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HomeMy Public PortalAboutConscom 2017-03-07 ;.7 A 15 9:55:.. Orleans Conservation Commission a r r�rk. ±7 •_�_,x Town Hall, Nauset Room Hearing, Tuesday, March 7, 2017 4ss4-: ORLEANS TOWN CLERK Present: Judith Bruce, Member; Judy Brainerd, Member; Charles Ketchuck, Member; Walter North, Associate Member; Donelle Denery, Associate Member. John Jannell, Conservation Administrator. Absent: Rich Nadler, Chair; Kevin Galligan, Vice-Chair; Mike Brink, Clerk; Ginny Farber, Associate Member; Jim O'Brien, Member. 8:30 a.m. Call to Order NOTICE OF INTENT John and Sherri Souza, 16 Jack Knife Point Road by East Cape Engineering, Inc. Assessor's Map 50, Parcel 100. The proposed construction of a single-family dwelling with garage, associated site improvements, and mitigation plantings. Work will occur within 100' of a Coastal Bank. Tim Brady from East Cape Engineering, Inc. and Adrian Punch from Harrow and Seed Landscaping were present. Tim Brady referred to the construction of the new house and said some clearing on the lot had previously been done. He said he had worked on the possible locations of the building multiple times and come up with a location that is slightly in the buffer zone. Tim Brady said however, most of the work will take place outside the buffer zone. Adrian Punch proposed a planting plan for the previously cleared area. Judith Bruce stated that when she visited the site, the land wasn't staked. Tim Brady said he was unaware that that was a requirement but would stake the property without issue. Judith Bruce stated there was cutting in the ACEC. Tim Brady said the cutting was done before any field work or design plans had been prepared and that the home owner was unaware of where the ACEC was located. Judith Bruce asked when and by whom the cutting had been done. The home owner, John Souza, said there was a lot of deadwood already on the property of which he wanted removed. He said at that time he had no idea he was in a restricted area so he hired a contractor to remove all dead debris. He stated that two companies did the cutting; GFM Excavating and Northeast Construction. Judith Bruce said they look to the contractors to know the restrictions. John Souza said the contractors were not local and that any violations or fines should be directed to him. Adrian Punch highlighted his proposed restoration plan including natural looking areas, along with 11 trees, some deciduous. Judy Brainerd asked if the maple and conifers were to be removed because they were not native. Adrian said yes. Donelle Denery asked that the Holly not be removed because it was unnecessary and provides habitat to wildlife. Adrian Punch said it was not native and that's why they proposed to remove it, but the plan could be changed so that it stays. Tim Brady asked if the commission would like to come back to the site after he had staked it. John Jannell said yes. Tim Brady said he will stake the buffer and ACEC. Walter North asked to consider some actual tree plantings instead of just shrubs in the cleared area. John Souza mentioned again that there was a significant amount of dead debris when they got there so as to prompt the clearing. Judith Bruce suggested some form of demarcation to delineate the mitigation area; maybe boulders or a split rail fence to deter mowing etc. John Jannell recommended the line between what is regularly being maintained and what isn't, that's where the demarcation should be. Donelle Denery asked if there was any thought into moving the building location back a bit. Tim Brady said they had already moved it around and tried many different locations. John Souza said the road is a little busy and they wanted some privacy. Judith Bruce mentioned fines for the people who did the cuttings and John Jannell said they could notice the individuals if needed, but fines could be directed to Mr. Souza as part of this hearing. The applicant requested to continue the Public Hearing to March 28tH MOTION: A motion was made by Judy Brainerd and seconded Donelle Denery to continue the Public Hearing on March 28th VOTE: 5-0-0 REQUESTS FOR DETERMINATION OF APPLICABILITY Town of Orleans Natural Resources Department, Lonnie's Pond The proposed work and installation of approximately 2,000 floating mesh bags, containing up to 1,000 oysters per bag, in Lonnie's Pond. Sia Karplus presented the proposed plan with the aid of the projection screen. She mentioned that funding has not been released for the project yet but she is proposing early so they will be prepared should the project be approved. Sia Karplus mentioned the factors they will be focusing on; the growth of shellfish, costs, and whether or not the oysters can be sold. She is doing four different demonstrations; Town Cove with quahog population, Kent's Point to evaluate whether they can create a bottom self-sustaining oyster bed, Pleasant Bay so they can work with the harvesters that have been there for decades, and Lonnie's Pond to evaluate the uptake of nitrogen. Sia Karplus presented a plan of Lonnie's Pond showing the proposed plots to be installed. She mentioned Plot Q is a proposed quahog plot, to measure growth rate of quahogs in this particular environment. Judith Bruce said she was concerned about what the project was going to look like. Nate Sears said year two will leave a substantial footprint on the pond, but will have minimal effect on recreation and harvesters. He mentioned that navigation might not be easy but the outcome and results