===PAGE 1=== Town of Lunenburg Conservation Commission Mary Wilson, Chair Tel: (978)582-4146 Bob Pease, Vice Chair 960 Massachusetts Ave Jennifer Pewtherer Lunenburg, MA 01462 Richard Bursch Sophia Dorow Jeffrey Viviano Conservation Administration Michael Larouche Stephanie Dondero Chris St. Germain Conservation Assistant April 17, 2024, 7:00PM, ZOOM REMOTE Minutes Roll Call: Jenny P., Rich B., Jeff V ., Mike L., Bob P. and Sophie Dorow (Admin.) Absent: Mary W. and Chris S. Call to Order at 7pm by Bob P. Announcements- none Public Comment- --Stefan McSweeney - re. 255 Sunny Hill Road – stated that no progress has been made. Brian Marchetti added that the Commission requested a 3rd party review and pleaded to have the requests go out to the consultants. Sophie noted that she received the 3 suggested names but she has not sent them out yet. Bob offered to assist Sophie by contacting them and Stefan will email the information to Bob. Stefan agreed to continue the hearing. --Nick Eaton – 441 Townsend Harbor Road- stated he emailed the Commission and is trying to close up the Order of Conditions. He noted that on the original OOC that Jack did, he was going to take 6 trees down near the lake and plant 2 new maples but he did not remove the 6 trees. Bob suggested Nick look at what is listed on his OOC and meet with Sophie to figure out what needs to be done to close it . Nick asked if he still needed to plant the 2 trees and bushes since he did not take the 6 trees down. Bob replied he does not but he needs to reach out to Sophie before things can move forward. --Michael Richards – 200 Burrage St—asked if his Certificate of Compliance will be discussed later in the meeting and Sophie replied yes because she did the site visit. Minutes of previous meetings – 4/3/24 Motion: Rich B., Second: Mike L.N To approve the minutes for 4/3/24. Roll Call Vote- Jenny-aye, Rich-aye, Jeff-aye, Mike-aye, and Bob-aye. NEW PUBLIC HEARINGS Pursuant to MGL ch 131, s 40 as amended and the Town of Lunenburg Wetlands Protection and Municipal Bylaws a public hearing for a Notice of Intent by Rene Rainville for the proposal of an addition and renovations to an existing single family home and addition of impervious driveway within the Buffer Zone of a bordering vegetated wetland on Lake Shirley at 57 Round Rd. - Dan Wolfe (David Ross Assoc.), representing Rene Rainville, stated they are making a number of interior renovations and adding a garage. Sophie screen-shared the site plan and Dan noted the new garage is completely outside of the buffer zone. There will be a connection from the new garage to the house also. A new paved driveway will be installed to the new garage but they will be removing the large old driveway on the left and restoring that area to lawn. The impervious area for the new driveway will be 1,313 sq ft but will be restoring 1,719 sq ft to lawn where the old driveway was located. A new entry with steps will replace the ===PAGE 2=== footprint of the old entry and that is the extent of work in the buffer. Erosion Control will surround the work area as well as at the back of the house where construction is coming close to the 100’. Dan noted that the wetland is across Round Road and Bob clarified it is not the Lake Shirley buffer zones. Bob asked Dan to add 30’ and 50’ buffer lines to the plan. Dan noted that part of the old driveway being removed would be in the 30’ but it will be restored to lawn. Jenny screen-shared photos of the property, indicating the location of the new garage and the old driveway. Rich asked Dan to add the figures for impervious and pervious area to the plan. Dan noted that they will be removing an enclosure on the back of the house to expose the existing concrete slab, which will not involve any digging. Motion: Rich B., Second: Mike L. To approve the NOI with the condition the calculations for impervious and pervious areas be added to the plan before the Commissioners sign it. Roll Call