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HomeMy Public PortalAboutBoard of Health -- 2014-01-07 Minutes •••■•r TOWN OF BREWSTER OFFICE OF of Y �S 2198 MAIN STREET HEALTH DEPARTMENT s' ItIwl to BREWSTER,MA 02631 \.ol • PHONE:(508)896-3701 EXT 1120 , -t \.3 o Vp.1 • FAX:(508)896-4538 i I .' BRHEALTH @TOWN.BREWSTER.MA.US y ti I:L' ;7.. FAA •.., BOARD OF HEALTH MEETING TUESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2014 AT 7:00PM TOWN HALL Board Members present: Mary Chaffee,RN,PhD,Chairman;Joanne Hughes,Vice Chairman;Lemuel Skidmore,MS,MPH;Annie Sherwood,RN;Pat Ottolini,RN,MPA,CHA Call to order: Chairman called the meeting to order at 7:00pm. Others present: Nancy Ellis Ice,MPH,CHO,RS,Health Director;Tammi Mason, Senior Department Assistant; 1. Coastal Engineering: 42 Warren's Way-Local BOH variance requests from Leaching Facility Setback Regulation Discussion:John Schnaible presented this to the Board. Variances being requested are as follows: 1. To allow the proposed SAS to be 175 feet from the former cranberry bog now known as a pond. 2. To allow the proposed SAS reserve area to be 152 feet from the former cranberry bog now known as a pond. This is an existing 3 bedroom home that is being renovated and will be a total of 4 bedrooms once completed. The lot is 2.86 acres but the total property has 8 acres(which includes wetlands). The owner will be installing an additional leaching chamber so that she can have a e bedroom. There is an old cranberry bog on the property that is now considered a fresh water pond. In addition,there is another pond(Freeman's Pond)that is a salt water pond. Bottom of SAS is more than 10 feet above groundwater. The leaching is down gradient from the cranberry bog. The depth of the cranberry bog is about 1-2 feet. Joanne Hughes asked about the room count. Nancy Ice stated that she has done a count and it is 7 rooms total,which makes it a 4 bedroom. Annie Sherwood asked if the leaching was perpendicular to Freeman's Pond. John Schnaible stated that it was. Motion: Approve the variances for 125 feet to pond based on the fact that groundwater flow is northerly and not in the direction of Freemans's Pond,and the bog is up-gradient. The depth to groundwater is greater than 10 feet based on the Coastal Engineering plan C15475,dated 12/16/13 and the total acreage of the property is 8 acres which will support the 4 bedroom system. Environmentally Sensitive Area restrictions will apply to this parcel. Motion:Annie Sherwood Seconded:Pat Ottolini Vote: 5-0-0 Action:Motion carried 2. Barry Dino Viprino: Resilient Farms-continued local BOH variance request from the Animal Regulations Discussion: This is a continued hearing from 11/26/13. Mary Chaffee stated that some of the issues that needed to be done as a result of the last meeting have been taken care of(green cards from abutters notification received and approval from land owner to request variances). She also stated that Town Counsel had reviewed the"approval"from the land owner and stated that it is ok for Mr. Viprino to ask for variances but if there were variances given with conditions that needed to be recorded,the land owner would need to provide approval and the variances would need to be recorded against the title. Mary Chaffee stated that an incorrect statement was made at the last meeting by a member of the planning board. It was stated by that member that commercial agriculture enterprises in the commonwealth are exempt from BOH regulations. She stated that Mr.Viprino is not"exempt"from rules and regulations of the BOH. She spoke with the Town Planner,Sue Leven who provided her with W W W.TOWN.BREWSTER.MA.US information about M.G.L.40A Section 3 (exemptions from zoning regulations). That M.G.L.does not apply to the Board of Health regulations. Mary Chaffee stated that the Board had asked Mr.Viprino about cattle on the farm during a discussion of his unpermitted animals in the November hearing.Mary Chaffee said that Mr.Viprino had told the Board that cows weren't on the property.Mr.Viprino stated that was correct.The Chair stated that at the November hearing Mr.Viprino had told the Board that the"cattle were never technically there."Tonight Mr.Viprino said the cows were on the property but got loose when they were being inspected.Mr.Viprino stated the cows had been contained and relocated to another farm.The Chair stated she was concerned that it appeared Mr.Viprino had not been fully open with the Board. Sherrie McCullough,Assistant Health Director was asked to come forward and explain what she encountered during a site visit that was done yesterday at this property.Ms.McCullough stated that she went to the property with Lynda Brogden-Burns,Animal Control Officer(ACO),and Mary Chaffee,Board of Health Chair. The reason for the visit was to check and see if there were cows at the property because the ACO had been in contact with her regarding a complaint she had received about loose cows in that vicinity a few weeks ago. There were no cows at the time of this visit. There were 4 pigs that were contained in less than favorable conditions.Ms. McCullough stated the pigs