Lincoln Conservation Commission
MINUTES
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Lincoln Town Offices
COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Mary Lincoln, Jim Meadors, Jim Henderson, Peter VonMertens. STAFF: Tom Gumbart, Angela Kearney.
WETLAND FILINGS
Public Hearing – Notice of Intent, Continued From December 1, 2004: Thomas Dooley, 31-33 Old Concord Road. (Map 61-Block 4-Lot 5&6). For invasive plant species removal and field maintenance through selective clearing in the outer 50-foot buffer zone.
Please refer to the court stenographer transcript and Conservation Commission’s recordings for exact Public Hearing details.
Thomas Dooley was not present at the hearing. His counselor at law Diane C. Tillotson, Peter Conant - architect, Arlene Wilson, Bob Lucia, and Dave Burke - wetlands consultants, and a court stenographer were present to continue the hearing regarding field establishment and maintenance through field grass planting, manual removal of invasive exotic plants and regular mowing. Several neighbors were also present.
As discussed during the December 1st meeting, the Lincoln Conservation Commission hired Brian Butler of Oxbow Associates to conduct an independent assessment of the wetlands boundary. “The intent of the review was to evaluate the accuracy of the wetland delineation by Wetlands & Environmental Testing, Inc. at the site relative to the standards for wetland resource area delineation of the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act and the Town of Lincoln Wetlands Protection Bylaw”. Brian Butler stated in his report dated December 28, 2004 that he supported the delineation provided in the Notice of Intent. Thus, during the January 19th meeting the Conservation Commissioners agreed upon the wetland resource area delineation presented on the site plan dated November 11, 2004. The isolated
wetland area shown on previous filings is not defined as a wetland under the current delineation methodology. There are some wetland plant species present in that area but the hydrology and soils do not support considering the area a wetland resource.
A project revision prepared by Arlene Wilson was sent to the Commission prior to the hearing stating their intent to eliminate invasive plant control and maintenance within the 50-foot buffer zone from the original plan. They proposed to add permanent markers along the 50-foot buffer line and let the inner buffer zone naturalize. Several Commissioners questioned why the entire 100-foot buffer zone should not be left to naturalize as native shrub habitat provides quality wildlife habitat and protects the adjacent wetland resource area.
During the December 1st meeting the Commissioners requested a proposed management regime. This was stated briefly in the letter prepared by Arlene Wilson. They proposed that existing “meadow” areas between the 50 and 100-foot buffer zone would be mown every 4-6 weeks during the growing season. The area proposed to be turned into field would be manually cleared, overseeded with pasture grasses and maintained with the same regime. Arlene Wilson presented an article on Golf Course Management to suggest that highly mown turf has no adverse impacts on water quality or quantity in resource areas – even when pesticides are applied regularly. The Commission and several neighbors clearly suggested that the existing ‘meadow’ appears to be more like ‘lawn’
and mowing every 4-6 weeks would certainly keep it more lawn-like than a meadow or field, which is generally mown only one or two times during an entire year. One neighbor commented “Field is habitat – are we talking about lawn or field?” The Commissioners will not allow chemical fertilizers or pesticides to be used for field maintenance within the 100-foot buffer zone and they would prefer to see a mowing regime decreased to 1-2 times per year. This would allow for ground-nesting birds to complete their breeding cycle, would encourage better wildlife habitat for a variety of species, and keep the ground from drying out.
Members of the Commission and neighbors continued to discuss the proposed ‘tradeoff’ of letting the inner 50-foot buffer naturalize rather than restoring it with native plants when it was done without a permit in the first place. However, other Commissioners suggested that the best method for restoring the area would be to let it naturalize rather than disturb the soil and plant community. Commissioners also want to see long-term management of invasive exotic plants throughout the buffer zone because in any scenario there will be invasives present on site. One factor that needs to be considered for this property is that the land was previously cleared for agriculture and it has seen varying degrees of cutting and clearing over the years.
At the request of the Applicant’s representative, Peter Conant, the Commission voted 4-0 to continue the hearing to February 2nd at 8:15 pm. This will allow time for the 50 and 100-foot buffer zone lines to be marked in the field and then there will be another site visit to review the extent of the proposed clearing.
Public Hearing – Notice of Intent: Deborah Hawkins, 69 Page Road, Lincoln. (Map 50-Block 4-Lot 0). For single-family site development, clearing, paving, and installation of Title 5 septic system inside the 100-foot buffer zone.
Dave Crispin of the BSC Group; Thomas White and Andrew Cohen of Andrew Cohen Architects; and Scott Carman of C2 Studio represented Deborah Hawkins with additional information requested by the Commission. They brought in a revised plan dated 01/12/05 depicting the septic system located completely outside the 100-foot buffer zone and the cross-graded drive and gravel trench. The Commission continued to express their hope that Ms. Hawkins would place a permanent deed restriction along the 50-foot buffer line to prevent future disturbance of critical vernal pool habitat, but Ms. Hawkins was not willing to move forward with a permanent deed restriction. The client’s representatives did agree to place permanent granite or iron posts along the 50-foot buffer line near the screened-in porch moving
diagonally toward the 100-foot buffer line along the haybale fence and along the 100-foot buffer line beyond the septic system. These permanent markers will serve as a permanent ‘do-not-disturb’ zone and no future work within this zone shall commence without review by the Commission. Dave Crispin will provide an updated plan depicting these bounds prior to issuance of the Order of Conditions.
The Commission voted 4-0 to close the public hearing.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
Muster Barn
The Conservation Staff spent a considerable amount of time cleaning out the barn in preparation for Minuteman Regional High School students to start work the week of February 1st. A dumpster will be provided by the Lincoln DPW, a port-o-john has been rented and the Conservation Commission will purchase a generator to provide electricity for the project.
Natural Resources Preservation Committee
This committee, whose first charge is water conservation, will meet on January 27th. Mary Lincoln is working to establish the Committee, but hopes that another Committee member will serve as Chair. Jim Meadors will also serve on this Committee.
Commissioner Terms
David Katsuki and Sara Silverstein’s terms will be ending in March of this year.
ACTION ITEMS
The Commission voted to appoint Peter von Mertens to the Community Preservation Committee
and to represent the ConCom on the Conservation Coordinating Committee (ConCom, RLF, LLCT).
Meeting minutes approved from 01/5/05
Bills & Payroll signed
Respectfully submitted,
Angela Kearney
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