Vote- Jenny-aye, Rich-aye, Jeff-aye, Mike-aye, and Bob-aye. Pursuant to MGL ch 131, s 40 as amended and the Town of Lunenburg Wetlands Protection and Municipal Bylaws a public hearing for a Request for a Determination of Applicability by Todd Cole and Ashley Brawn for a proposed removable dock within the Buffer Zone of a resource area on Lake Shirley Reservoir at 607 Reservoir Road- Todd Cole and Ashley Brawn screen-shared pictures of the Floe Roll-in removeable dock and are requesting permission to place it into Lake Shirley. The dock is in 4 sections and will be 52’ long x 4’ wide. Todd noted they have 26’ of beach and have had a removeable dock for 4 years. He also shared a photo of his neighbors new dock which is positioned so that they have no access to place their dock in the water. Sophie noted that she did a site visit. Ashey clarified that when they took their dock out, the neighbor put his new dock in their right-a-way. Todd added that the neighbor did not have a dock prior to placing the new one this spring. Bob noted that he did not recall an RDA for that property. Mike L. asked if there are minimum requirements for placement of docks and Bob replied that Sophie checked with the DEP. The Commission regulates were it touches the land but not where it goes into the water. He stated that this has the makings of a civil dispute between neighbors. Todd and Ashley are requesting to place their dock but the neighbor did not seek permission, so he will need to take his out. Mike asked if the neighbor would be amenable to moving his dock and Bob replied their role is to approve or disapprove but not to mediate. They may need to talk to the neighbor and do an Enforcement if he did not get permission for his dock. Ashley pointed out the neighbor’s dock on an aerial photo and said the new dock is a second dock. Mike Gormley – 609 & 611 Reservoir Rd. – said he read the proposal which did not have dimensions. He stated that the dock at 607 Reservoir Rd. was 20’ wide with a jet ski drive on dock. Their dock used to be on the north side, with their boat in front of their property. Since he completed his permitted retaining wall, Todd and Ashley have located their dock on the other side, adjacent to his property at #609, angling it so it blocks his view plus access to the lake. Mike G. screen-shared site photos and Bob asked him if he got a permit for the new dock. Mike G. replied he always had a dock and never knew of anyone on Lake Shirley having to get a dock permit. Bob replied that they issue permits every year for Lake Shirley. Mike G. said he would get a permit if required and he shared more pictures of the neighbors’ dock. Rich noted that the town of Lunenburg owns the lake and that the neighbors need to work together to place their docks perpendicular to the water’s edge so they can all use them. He added that they can come back to the Commission or take their dispute to the Select Board. Motion: Jeff V ., Second: Mike L. For a negative determination on the RDA with the condition that the dock is perpendicular to the shoreline. Roll Call Vote- Jenny-aye, Rich-aye, Jeff-aye, Mike-aye, and Bob-aye. CONTINUED PUBLIC HEARINGS Note: 189 Hemlock Drive was already continued to 5/1/24. ===PAGE 3=== Pursuant to MGL ch 131, s 40 as amended and the Town of Lunenburg Wetlands Protection and Municipal Bylaws a public hearing on an Abbreviated Notice of Resource Area Delineation by Kevin O’Brien at 390 Howard Street (DEP # 208-1304) (Continued to 4/17)- none present. Motion: Rich B., Second: Mike L. To continue 390 Howard Street to 5/1/24. Roll Call Vote- Rich-aye, Jeff-aye, Mike-aye, and Bob-aye. (Jenny not able to vote.) Pursuant to MGL ch 131, s 40 as amended and the Town of Lunenburg Wetlands Protection and Municipal Bylaws a public hearing on a Notice of Intent by Stefan McSweeny for the construction of a single family home and associated site work at 255 Sunny Hill Road (DEP #208-1320). (Continued from 2/21 to 4/17) Motion: Rich B., Second: Jeff V. To continue 255 Sunny Hill Road to 5/1/24. Roll Call Vote- Jenny-aye, Rich-aye, Jeff-aye, Mike-aye, and Bob-aye. Pursuant to MGL ch 131, s 40 as amended and the Town of Lunenburg Wetlands Protection and Municipal Bylaws a public hearin g for a Request for an Amendment to the Order of Conditions DEP#208 -1310 by Matt Mitrano for new site improvements of a staircase, reconstructed porch with expanded footprint, reconstructed concrete walkway & masonry walkway within the buffer zone of a wet land on Lake Shirley at 386 Sunset Lane- (Continued from 4/3 to 4/17) Ryan Proctor (Dillis & Roy) – representing the owner, screen-shared the revised site plan, noting the existing walkway is about 210 sq ft and they are proposing to replace it with pervious pavers, not to exceed 250 sq ft. They will use Techno block pavers, filled with pea stone, and placed on a bed of stone. They have requested removal of a 12” maple within the 30’ and a 24’ oak outside of the 30’, replacing the maple with 2 red maples. The spiral staircase will be installed on the south side, further from Lake Shirley. In addition, they want to replace the concrete pad under the deck with pervious pavers. Rich asked if Ryan had schematics for the Techno Blocs, which Ryan shared. Rich stated he would not be in favor of adding impervious area in the 30’ buffer. He asked Ryan to supply hard copies of the block specs and update the plan showing the removal of the impervious area under the deck as well as placement of the spiral staircase. The Commission agreed to continue. Motion: Rich B., Second: Jeff V. To continue 386 Sunset Lane to 5/1/24. Roll Call Vote- Jenny-aye, Rich-aye, Jeff-aye, Mike-aye, and Bob-aye. Pursuant to MGL ch 131, s 40 as amended and the Town of Lunenburg Wetlands Protection and Municipal Bylaws a public hearing on a Notice of Intent by Steven Powell for the construction of a single family and associated site work at 171 Arbor Street. (Continued from 2/7 to 4/17)– Brian Marchetti requested to continue to 5/15/24. They are still working with the neighbors and are in the process of filing with the ZBA. Motion: Jeff V., Second: Mike L. To continue 171 Arbor Street to 5/15/24. Roll Call Vote- Rich-aye, Jeff-aye, Mike-aye, and Bob-aye. (Jenny not able to vote.) Note: 141 Hemlock Drive already continued to 5/15/24. ---------------- Extension Request Permits: ---Order of Conditions extension for #208-1174 Reservoir Rd. – Sophie noted this property has a long shared driveway with a proposed bridge and a wetland replication area. Most of the work appears to be done but the wetland replication area is incomplete. Another condition is for crushed stone per the plan. The owners confirmed that the silt fencing and wattles are installed now, which was not the case at her first site visit. They are asking to extend the Order of Conditions for 1 year. Motion: Rich B., Second: Mike L. ===PAGE 4=== To extend the Order of Conditions for 1 year. Roll Call Vote- Jenny-aye, Rich-aye, Jeff-aye, Mike-aye, and Bob-aye. Certificates of Compliance: ---305 Arbor St.- DEP #280-387 – Sophie reported that she did some going back and forth to find plans but did a 2nd site visit. There was no erosion in the wetland and no wetland replication but she had no concerns. She said she would recommend going forward. Motion: Rich B., Second: Jeff V. To issue a Certificate of Compliance for 305 Arbor St. Roll Call Vote- Jenny-aye, Rich-aye, Jeff-aye, Mike-aye, and Bob-aye. ---41 Country Way – Sophie stated she is waiting for the applicant to res eed. They have removed all the debris on their property and the neighbor’s property. She will visit again after they hydroseed. ---39 Island Road – Sophie reported that the erosion controls were removed pre -maturely, allowing sediment to go into the buffer zone of the resource area. There has been no seeding or grass growing so she would not recommend issuing the COC. ---200 Burrage St.