are there without a permit from the Board of Health and shouldn't be there at all.The ACO thought the pigs looked to be in pretty good health,but she did have concerns about the shelter and the overall conditions of their area. Ms. McCullough stated that the pig's shelter was a 3 sided one,which is ok by the BOH Animal Regulations,but it did not provide shelter from the elements.There was a chicken coop with no chickens in it.Ms.McCullough stated she saw what appeared to be a corral and fencing that was new since her last visit. There were 6 rabbits on the property that were contained in a rough structure. They were protected from the elements,however there was no light going in to the structure. There was no hay,they were in feces and overall very poor conditions. There was also a hutch with a rabbit in it that had no hay,food or water. The ACO thought that the rabbit was very matted and the overall appearance of the rabbit was not good. Ms.McCullough stated she observed a lot of debris on the property. There were piles of old windows that were close to the wetland. She stated that she would still not issue a permit based on what she saw at this visit. She said the ACO visited Mr.Viprino to discuss the animals. The Chair stated that Mr.Viprino had done things out of order.Mr.Viprino stated he thought he had been given a permit and had permission to bring pigs to the property.Ms.McCullough stated that was incorrect and that she did not say a permit was approved. She had asked for more documentation of exact setbacks to wetlands and other information.Ms.McCullough stated Mr.Viprino had structures on the site that were not on the paperwork he had submitted. Mr.Viprino spoke about the rabbits and stated that the top of their shelter comes off and they do get sunlight. The shelter was closed up when the inspectors came out because of the storms that had taken place 2 days earlier. The single rabbit in the hutch is being groomed tomorrow and the pen will be cleaned out and new hay,food and water will be brought in. Mr.Viprino stated that the windows that are on the property are not junk,he is planning on using them to build another rabbit structure. He stated that there is an opening in the pig shelter that is designed to allow cross breeze in the summer.He stated a panel is being put up tomorrow.He stated he hadn't gotten around to it. Mary Chaffee stated the primary reason Mr.Viprino came to the board was to request relief from a Board of Health regulation that requires a 100 foot setback from a wetland to any type of animal enclosure. She stated there is also a regulation requiring a 20 foot setback to an abutter's property.The Chair stated there are 4 wetlands on or bordering the property and Mr.Viprino agreed. The Chair stated that the property is 6 V2 acres with 4 V2 acres of upland but that the Conservation Commission has restricted Mr.Viprino to work only on field 1,the area where the pens are now.The Chair stated that without a Board of Health variance there would only be a tiny area to have an animal operation and that Mr.Viprino has stated he wants to have 100 chickens,pigs and cows. Mr.Viprino stated he has applied for a NRCS grant to build a 4 foot wall to collect drainage and prevent it from going into wetlands. He stated he was expecting a decision on the grant by mid-January. Nancy Ice asked what the status of the pigs is and asked how many pigs he was planning on having.Mr.Viprino stated that the pigs are currently still at the property and that he will have 4 breeder pigs and their offspring until they are market size.Nancy Ice reminded the Board that the pigs have been there for some time without the proper permit and spoke about the Board's jurisdiction BOH 1/7/14 Minutes Page 2 being public health and public nuisance,M.G.L. 111 Section 143. This has to do with a piggery.Mr.Viprino stated that if he doesn't get the NRCS grant he won't have all the animals he wants but would only have the 4 pigs and 24 to 30 piglets per season. 's3 Nancy Ice handed out M.G.L.Chapter 111,Section 143,which is"Trade or employment attended with noisome and injurious odors; assignment of places,prohibition;appeal"to the Board and brought up whether or not this is the right site for a piggery. She also stated that this is something that is much further down the road. The Chair stated that the single problem that led to this discussion was that Mr.Viprino did things out of order. She stated he didn't get a permit to proceed and that he proceeded to build things and bring in animals and that it was all unpermitted. There was an abutter, Mike Shaffer,2380 Main Street present who stated that his concern was really with the cutting down of trees on the property. He was not opposed to the farm. Annie Sherwood asked how long the pigs have been there and what the fines would be.Mr.Viprino stated the fine is$200 a day and that it would be in the thousands at this point.Annie Sherwood asked if Mr. Viprino had given that any thought since he knew they were there without a permit.Mr. Viprino said no.Annie Sherwood stated that is pretty gross disregard for permitting. Mr.Viprino