Loading...
HomeMy Public PortalAboutConsComm Minutes 2023-03-21Orleans Conservation Commission Nauset Room or Via Zoom Hearing, Tuesday, March 21st, 2023 PRESENT: Chair Ginny Farber, Vice Chair Drusiliia Henson, Clerk Jerry Wander, Member Walter North, Member Bob Rothberg, Member Mike Brink, Associate Member Judith Bruce, Associate Member Maia Ward (via Zoom) & Conservation Agent John Jannell ABSENT: Member Ron Mgrdichian 8:30 a.m. Call to Order Continuations David V Lawler, Trustee, 56 Nauset Road Realty Trust 56 Nauset Road By Coastal Engineering Co., Map 22 Parcel 24. The proposed removal of an existing dwelling and construction of new dwelling and associated site improvements. Work is proposed within 100 feet from the top of a Coastal Bank. *The applicant has requested a continuation to 4/18/23 Ms. Farber reported that the Commission was in receipt of a request for a continuation. No public comment was heard. MOTION: A motion to continue the public hearing to 4/18/23 was made by Drusy Henson and seconded by Jerry Wander. VOTE: 7-0-0 Unanimous GF, MB, DH, WN, BR, JW, MW David & Sonja Formato 12 Tides End Ln By Onsite Engineering, Inc. Map 43, Parcel 25. The proposed modifications to an existing licensed dock and installation of a seasonal walkway. Work will occur within Land Under the Ocean, within a Salt Marsh, within Land Containing Shellfish, within Land. Subject to Coastal Storm Flowage, and within the Pleasant Bay ACEC. David and Sonja Formato, property owners and applicants, were present to review the application. They went over the updates to the plan and discussed the Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) letter. Mr. Formato reviewed the mitigation that was added to the plan. He stated that in process of exploring larger site ramifications for the entire property, we'd like to propose that an area 120'x20' become a no -mow zone and reclaim itself relative to salt marsh. Mr. Jannell reported that the NHESP letter said the project will not result in a take. Mr. Formato went through the DMF letter with the Commission. He stated that the grated decking was not applicable to this particular property. He reviewed the studies and shared his thoughts on how they relate. Mr. Formato continued, when considering aesthetic, safety, and seasonality impacts, a 1.5 metric would require railing and that will impact the walkway's ability to be seasonal, and it will impact aesthetics, and safety. Current local regulation is 1:1 and he is proposing to stay with that. Mr. North stated that this is an example of something lawful, but not right. Obviously, they have a right, but I can't support this in a highly sensitive area although it's certainly legal. Ms. Bruce said there is potential for making the site better with this plan. We all saw there is virtually no vegetation there, and this may see to it that it can reestablish. She agreed with Mr. Formato's assessment of the DMF letter and is in favor of their proposal. She thanks the applicant for the mitigation and suggested a turtle garden. Mr. Brink said he appreciates thoughtfulness and thoroughness. He said the applicant is consistent with our walkways chapter. He requested before and after photos. He asked the applicant where the seasonal elements would be stored. Mr. Formato responded, up by the house. It will be in the buffer zone but not in the resource area, off the bank and outside the flood zone. Public comment: Mr. Jannell read in correspondence from an abutter, Robert Stromstead, 8 Tides End Ln. Mr. Jannell suggested a condition that if you approve the modifications, you reattach our standard conditions to all docks and piers to the OOC. He suggested time of year restricting construction and driving of permanent sections. Normally on seasonal docks under regs they don't go in until April 1, and work only occurs between Nov. 1 and Apr. 1. He has seen the Commission extend that to May 1 for the permanent pieces. The rest of the seasonal work would not be restricted. Ms. Farber said she is in favor of extending to May 1. She also suggested a condition for removing the spoils from the stub pile installation off site and hand work only. MOTION: A motion to close the public hearing was made by Drusy Henson and seconded by Bob Rothberg. VOTE: 7-0-0 Unanimous MOTION: A motion to approve the project at 12 Tides End Ln attaching the conservation commission findings and standard conditions, including the dock conditions and with the special conditions that all cutting of plastic will occur outside of the 100' buffer zone to the marsh; all temporary pieces shall be stored outside of the resource area; any spoils from digging in the marsh will be stored off the marsh; handwork only in the resource .area; the applicant shall provide before and after photos of marsh regeneration for educational purposes; and the time of year restriction for all work to occur will be extended to before May 15t of 2023 and if can't be done, postponed until Nov 2023 was made by Drusy Henson and seconded by Jerry Wander. Discussion: Mr. Jannell asked, does the handwork condition apply to the stub pile work? Ms. Henson responded, yes. Mr. Formato asked if the May 1 deadline was for the permanent sections. The Commission responded yes. References: Narrative 2/3/23; revised site plan 2/28/23; dock modification 2/3/23; DEP letter 10/13/22; DMF letter 2/17/23; NHESP 3/8/23 VOTE: 6-0-1 MB, DH, GF, BR, JW, JB, WN 2 Mr. North abstained Administrator's Business Meet with Friends of Lonnie's Pond for discussion of potential workday at Kent's Point Conservation Area Fritz Luft, Friends of Lonnie's Pond (FOLP), was present to review the proposal. He presented a PowerPoint to the Commission. He said everything in the proposal is based on the Land Management Plan (LMP) from 2015. He highlighted some of the needs of the property that FOLP intends to participate in including storm debris removal, limited trimming at key viewing locations, and pulling cut logs off trail. He discussed potential impacts to wildlife and their habitat. He estimated that it's pretty minor if they prioritize work to the southern trail. Ms. Farber pointed out that they would require permits for the work. Mr. Rothberg said it might be useful is to go there and discuss what they'd like to do and how much change there would be. Mr. North thanked Mr. Luft for having interest in this asset. He