Conservation Commission — 2019-04-04
Minutes
CITY OF MELROSE CONSERVATION COMMISSION City Hall, 562 Main Street Melrose, Massachusetts 02176 Telephone - (781) 979-4312 Fax - (781) 979-4290 Melrose Conservation Commission Minutes for April 4, 2019 Present: Susan Murphy, Richard Doucette, Zachary Drench, Kate Hickey and *Michael Paiewonsky(Arrived at time indicated) Absent: Aaron Weieneth, Ryan Sloan Staff present: Eric Devlin Members from Public present: Stephen Amero, Paul Moore, Ellen Katz, Tom Blazej, Ryan Williams, Holly Palmgren, Ryan O’Malley, Jennifer Johnson, Jim Patierno and John Michalak. Ms. Murphy opened the public meeting at 7:30pm Public Hearing 217-0204 MBTA Oak Grove station/Banks Place- Holly Palmgren, MBTA environmental construction manager, Jennifer Johnson and John Michalak from Nitsch engineering. Ms. Palmgren described the project areas that were to take place in Melrose. The entire project takes place in both Malden and Melrose. Street parking is to be re- located to the opposite side of the street away from the stream and its current location. Jennifer Johnson stated that the re-location of the parking will be an improvement to the area, no new expansion closer to the resource area than what is existing. Granite curbing will be used to improve stormwater management. The NOI indicated an asphalt berm would be used, the plans submitted showed granite curbs. The granite curb plans will be followed. An inspection of the existing catch basins in the area was completed to identify which ones need to be repaired/replaced. The proposed roadway will be 12’ wide in each direction, small area of compacted soil on road shoulder where cars are currently parking will be paved over. 12’ travel lane is the design minimum for bus operations from MBTA. Ms. Murphy inquired about the SWPPP for the project, curbs and what would be done to restore any disturbance beyond them towards the stream. Ms. Palmgren- Loam and seed mix for the area beyond the pavement on the east side of Banks Place with the granite curbs. The pavement will expand about 1’ wider at points to repair the compacted soil. New deep sump catch basins to be installed. The SWPPP is not completed yet, it can be conditioned to be submitted to the Commission and approved as part of permit. Ms. Hickey- Walking path to be included as part of this project? Ms. Palmgren- The bike/walking path is not part of this project, needs to be proposed by others and would partially be located on DCR property. Mr. Doucette – Timeframe for project? Curbing installation should be coordinated with the multi-use path. Ms. Palmgren- Multi-use path would not be an MBTA project, focus is on pedestrian and car access. Bike access path for travel will be upgraded within the station. Project would like to start as soon as possible. Mr. Doucette- Requested a missing page from the NOI, attachment C is not present. NOI states impervious area is being decreased, but you are saying impervious area is staying the same? Figures in the NOI should be listed in line, not spaced out where you need to search to find them. Ms. Johnson- It is decreasing over the whole project, to remain the same in this portion of the project. Ms. Hickey- Bike path funding included in this project? $30 Million project, was the bike cage built by MBTA? Ms. Palmgren- yes, bike cage by MBTA. Bike path funding not part of this project. Ms. Murphy- Bike path to be entirely on DCR property or partially on MBTA property? Fence is exactly on the MBTA property line? Ms. Johnson- Bike path not designed yet, it is not clear if it would be entirely on DCR property or not at this time. Ms. Murphy- Malden Conservation Commission voted to continue this to two weeks out for additional information. Mr. Doucette- How many spaces do you currently have on Banks Place? Mr. Michulak- Net loss of about 10 parking spaces proposed from Banks place. Don’t have the number of spaces with me currently. Public Comment: Ryan Williams- 88 Melrose St, Ped/Bike Committee advisor. MBTA was initially unwilling to lose any parking spaces. Encourage DCR to work with the MBTA on a multi-use path. Melrose already has a 6’ wide elevated pathway in some spots, would like to see more green space in both Melrose and Malden. Ellen Katz- 70 Lynde st, Ped/Bike Advisory Committee member and Energy Commission member. Question on drainage to the river, anything possible to improve water quality in the river? Additional funding for project