stated that it was a misunderstanding in September when he got the pigs. Sherrie McCullough stated that in September "$ she told Mr.Viprino she could not issue a permit and that the structures were not adequate and that there were questions about manure.Nancy Ice stated that her notes indicated when she spoke with Mr.Viprino on November 6 he stated all would be moved by 3 4 to 4 the next day.Mr.Viprino said he meant moved further back but not off the property.Joanne Hughes asked if the pigs had been moved beyond the 100 foot buffer.Mr.Viprino said no. Steve Backus,owner of the property spoke.He stated that he had no problem with Mr.Viprino asking for variances and that he would like to help him with all of this because he is operating on a low budget. He stated that he thought that the Board should work with him on fording a way to fix this. Joanne Hughes stated that she does not want them to think that this Board is against agriculture in the town.They are not,but want to make sure that this is in the correct place. There was discussion again about who actually owned the property.Mr.Backus stated that his wife owned the property but that he was the trustee. The Chair stated that this needs to be cleared up. The Chair stated the Board has a job to do upholding the Town of Brewster's regulations. She stated that even if Mr.Viprino misunderstood Ms.McCullough he would have known that he did not receive a permit in the mail. The Chair stated he was told by Nancy Ice the animals were not permitted and that he was in violation and at the Board's hearing in November they talked multiple times about the animals not being permitted. The Chair stated regulations don't exist to cause headaches but they exist for important reasons to make sure the environment is protected,to make sure the animals are protected.The Chair stated she was concerned about the slope of the hill and the manure that was not being managed and that the entire area was not neat. She stated she had concerns about the wetland and the hill and the scope of Mr.Viprino's plans.The Chair stated that he has not been fined up to this point and that it's time to go back to the starting blocks and do this the right way. Mr.Viprino said he understands the pigs must go away but inquired if he can get new chickens.Nancy Ice stated the Board doesn't regulate rabbits but he needs a permit for more than 10 chickens or any roosters.Joanne Hughes added that the coop must meet the setback regulations.Joanne Hughes asked Mr.Viprino if he had a copy of the Board's regulations and he stated yes. Patricia Ottolini stated that Mr.Viprino must take care of the pigs since they've been there since September and this isn't the first time he's been told.Joanne Hughes stated that Mr.Viprino can come back for a variance when things are squared away and that there } should be a public hearing to invite comments from townspeople before the pigs come back.Mr.Viprino asked the defmition of a piggery and Nancy Ice stated it is not defined in the regulation but that what he has described sounds like a piggery.Annie Sherwood stated that the Board is not trying to prevent Mr.Viprino from doing what he wants to do but that it must be done the right way. Motion: The unpennitted animals must be removed within 7 days from today at which time,if they are not removed,a fine of$50 per day will incur until they are removed. Motion: Joanne Hughes Second: Annie Sherwood Vote: 5-0-0 Action: Motion carried Motion: Deny the variance request. BOH 1/7/14 Minutes Page 3 Motion:Joanne Hughes Second: Lemuel Skidmore Vote: 5-0-0 Action: Motion carried Annie Sherwood asked Mr.Viprino to provide a copy of the pony wall grant approval and Joanne Hughes asked for a copy of the grant application. 3. Old Manse Inn-Food Service Permit application Discussion: Brian Blair and Charlie Heines,owners,were present. They are seeking BOH approval for a Food Service Permit for their Bed&Breakfast. Nancy Ice spoke about the review that was done by the Assistant Health Director and gave a copy to the owners. She spoke about the 3 bay sink that was supposedly there but was gone when an inspection was done. The owners stated that they have one and it will be installed within the next few days. Motion: Approve the Food Service permit application with the condition that the items on the review are adhered to. Motion: Lemuel Skidmore Second: Joanne Hughes Vote:5-0-0 Action:Motion Carried 4. Review and approve minutes from 11/12/13 meeting Motion: Approve minutes as written. Motion:Joanne Hughes Second:Lemuel Skidmore Vote: 5-0-0 Action:Motion carried 5. Review and approve minutes from 11/26/13 meeting Motion:Approve minutes as written Motion:Joanne Hughes Second:Pat Ottollini Vote: 5-0-0 Action:Motion carried Informational items were noted. Mary Chaffee told the Board about the collection of Styrofoam at the Recycling Center. The bins will be there until January 11t. Lemuel Skidmore told the Board that there would be a pond meeting at the Town Hall on Saturday January 11,2014 at 10AM. It will also be available on the website. Meeting adjourned at 8:20PM BOH 1/7/14 Minutes Page 4 if