Conservation Commission — 2019-11-14
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 November 14, 2019 Present: Richard Doucette, Ryan Sloan, Mike Paiewonsky, Aaron Weieneth, Kate Hickey Absent: Susan Murphy and Paul Moore*(appointment pending) Staff present: Eric Devlin Mr. Doucette opened the public meeting at 7:30pm. Minutes- Motion by Mr. Doucette to approve the minutes from October 17, 2019, as amended. Mr. Weieneth seconded the motion and it was voted 5-0 in favor. Invoices- Staff received an invoice from Solitude Lake Management, Task 4 of 2019 contract (Floating and Submersed vegetation treatment at Towners pond and Swains pond) Treatment was performed on 10/14/19 - $4,300. Motion by Mr. Paiewonsky to approve the $4,300 invoice from Solitude Lake Management. Ms. Hickey seconded the motion and it was voted 5-0 in favor. Continued Public Hearing: 77-79 Messenger Court Brian McGrail, attorney for applicant was present on behalf of the applicant. New plan was dated November 4, 2019 with 2 main changes that were requested at previous hearing: Previously abbreviated notes for “top of foundation” and “garage floor” are now spelled out on plans to eliminate ambiguous abbreviation. Staff contacted several other City departments for feedback on the potential contamination fill issue on the site and options for it to be addressed. One option that was discussed was to require a Licensed Site Professional (LSP) onsite to ensure any contaminated soils on the property are monitored. Stan Gryglik, 14 Ashburton Place – Several documents have been submitted to the Commission with historical information on past use at the site (refer to project file). He believes that soil testing is an important item to have for this project. A lot of debris is currently located on the site (photos in file - titled debris and waste sites addendum), both within and outside of the proposed limit of work. Debris located near the proposed compensatory storage area; various debris types mentioned including old gas cans/ metal drums and concrete pipe pieces/structures. Peat observed on other properties in the area. This property has been owned by the current owner for 26 years, they (current owner) could have cleaned it up during that time. Arthur DeFabio Jr 53 Greenwood St – Acceptance of a new base flood elevation (BFE) was a major change for the project. BFE changed from 70.9’ to 73.25’ during the hearing process. Does the Notice of Intent need to be re-filed or reviewed again in light of the new BFE change? Grading plan submitted shows one way to construct a slab home. There are other ways to do it that are more intrusive. The submitted plan does not specifically call out the location of the compensatory storage area that is to be constructed. No document submitted for the maintenance of the compensatory storage area. The previously submitted Notice of Intent had a section on the maintenance requirements for the vegetated swale, no section submitted on the compensatory storage area. Flood storage calculations (full detail/methodology) not submitted, only summary of results on the plan. Building may change in future and it is not clear how the compensatory storage area dimensions would be adjusted without a basis for how it was initially calculated. Brian McGrail – The applicant would welcome a condition stating that only a single family home may be constructed on the site. Mr. Doucette – A site can be overanalyzed with extensive testing and not produce much more valuable information. Another possible avenue is that the Commission can place conditions on the property such as requiring a LSP to report to the Commission. The location of the compensatory storage area shall be clearly designated on the final plan. Conditions requiring the compensatory storage area to be maintained in perpetuity will be specified. Brian McGrail – Requiring an environmental site assessment would be very expensive for a residential project. Cautioned that the LSP condition not be too specific and overly burdensome. He submitted a sample LSP condition for Commission consideration that would be acceptable to the applicant. Requested, if possible, to receive copy of proposed conditions prior to next meeting. Mr. Doucette – Not Commission policy to distribute draft conditions to the applicant prior to discussion. Motion to close the public hearing for 77-79 Messenger Ct and issue a decision at the December 19 hearing date pending the submittal of a revised plan with the location and dimensions of the compensatory storage area clearly designated and a document describing how the compensatory storage area was calculated and maintenance requirements by Mr. Doucette. Mr. Sloan seconded the motion and it was voted 5-0 in favor. Discussion 195 Olive Ave Ext. Malden/Melrose 217-0124 –Staff received a request for a Certificate of Compliance for the project. Project was permitted in both Malden and Melrose, the Malden Conservation Commission previously issued a Certificate of Compliance for the project, letter from the project engineer certifying work done in accordance with plan submitted (refer to file). Site visit conducted by Staff on 11/4/19 with no issues observed. Motion to issue a Certificate of Compliance for 195 Olive Ave Ext. file#217-0124 by Mr. Doucette. Mr. Weieneth seconded the motion and it was voted 5-0 in favor. Mt. Hood golf course beaver dam flow control device installation – Staff was contacted by the City parks Department regarding a beaver dam near the 3rd hole. Staff visited the site on 11/4/19 and observed the beaver dam and extent of the flooding. A permit from City health department was issued and an emergency certificate was issued by staff for 30 days. Motion to ratify the Emergency Certificate by Mr. Doucette, Seconded by Mr. Weieneth and voted 5-0 in favor. Fall cleanup comments- Attendance at the fall cleanup was poor, staff and Commission could possibly do more promotion for next cleanup. Better social media outreach proposed (Facebook group?). Staff will send email to volunteer list further out from the announced cleanup date and an additional reminder email closer to the actual date to encourage more participation in future events. Announcement was posted on mayor’s blog before the event. Invite the trail steward group to a meeting annually so the Commission may thank them for their efforts. Possibly set for some point during the winter. The next scheduled meeting will be Thursday, December 19, 2019 at 7:30 PM. Motion by Mr. Weieneth to adjourn. Mr. Doucette seconded the motion and it was voted 5-0 in favor. Adjourn 9:00PM 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.