said, what you've heard from Mr. Rothberg is there's tension between public use and enjoyment and natural values. The permitting process is the path we use to navigate that terrain. There's been a failure on part of the town to have adequate resources for maintenance. We have DPW support on the basis of their goodwill rather than requirement. This particular property has been problematic, the use makes it hard to maintain its natural value and we struggle to protect that but we welcome the discussion. Ms. Henson thought "to beach" signs are a great idea. She thought that FOLP's erosion concerns were in contrast with suggestions to trim branches on saplings that turn into trees and stabilize coastal banks, that's an important thing for us to consider. Habitat is important even closer to the trail. Storm damage trees over trails should be handled for safety concerns. Ms. Bruce requested better definition of what your margins are. Brush piles are where prey and predators go to hide but she was not opposed to some kind of work. She liked the idea of using some of the logs to line the trails. Ms. Bruce asked how wide are the trails according to the LMP? Mr. Jannell responded, the trails are not that wide, they are probably 4- 6'. Mr. Brink reiterated many of the comments. He thought small branches could be identified for view but that view corridors are filtered, not open. Mr. Johnson echoed some of the challenges of finding balance between naturalization and recreation. Regarding wildlife, he stated, just because they can take up residence somewhere else doesn't mean where they reside should be impinged upon. Mr. Luft responded, how much does Kent's Point contribute to the natural side as compared to a recreational need for the public? The only way to go to the next level is to do a site visit. Ms. Ward said she's part of an initiative to bring indigenous voices and practices back into conservation in the area and forest grooming has been part of indigenous practice and it is part of keeping the forest healthy. Grooming the forest can be done in a positive way. Ms. Farber stated there are certainly things we can agree to, including adding fencing to the top of that marsh trail, selective pruning, hazard trees, invasive removal. 3 Tim Counihan, FOLP, was present via Zoom. He said he considered Kent's Point a jewel of Orleans and that inaction is a decision. He'd like to be proactive, this is one of the first properties we should try to deal with. Mr. Jannell said he'd take their direction on next steps. I need, welcome, and accept help. If you want to do this, I can talk about next steps. Ms. Farber said, there's a variety of small-scale efforts that could be handled with an AR, we could ask Mr. Jannell to identify some of the work with the group. The Commission said they wanted to do a site visit with the Lonnie's Pond Group. Mr. Brink said he is generally in favor of some, but not all work, and we need more specificity. He suggested they come up with a group to specify plans, some Commissioners, some FOLP members, and then present an AR. Mr. Brink volunteered for this effort. Mr. North said since we are the regulatory oversight agency you may also have to recuse yourself from consideration. Mr. Brink said he doesn't see it as a conflict of interest but if the Commission feels he should recuse that would be fine. Mr. Rothberg suggested prioritizing what would be a good day's work, what could be done in 1 day. The Commission decided they will discuss this matter again on 4/4/23. Discussion Local Wetlands Bylaw Ch. 1964 Ms. Farber said if you have not yet turned in comments about this subject, please do so or send a note to the office that you have no comments so that we know we have everyone. Mr. Jannell stated that we are assembling the comments and if everyone is done, we can circulate and review them. If you want more time, we can hold off on that. Mr. Wander said he's working on how to frame our next steps once we get the comments in. Ms. Farber said she would like another 2 weeks to submit comments, Mr. Rothberg said he has no comments. Ms. Henson asked about the climate resilience information and where the state stands. She said if that state isn't going to get to it, I think we should. Ms. Farber said some of the Cape towns did do some work with the Cape Cod Commission and they are working to create a sample bylaw. Mr. North said more active forest management may help the health of the forest and its diversity. He was wondering if they should be thinking about more active forest management. An initial step may be having a professional look at the forest and tell us how we could improve. The Commission discussed the potential for this to occur at John Kenrick Woods or Christian. Mr. Jannell you'd want to look across all the properties to see what your habitat types are. If you're managing for the myriad, you'd look at all of the properties. Mr. North suggested we could invite OCT to be part of this conversation. Mr. Wander detailed the plan he put together for a deeper dive into the regulations. He said there is a light brush option where we do a little but wait to do the bulk when we have more information. A heavier hand he estimates will take 12-18 months. Ms. Bruce suggested handling the "clean up" in short order while also working on the long range. 4 Mr. Jannell said once we compile suggested edits we can run them down to see if they apply to existing jurisdiction or to expansion. Mr. Jannell reported that we have two town meeting articles: fund the conservation fund and the required easement for Putnam farm electric. He also reported that the bid process for the irrigation well did close, we received 1 bid. The cost for the installation is $39,180, we are looking to make an award after we check our budget. Work on that will commence after June 1st". Chairman's Business Meeting minutes of 2/21/23 and 3/7/23 Ms. Farber submitted minor edits. Mr. North said to edit page 6, he was talking about indigenous communities. MOTION: A motion to approve the minutes of 2/21/23 and 3/7/23 as edited was made by Drusy Henson and seconded by Jerry Wander. VOTE: 7-0-0 Unanimous MOTION: A motion to adjourn the public hearing was made by Drusy Henson and seconded by Jerry Wander. VOTE: 7-0-0 Unanimous The meeting adjourned at 10:43 a.m. Submitted by: Kristyna Smith, Principal Clerk, Orleans Conservation 5