Lincoln Conservation Commission
MINUTES
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Lincoln Town Offices
COMMISSIONERS: Peter von Mertens, Ari Kurtz, Jim Meadors, Ben Horne & Jim Henderson STAFF: Tom Gumbart, Angela Kearney
WETLANDS FILINGS
Notice of Intent. Jonathan Grindlay. 145 Old Concord Road. (58-1&2-0). For restoration activities in the wetland and buffer zone resource areas.
Dave Burke, wetland resource specialist, represented the applicant with a remediation plan for an enforcement order issued on July 24, 2008. Because Jonathan Grindlay was unable to attend the meeting, the Commission agreed to gather information and understand the current proposal without making a final decision on the application. Primary remediation measures identified in the Notice of Intent application included:
1. The removal of non-native, invasive plants from approximately 2,000 square feet of area along the northern property boundary and installation of 8-10 fruit tree.
2. Compensatory planting of Clethra alnifolia to achieve 75% coverage by the third growing season in approximately 1,430 square feet of area along the north-western boundary of the wetland resource area. The applicant cleared 4-5 large red maple trees from this area and did not propose any replacement trees.
3. Compensatory planting of highbush blueberry to achieve 75% coverage by the third growing season along the northeast corner of the property, adjacent to the pond. The applicant cleared 2-3 large red maple trees from this area and did not propose any replacement trees.
4. Removal of non-native, invasive plants and replacement of native perennial groundcovers over approximately 3,648 square feet along the earthen dam at the west end of the pond.
5. Compensatory planting of native evergreen shrubs in the western portion of the property.
No remediation measures were proposed within any of the view easement areas. In addition to the remediation measures, the applicant proposed the installation of a boardwalk to an upland area adjacent to Fairhaven Bay, installation of an osprey pole in the wetland resource area adjacent to Fairhaven Bay and removal of a concrete tennis court on adjacent Town conservation land.
Buzz Constable represented the Lincoln Land Conservation Trust at the meeting and reiterated that the filing represents a joint effort between the Con Com and Land Trust to come up with a coordinated remediation plan for the violation that occurred against jurisdictional areas controlled by both the Con Com and Land Trust. Buzz Constable and the Commission generally felt that the remediation plan was a start toward restoring the wooded character of the property, but the plan needed additional development and specificity. Jim Henderson noted that the proposed remediation measures felt very park-like and did not restore the landscape character that the conservation organizations and community intended to preserve and protect when the restriction was written and when the Grindlay’s purchased the property in 2008. Jim Meadors noted that
trees were the primary vegetation removed without a permit and that the applicant was currently not proposing to replace a single tree. The Commission overwhelmingly felt that they would not approve the work if trees were not added to the plan. In addition, the Commission discussed differences between minimum remediation measures (replacement plantings) and additional mitigating factors (invasive clearing and removal of the tennis court). They discussed the possibility of requiring the applicant to post a bond, security deposit, escrow account or pay fines for the project. The Commission looked forward to continuing the discussion but reinforced their authority to impose additional performance, monitoring and reporting standards, require an endowment fund for future monitoring and maintenance of the conservation restriction and/or instate fines for the unauthorized work.
The Commission voted 5-0 to continue the hearing to January 21, 2008 at 8:30pm.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
Backup Conservation Restriction’s on Town Conservation Land
The Conservation Commission would like to work with the Lincoln Land Conservation Trust to place back-up conservation restrictions on Town-owned conservation land. Buzz Constable represented the Land Trust during the discussion and was very supportive of the endeavor. The Land Trust is also interested in placing back-up conservation restrictions on their conservation land. Buzz Constable would like to arrange a future working session to discuss the logistics for implementing the back-up restrictions and for drafting an MOU between the Conservation Commission and Land Trust for operating and managing the restrictions.
HATS Representative
Conservation Commissioners are feeling overwhelmed with additional committee work, thus no one was able to volunteer as the Con Com representative the to HATS Committee. Commissioners would be willing to share responsibility for attending any meetings that specifically relate to conservation, ecology or environmental issues.
Thornton CR – Todd Pond Road
Mr. Thornton has generously donated a 3.27-acre parcel of land on Todd Pond Road to the Town of Lincoln for conservation purposes. In the coming months conservation staff will coordinate a property survey and create necessary baseline documentation for the property.
Booth CR’s
All the conservation restrictions for the Booth Property off of Old Concord Road have been recorded at the registry of deeds and filed in the Conservation Department files.
Road Rehabilitation Project
The Road Committee is looking for comments on the road rehabilitation project. The Commission was generally in favor of the proposed work. They would like to see the road widened by 1-2 feet where feasible along the south side of Route 117 from the Mt. Misery Parking lot to Route 126.
ACTION ITEMS
Certificate of Compliance Issued to Thomas Dooley. 31-33 Old Concord Road. (61-4,5&6).
Minutes approved 12/17/08
Bills Paid & Payroll Signed
Respectfully Submitted,
Angela Kearney
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