of this project would outweigh any inconveniences. Judith Bruce asked about aesthetics and would they be able to use submerged bags. Sia Karplus said floating bags would be necessary because the water is very shallow in that location. Judith Bruce stated that it's not so much about how appealing it looks, but rather does it blend with the surrounding natural beauty. Sia Karplus said they would definitely consider revisiting the placement of the bags in the future after they gain more information. Walter North asked about a food source for the oysters and whether there would be risks to other wildlife. Sia Karplus explained that algae are produced by nitrogen and in this case the levels are significant enough to provide an ample food source. She also said she did not see any conflict with other species. Walter North asked what would happen if disease was found amongst the oysters. Sia Karplus said since they will be monitoring the bags closely, in the event there is disease, they would immediately be able to remove the effected oysters. Nate Sears mentioned that disease is species specific and would not impact other wildlife. Sia Karplus said as far as the plastics, the gear won't start to degrade for 5 years or so. However, that would be something she could add that to the plan. Walter North said the community may be concerned about plastic breakdown and in the event of a severe storm, would it be a significant risk to the Bay. Walter North mentioned the site visit and asked if the work would consist of constant movement over the marsh area from staff monitoring the gear. Judith Bruce confirmed there is, and has always been, a path to and from the parking area to the water. John Jannell asked about overwintering and length of the project. Sia Karplus said part of planning the second year is determined by what happened the first year. Nate Sears said they had a successful year one, and it only makes sense for year two. John Jannell read four abutters letters into the record. Nate Sears said he is hopeful that native wild sets will work and looks forward to the demonstration to prove that. He said for future, he would like to see non gear based projects that don't require husbandry. Sia Karplus said she agrees with Nate Sears that we really need to understand just how the oysters work into this project. Suzanne Philips approached the podium and said the Shellfish Waterways Group has started to discuss these projects and before the town goes further on other projects, they would like to see the results of Lonnie's Pond. She also mentioned that she is against keeping the quahogs in the plan as the focus should be on the oysters. Sia Karplus said the question of quahogs has not been finalized yet. However, they have been included just in case the group thinks to move ahead with quahogs in the future. Steve Smith approached the podium and stated that we need to look at the pond as well as The River. He explained there is a predator living in The River of the sponge family. He passed around shells that are the result of the sponges predation. He suggested that we proceed with the Lonnie's Pond experiment but not Kent's Point. Judith and Charles said the purpose of this experiment is to see these kinds of things. David Lyttle said he is concerned with whether this should be considered an RDA. Judith Bruce said she is comfortable proposing a negative determination. John Jannell mentioned they might want to condition the proposal of ideas for year two going forward since nothing was proposed yet. MOTION: A motion to close this Hearing was made by Judith Bruce and seconded by Walter North. VOTE: 5-0-0 • MOTION: A motion for a Negative Determination was made by Judith Bruce and subject to the following three conditions: -Evidence shall be provided to the Conservation Commission that the oysters are free of disease and invasive species (plant) before entering the Pond. -Oysters shall be removed, planted, or overwintered on the bottom at the end of this project. -A water quality report is required at the end of this project by a date to be determined by the Board of Selectman. The motion was seconded by Walter North. VOTE: 5-0-0 Betsy Furtney, 71 Pochet Road by Outermost Land Survey, Inc. Assessor's Map 43, Parcel 132. The proposed removal of an existing 14'x10' shed to be replaced with a 24'x24' garage with overhang; removal of two juniper trees with the area to be replanted with native species. Work to occur within 100' of the Edge of Uncle Harvey's Pond. Betsy Furtney was present and stated she was open for any questions. Walter North asked about the removal of the two trees. He asked if they moved the structure towards the resource area a bit could they avoid taking out the trees. Betsy said it conflicts with her parking area and septic system and would be difficult. MOTION: A motion to close this Hearing was made by Walter North and seconded by Judy Brainerd. VOTE: 5-0-0 MOTION: A motion for a Negative Determination was made by Charles Ketchuk and seconded by Donelle Denery. VOTE: 5-0-0 CONTINUATION Maureen S. Boyce, 128 Monument Road by Coastal Engineering Co., Inc. Assessor's Map 55, Parcel 23. The proposed screened porch addition and site modifications to an existing single-family home. Work will occur within 100' of a Bog, Inland Bank, Crystal Lake, and within the Pleasant Bay ACEC. David Michniewicz from Coastal Engineering Co., Inc. and David Hawk from Hawk Designs were present. David Michniewicz stated he was asked to address the impacts of