- Sophie stated the property is in total compliance without any issues. Motion: Rich B., Second: Mike L. To issue a Certificate of Compliance for 200 Burrage St. Roll Call Vote- Jenny-aye, Rich-aye, Jeff-aye, Mike-aye, and Bob-aye. ENFORCEMENT: Violations (Enforcement Actions and Hearings) ---141 Hemlock – Sophie stated she is still going back and forth about scheduling a site walk. ---10 Mass Ave- Sophie reported she has not heard anything and confirmed it is still under a work stoppage. ---205 Sunset (Beers lot)- Sophie stated she had trouble finding the location. Bob noted they are watching this property because they questioned the Commission’s authority to give a deadline for the removal of a deck, which Jeff confirmed as 3/15. Bob gave a history of the issue and noted that if the deck is not out, they will issue fines at the next meeting. ---1168 Mass Ave Rear – no update ---12 Fire Road-hearing – no update. Bob stated they issued an order to remove pavement which they did not do. Town Counsel is aware of the issue and Sophie said she visited the site with Mary. Bob added that they issued an Enforcement and they have an OOC but they are not complying. Bob suggested having Sophie send a letter to have them appear at the 5/1/24 meeting and they may start issuing daily fines. Motion: Rich B., Second: Jenny P. To direct the Conservation Administrator to issue 12 Fire Rd . a notice that they are in violation of their Order of Conditions, they are to appear at the 5/1/24 meeting and they may be subject to daily fines. Roll Call Vote- Jenny-aye, Rich-aye, Jeff-aye, Mike-aye, and Bob-aye. ---950 Chase Road- Bob noted this is a barn on the property line. It is an encroachment and enforcement issue. Jeff said he has a drone that could be used to look at the property. NEW BUSINESS: Topics unknown 48 hours in advance of meeting- none OLD BUSINESS: Update on Title Searches – Bob reported he will be meeting with Town Counsel later this month. He screen-shared the GIS map for the Fairbanks Gift Land and conservation land nearby. He asked the Commission for permission to have Town Counsel find out if the land comes with any access rights. Motion: Rich B., Second: Mike L. ===PAGE 5=== To give Bob permission to ask Town Counsel to find out if the Fairbanks Gift Land comes with any access rights as a rear property. Roll Call Vote- Jenny-aye, Rich-aye, Jeff-aye, Mike-aye, and Bob-aye. Update if any on encroachment issues at: 315 Lancaster Ave.- Bob noted Town Counsel re-sent the Encroachment letter but there is no update. 950 Chase Road – Regarding removal of the shed, Bob suggested they consider paying to have the shed removed since the courts were reluctant to make the people remove it. He would want to wait until they receive money from the Raino property. Mike suggested asking the Fire Department if they could burn it as an exercise and Bob said that was a good suggestion. Open Space and Land Use: Grants and Conservation Improvement Updates – none Hollis Road Residence: Update – Mike reported that the sign at the Community Pollinator Habitat had fallen down due to the posts rotting at ground level. He is checking with a volunteer who may be able to help with fixing it. Bob also suggested talking to Chris Ruth (Facilities). Committee Reports – Stormwater – Jenny noted that they are meeting on 4/18. Public Comment: Rich B. stated that they need to make sure that what an applicant shares is actually part of their application. Bob asked Sophie to ask 607 Reservoir Rd. to send a copy of their PowerPoint for the records. ---Bob asked for a motion for an Enforcement Order for 609 Reservoir Rd. Motion: Rich B., Second: Jenny P To have the Administrator do an Enforcement for Mr. Gormley’s dock at 609 Reservoir Road. Roll Call Vote- Jenny-aye, Rich-aye, Jeff-no, Mike-aye, and Bob-aye. Motion: Rich B., Second: Jeff V . To adjourn at 8:40pm. Roll Call Vote- Jenny-aye, Rich-aye, Jeff-aye, Mike-aye, and Bob-aye. Respectfully submitted, Jane Ranley Minutes Clerk