from complete streets or other state programs possible? Ms. Johnson- Deep sump and hooded catch basins to be installed where they currently are not. The site is pretty tight with limited space to fit in green infrastructure. Currently investigating possibility on Malden side. Ms. Murphy- Complete streets goals to get bikes on the streets? Ms. Palmgren- yes, Parking in Melrose would need to be removed for multiple transportation modes into the station. The bike path will have impacts on the resource area that will need to be researched, not on MBTA property and has not been designed yet. Ms. Hickey- Possibility to make Banks Place one way? Traffic analysis probably needed but it should be considered. Tom Blazej- 81 Damon ave Ped/Bike Committee member. Banks place is currently dangerous to ride on, cuts through Oak Grove village to get to the station currently. Ryan O’Malley, Ward 4, Malden City Council. 2/3 of users to Oak Grove station don’t drive there. Appears to be disagreement on property lines? Explore roadway reduction and parking removal on Banks Place. MBTA doesn’t want to lose spaces, legislature and state reps should be pushing these ideas forward. He shared several letters of support that were sent to the Malden Con Com on the project. Public Access to natural resources can lead to education and public awareness of them. Ms. Murphy closed the public comment period- requests for additional information from MBTA on details/ explanation for the roadway width requirements. Reasoning why 12’ width is required. Total number of spaces on Banks Place and attachment C from the NOI. Clearer property line should be shown between MBTA/DCR property. Multi use pathways are a minimum 8’ wide design standard. Desire for a Joint meeting with the Malden Conservation Commission. Set meeting date for Tuesday April 23 with hope that they can attend. 7:30 pm at Melrose City Hall Motion by Mr. Doucette to continue the hearing to a possible joint meeting with Malden Conservation Commission on April 23. Seconded by Ms. Hickey and voted 4-0 in favor. 217-0203 785 Lynn Fells Parkway- Jim Patierno, Stonehill Properties. Mr. Patierno plans to tear down the existing house, pool and patio and construct a new home in its place. Remove the existing pool and concrete, loam and seed the rear lawn. Fence on the rear of the property will be replaced and moved in 3 to 5 feet in from the property line. Straw wattles will be wrapped on the left side of the property. The proposed new fence will be black chain link in the rear (south/southeast side) facing the stream and vinyl fence on the west and east sides for privacy. Motion by Mr. Doucette to closee the hearing and issue an Order of Conditions within 21 days. Seconded by Ms. Hickey and voted 4-0 in favor. 217-0202 8 Hemenway Ave Order of Conditions- Work on Pool to begin at end of July, boulder wall to be relocated within the next couple of weeks. *Mr. Paiewonsky arrived at this time. Motion by Mr.Drench to Issue a standard Order of Conditions, including a special condition prohibiting the discharge of saltwater from the pool into the stream. Seconded by Mr. Paiewonsky and voted 4-0 in favor. Mr. Doucette abstained because he was not part of the quorum for this item. Minutes- Motion by Mr. Drench to approve the minutes from March 21, 2019, Ms. Murphy seconded the motion and it was voted 5-0 in favor. Discussion Ponds –Staff will send proposal materials to the members for feedback and have a proposal ready for approval at the April 23 meeting. Tree removal policy- tabled until later date. Spring trails Clean up - Sunday May 5, 9am-11am. Mr. Drench announced that he will be moving from Melrose and will be leaving the Commission. The next scheduled meeting will be Tuesday, April 23, 2019 at 7:30 PM. Motion by Ms. Hickey to adjourn. Mr. Drench seconded the motion and it was voted 5-0 in favor. Adjourn 9:15PM adjourn ____________________________ _________________ Approved Date. Pursuant to the ‘Open Meeting Law, ‘ G.L. 39, 23B, the approval of these minutes by the Commission constitutes a certification of the date, time and place of the meeting, the members present and absent, and the actions taken at the meeting. Any other description of statements made by any person, or the summary of the discussion of any matter, is included for the purpose of context only, and no certification, express or implied, is made by the Commission as to the completeness or accuracy of such statements.