the parcel being in the ACEC. He proposed his updates. He said he added additional planting along the Eastern property line down near the lake adding 200' of plantings. He said this project will reduce the lawn area by 600sq ft. and increase native planting area by 1100sq ft. He mentioned he feels this project has positive impacts on the resource areas. Donelle Denery mentioned the down spouts off the garage that were a concern last week. David Michniewicz said there was a pipe that was clogged and it is now fixed. Judith Bruce hoped there would be a small planted area that would create a break between lawn and lake. David Hawk said there is a strong wildlife corridor there already and that the trees that were removed will be replaced. Judith Bruce said this was more of a geese problem. She said a break from lawn to water would prevent geese from coming onto the lawn. She explained that they eat the grass, then "deposit" nitrogen back into the water. David Hawk said he lives next door and has never encountered a geese problem. Judith Bruce asked to consider the break. David Hawk explained that there is a large Swamp Red Maple in that area with shallow surface roots in much of the lawn and planting might not be feasible. Judith Bruce asked what was going in the patio area in front. David Hawk explained they would be removing hardscape and planting more non-invasive plants. Walter North said he wanted to reinforce that, yes, this is a very positive proposal, but would they consider more planting to benefit aesthetics from the water. Judith Bruce mentioned that there is a great deal of hardscape added and they generally do not permit that much without more natural balance. David Michniewicz said there is 600' less hardscape as well as 600' less lawn, which is a nitrogen producer. He stated this project is very much a reduction and improvement over the existing amount of hardscape. MOTION: A motion to continue this Hearing to March 14, 2017 was made by Judith Bruce and seconded by Donelle Denery. VOTE: 5-0-0 ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEWS Orleans Natural Resources, Nauset Beach The proposed planting of American Beach Grass culms in areas of existing dune. MOTION: A motion to approve this Administrative Review was made by Walter North and seconded by Judith Bruce. VOTE: 5-0-0 Orleans Natural Resources, Nauset Beach The proposed annual ORV back trail maintenance. Nate Sears said substantial puddling of back trail. Maintenance would consist of filling potholes. Provides safety to users. MOTION: A motion to approve this Administrative Review was made by Donell Denery and seconded by Judith Bruce. VOTE: 5-0-0 a Jan Schneider, 46 Thayer Ln. The proposed removal of one large fallen Pine tree, as • well as removal of two smaller trees fallen by larger tree. Tree work to be done by Steven Welch. MOTION: A motion to approve this Administrative Review was made by Walter North and seconded by Judith Bruce VOTE: 5-0-0 Martin Culik, 505 S. Orleans Rd. The proposed removal and replacement of landscape timbers around brick steps. Work to be done by the home owner. MOTION: A motion to approve this Administrative Review was made by Walter North and seconded by Donelle Denery. VOTE: 5-0-0 Nina Gussack, 34 Crystal Lake Dr. The proposed replacement of windows and doors, new siding, and new trim as well as the construction of a 2nd story addition. David Lyttle present. All windows and siding are existing but just to be replaced. Proposed 1 %foot cantilever deck. Will propose NOI later but wants owner to be able to start on windows etc. MOTION: A motion to approve this Administrative Review was made by Judy Brainerd and seconded by Judith Bruce. VOTE: 5-0-0 CHAIRMAN'S BUSINESS Approval of the Minutes from the Meeting on February 28, 2017. MOTION: A motion to approve the Minutes from the Meeting on February 28, 2017 was made by Donelle Denery and seconded by Judy Brainerd. VOTE: 4-0-1 OTHER BUSINESS Orleans Natural Resources, Nauset Beach Annual beach update with the Natural Resource Manager under Order SE 54-723 and Order SE 54-2246. -review status of front beach profile -review ORV corridor status and protective measures -discuss potential habitat for 2017 bird season -discuss temporary alternate route needed for 2017 Nate Sears started out by introducing our new Natural Resource manager, Dick Hilmer. Nate Sears gave a brief review of last season including plover production numbers and success. He detailed the current status of the symbolic fencing at Nauset Spit and Nauset Beach South. He described how the Town has been successful in carrying out non-lethal predator control, had 17 pairs of plovers on beach, one incident of vandalism to a Plover nest, and 95% of the birds fledged. He also mentioned that there was no colony of Least Terns this year on the beach as they all went to Chatham where the habitat for them was vast. Nate Sears asked the Commission for a vote to allow the creation of a temporary alternate route, if necessary, for the Terns and asked it be established now so it will be in place for the season. J MOTION: A motion to authorize Nate Sears to use a Temporary Alternate Route during the 2017 ORV Season, if needed, was made by Judith Bruce and seconded by Walter North. VOTE: 5-0-0 The Commission thanked Mr. Sears for his annual update and took no further action on the Beach Managers update and report under the OOC's. The Meeting adjourned at 11:33am Respectfully submitted, Molly Bates, Secretary to the Conservation Commission