===PAGE 1=== TOWN OF LUNENBURG Lunenburg Conservation Commission Jennifer Pewtherer Richard Bursch Michael Larouche Mary Wilson Teddy Doucette Andrea Burnap Vacant Chair Vice Chair Clerk Member Member Member Member Tel: (978) 582-4146 960 Massachusetts Ave Lunenburg, MA 01462 Herlin Jamie – Conservation Agent MINUTES Wednesday, 1 July 2026 – 7:00 PM | Zoom (Remote) 1. CALL TO ORDER Roll Call: Present: J. Pewtherer, A. Burnap, M. Larouche, M. Wilson and T. Doucette. Absent: R. Bursch Call to Order at 7:02 pm by J. Pewtherer 2. APPOINTMENTS: None 3. ANNOUNCEMENTS a. Public Comment: None b. Pollinator Habitat Update J. Pewtherer uploaded and shared pictures. The Pollinator Habitat received an official Citation from Massachusetts which stated that Pollinator Habitat received the 2026 Greening Award at the Botanical Garden in W. Boylston. M. Larouche was one of 6 present for the award. Minutes of Previous Meetings: 06/03/2026 Motion: T. Doucette, for approval Second M. Wilson Vote: M. Wilson – AYE M. Larouche – AYE A. Burnap - AYE J. Pewtherer – AYE T. Doucette - AYE 06/17/2026 Motion: M. Larouche, for approval Second M. Wilson Vote: M. Wilson – AYE M. Larouche – AYE A. Burnap - AYE J. Pewtherer – AYE T. Doucette - AYE 4. Chair J. Pewtherer commented that Admin Assistant Michael Gale’s last day with the commission is approaching. H. Jamie stated that Michael’s last day was June 18th due to planned vacation and she hopes that he can continue in some capacity with the town because he is a true asset. He will be very missed. ===PAGE 2=== 5. NEW PUBLIC HEARINGS All hearings are pursuant to MGL Ch 131, s 40 as amended and the Town of Lunenburg Wetlands Protection and Municipal Bylaws: a. 101 Horizon Island Road: NOI-26-20 Notice of Intent by Robert Wright for the construction of a new addition to an existing dwelling. Ryan Proctor (Dillis & Roy) represented the applicant. The project is an addition to an existing dwelling and R. Proctor explained the proposed project. Portions of the decking will be removed that is in the buffer to allow for the addition. Should access toward the water be something the homeowner wanted it would be best to discuss it now or only a limited area outside the buffer is viable. Motion: T Doucette, for a negative determination. Second M. Wilson Vote: M. Wilson – AYE M. Larouche – AYE A. Burnap - AYE J. Pewtherer – AYE T. Doucette - AYE b. 701 Reservoir Road: NOI26-21 Notice of Intent by the Reservoir Recreational Trust for the construction of a new concrete boat ram on Lake Shirley at Shady Point Ryan Proctor (Dillis & Roy) represented the applicant. Owner Chris ______ was also present. The project is a proposed concrete boat ramp to replace, stabilize and improve the current boat ramp at Shady Point on Lake Shirley. Carl Luck, Sunset Lane was present who raised questions about drainage and component (concrete) of the boat ramp. Request by Commission for more information possible different compositions for the ramp. Motion: M. Larouche, continued to 7/15 for DEP Number Second T. Doucette Vote: M. Wilson – AYE M. Larouche – AYE A. Burnap - AYE J. Pewtherer – AYE T. Doucette - AYE c. 10 Parmenter Road – Lot 18 – 91 Round Road NOI-26-22 Notice of Intent by Benjamin Builders minor site work for driveway entrance and Rain Garden Ryan Proctor (Dill & Roy) represented the owner. This is Lot 18 now known as 91 Round Road and is a single family house. Super elevated driveway to address runoff. The stormwater plan/permit has been uploaded that includes this lot for review. Motion: M. Larouche, continued to 7/15 for DEP Number Second M. Wilson Vote: M. Wilson – AYE M. Larouche – AYE A. Burnap - AYE J. Pewtherer – AYE T. Doucette - AYE d. 10 Parmenter Road – 115 Round Road RDA-26-6 Notice of Intent by Benjamin Builders for the construction of a common driveway entrance with site grading Ryan Proctor (Dill & Roy) represented the owner. Storm