Request for Insignificant Plan Change: 16 Summer Street DEP 4201-996, BL# 953 Ms. Shelly Henderson presented before the Commission. Ms. Henderson presented the proposed changes to the order of conditions. Ms. Henderson stated that she would like to extend the work line on one part of the property while moving the work line inwards on another part of the property. There will be no change to the grading of the property. Ms. Dohan confirmed the request to increase lawn in one area and decrease lawn in another area. On a motion by Mr. Wolk and seconded by Ms. Dohan, the Commission voted 6-0 to approve the insignificant plan change. Request for Insignificant Plan Change: Brookhaven DEP 4201-1066, BL41023 3 Mr. Jim Borrebach from OHI Engineering, Inc. presented before the Commission. Mr. Borrebach stated that they are before the Commission today to ask for a relocation of a manhole. The current manhole they had proposed to use would be unsafe to alter. Instead, they propose to install a new manhole that will be about 25 feet away from the nearest brook. Mr. Borrebach stated that they will install erosion controls. No additional areas will be disturbed. They plan on keeping the sole tree in the construction zone. Mr. Beuttell emphasized the desire to keep the tree. Mr. Beuttell asked to add fencing and pull mulch away from the basin. Mr. Langseth asked where the location of the pumping equipment will be. Mr. Borrebach stated that the pumping equipment will be located on the grass next to the existing equipment. Mr. Langseth asked that there be a drip pad underneath the pumping equipment. Chairman Hamilton stated that there will be conditions added to the insignificant plan change. On a motion by Mr. Wolk and seconded by Mr. Beuttell, the Commission voted 6-0 to approve the insignificant plan change with conditions. Mr. Borrebach stated they will be coming to the Commission in the future to ask to clean up part of the area which is within 25 feet of the wetland. Mr. Langseth asked when they come before the Commission that they provide more information including documentation concerning the erosion control equipment. 7:31pm Request for Insignificant Plan Change: 45 Bedford Street DEP# 201-1097 BL# 1054 On a motion by Mr. Beuttell and seconded by Mr. Langseth, the Commission voted 6-0 to approve the insignificant plan change. Request for Insignificant Plan Change: 20 Cooke Road DEP4201-1089 BL# 1046 Mr. Brian Lao presented before the Commission with his civil engineer. Mr. Lao stated that due to a miscalculation by an engineer they are before the Commission to ask to remove the foundation that was constructed beyond what was originally approved by the Commission. 4 Ms. Mullins, the Conservation Administrator, confirmed that the applicant is bringing the foundation back to the approved setback requirements. The Commission discussed the ways in which procedures could be put in place to prevent cases such as this from happening in the future, such as a requirement for an as-built plan at the footings stage. Chairman Hamilton asked that the applicant come back with updated plans for the Commission to approve. 7:59pm Land Use Permit Request: "Enhancing the Edibility of Conserved Lands with Native Species" at Willard's Woods on Thursday, June 6, 2019 Mr. Russ Cohen presented before the Commission. Mr. Cohen is requesting to lead an edible plants walk through Willard's Woods for the Massachusetts' Master Gardener organization. There will be a maximum of 25 participants. On a motion by Mr. Wolk and seconded by Mr. Beuttell, the Commission voted 6-0 to approve the land use permit request. Approve Meeting Minutes: December 10, 2018 On a motion by Ms. Dohan and seconded by Mr. Langseth, the Commission voted 6-0 to approve the meeting minutes from December 10, 2019. Approve Meeting Minutes: January 7, 2019 On a motion by Ms. Dohan and seconded by Mr. Langseth, the Commission voted 6-0 to approve the meeting minutes from January 7, 2019. Reports Ms. Mullins stated that a filing for Cotton Farm is coming soon. 8:08pm DET 19-1 RDA, 3 Rolfe Road Applicant: Anju Srivastava Project: Installation of geothermal water to water system Request for continuance until the February 11 th, 2019 Conservation Commission Meeting On a motion made by Mr. Wolk and seconded by Mr. Beuttell, the Commission voted 6-0 to continue the meeting until February l lth, 2019 at the applicant's request. 5 DET 19-2 RDA, 251 Waltham Street Applicant: Town of Lexington Project: Proposed renovations at the Lexington Center Playfields Track and Field Ms. Megan Buczynski presented before the Commission. Ms. Buczynski stated that they are proposing renovations to the Lexington Center Playfields Track and Field. This will include removing the current track and the enclosed area and replacing it with a new track and enclosed area. They will be increasing the impervious surface. To meet stormwater standards they will be installing a new drainage system. Ms. Buczynski stated that they did not include a walkway on the proposed plan into their calculations. Ms. Buczynski stated that they will submit new drainage calculations. Mr. Langseth asked what materials the center playfield will be constructed of. Ms. Buczynski stated that they are still deciding to either put a natural grass hybrid turf or a synthetic turf with stone underneath. Mr. Langseth voiced his concern regarding the nature of the stone that could be used and the correlating drainage system. Ms. Buczynski stated that the field drains will be tied into the eastern drains on the property. The system will have subgrade, then a layer of crushed stone and then an additional subgrade. The pipes were modeled as culverts so the system will not be free flowing. Ms. Buczynski also stated that if stone is used then they can use double washed stone. Mr. Bitsko noted that most of the area is under laid with peat. Ms. Buczynski stated that because of that they will be digging lower than the subgrade. Mr. Bitsko raised his concern about the planting plan which includes two groundcovers that are of Asian origin. Mr. Bitsko asked that they replace the two proposed groundcovers with native plantings. Mr. Langseth asked for drainage calculations to be submitted and reviewed by engineering. On a motion by Mr. Beuttell and seconded by Mr. Langseth the Commission voted 6-0 to continue the meeting at the applicant's request. 8:26pm DEP 201-1119 BL 1077 NOI, 18 Cooke Road Applicant: Erik Jarnyrd 6 Project: Proposed raze and re-build of a single family dwelling Mr. Zoltan Juhasz presented before the Commission. The property is currently fully developed. A similar proposal came before the Commission a few years ago but was not followed through on. LEC did the original wetland delineation and Mr. Juhasz had Norse Environmental delineate a secondary line to confirm the wetlands. Between the two lines they will be using the more conservative delineation. There are no habitat related issues. There will be about 48% of the buffer zone disturbed in by the construction activities. The drainage calculations have been reviewed by the Engineering Division. As confirmed in a prior hearing this year, the most recent order of conditions to be issued to 18 Cooke Road was not followed through on, except for the approved tree removal. In preparation for construction activities, Mr. Juhasz stated that the several catch basins located on Cooke Road will have additional protections installed. They will also be using the driveway as much as possible for construction activities. No construction activities will take place in the no disturb zone. Mr. Juhasz stated that they will be constructing an informal slope in the rear of the property. They will be using only stones found on site. Mr. Juhasz additionally stated that they hope to clear dumped concrete that is located within the wetland buffer zone. They will seek the Commission's approval for that later on in the construction process. Mr. Langseth stated that it is not clear what re-grading will be done. Mr. Beuttell voiced his support for the clearing of the concrete but asked to include a planting plan when the applicant comes before the Commission in the future. Mr. Beuttell additionally asked that adequate separation be installed in the slope to allow for water flow. Mr. Beuttell asked that the slope be consistent. Mr. Juhasz stated that at most the slope will be a 2:1 horizontal to vertical slope but that he will provide additional information for the Commission. Mr. Langseth asked for more detail regarding the driveway drainage and how it will be installed. Mr. Bitsko stated that on the plans it appears that the slope will have universal thickness. Mr. Bitsko asked that the plans reflect the change in slope width as the slope moves throughout the property. Mr. Bitsko also raised his concern regarding how it will extend the limit of work line. Mr. Langseth noted that the NHESP submittal appears to be 10 or 12 years old. Mr. Langseth asked Mr. Juhasz to take a look to see if there are any updated resources to pull information from. 7 On a motion by Mr. Langseth and seconded by Mr. Beuttell the Commission voted 6-0 to continue the hearing at the applicant's request. DET 18-26 RDA, 16 Longfellow Road Applicant: Sheldon Corporation Project: Confirmation of absence of jurisdictional resource areas on subject site Mr. Scott Smyers presented before the Commission. Mr. Langseth and Mr. Smyers discussed the supplemental calculations provided to determine whether the depression on the property was "isolated land subject to flooding"under the Lexington by-law. Mr. Langseth stated that it appeared to him that the proper procedure outlined in the hydrology handbook was not followed, due to several incomplete calculations and lack of detail provided. The calculations are not incorrect but they are not completed. Mr. Langseth asked that the calculations be revised. On a motion by Mr. Wolk and seconded by Mr. Beuttell, the Commission voted 6-0 to continue the meeting at the applicant's request. DEP 201-1120 BL 1076 Notice of Intent, 244 Wood Street - MIT Lincoln Labs Applicant: MIT Lincoln Labs Project: Proposed electrical building modifications within the 100 foot buffer zone Request for continuance until the February 11 th, 2019 Conservation Commission Meeting On a motion by Ms. Dohan and seconded by Mr. Beuttell, the Commission voted 6-0 to continue the hearing at the applicant's request. On a motion by Mr. Langseth and seconded by Ms. Dohan, the Commission voted 6-0 to close the hearing. 9:22pm