Water plan was upload for review. R. Proctor discussed and presented the project. H. Jamie’s notes were read. Motion: M. Larouche, for a negative determination Second T. Doucette Vote: M. Wilson – AYE M. Larouche – AYE A. Burnap - AYE J. Pewtherer – AYE T. Doucette - AYE e. 100 Laurel Lane: RDA-26-7Request for Determination of Applicability by Brian Pollard for the decommissioning of a septic system and installation of a grinder pump ===PAGE 3=== Motion: M. Wilson, continued to 7/15 Second T. Doucette Vote: M. Wilson – AYE M. Larouche – AYE A. Burnap - AYE J. Pewtherer – AYE T. Doucette - AYE 6. CONTINUED PUBLIC HEARINGS a. 1625 Massachusetts Avenue: NOI-26-10 (Continued to 7/15/26) b. 860 New West Townsend Road NOI-26-1 Notice of Intend by Daniel & Rachel Brackett for a common driveway to provide access to four residential lots Ryan Proctor present for the owner who stated that the Planning Board Process has not been completed as the Commission asked to see. Hearing on 7/13 Motion: M Larouche, continued to 7/15 Second M. Wilson Vote: M. Wilson – AYE M. Larouche – AYE A. Burnap - AYE J. Pewtherer – AYE T. Doucette - AYE c. 934 Massachusetts Avenue NOI-26-17 Notice of Intend by Unitil for the construction of a new substation and replacement of utility poles. Motion: M Larouche, continued to 7/15 Second M. Wilson Vote: M. Wilson – AYE M. Larouche – AYE A. Burnap - AYE J. Pewtherer – AYE T. Docette - AYE d. 507 West Townsend Road: NOI-26-19 (Continued from 06/03/26) Notice of Intent by Jahnke Construction LLC for the construction of a single-family home with a wetland crossing Zack Man of New England Environmental Design was present for the applicant. Z Man gave a quick overview of the project. The Well has been moved out of the buffer zone, the house has been moved as far as possible from the buffer zone but there is a wetland crossing at the front of the property effecting the driveway. DEP number and comments received from DEP regarding adhering to Stream Crossing Standards and a 1 to 1 replication. Motion: M. Larouche, to continue to July 15 Second M. Wilson Vote: M. Wilson – AYE M. Larouche – AYE A. Burnap - AYE T. Doucette – AYE J. Pewtherer - AYE 7. ADMINISTRATIVE DETERMINATIONS: a. Conservation Administrator’s Determinations i. 56 Laurel Lane CAD-25-7 H. Jamie’s report was reviewed. Removal of a tree leaving the stump. Tree is outside the 30 foot buffer. Motion: M. Wilson, to ratify Agent’s determination Second T. Doucette Vote: M. Wilson – AYE M. Larouche – AYE A. Burnap - AYE J. Pewtherer – AYE T. Doucette - AYE ===PAGE 4=== ii. 82 Peninsula Drive CAD-26-8 H. Jamie’s report was reviewed. Removal of a tree close to the house with an in kind 2:1 replication. Motion: M. Larouche, to ratify Agent’s determination Second M. Wilson Vote: M. Wilson – AYE M. Larouche – AYE A. Burnap - AYE J. Pewtherer – AYE T. Doucette - AYE b. Amended Order of Conditions: None c. Extension Request Permits: 757 Chase Road 208-1217 CEXT-26-1 J. Almonte of Land Design Collabrative representing Empire Management. J. Almonte gave an overview of the proposed project and a request for an extension of the existing Order of Conditions. The project was approved in 2001, all permits (Planning, Zoning, etc. ) have all expired. Nothing has changed and all permitting requirements have been resubmitted. H. Jamie stated that although her comments are not a part of this discussion, H. Jamie was at the site for a site inspection and to the right side of the current structure there is an additional building where she observed vehicles being washed on the property. The wash water appeared to flow toward the adjacent wetland resource area. While H Jamie was there she met with chair M. Proctor from the Board of Health, who had presented on site with the same concern. Staff indicated that this had been their practice for many years, even though there was a violation issued last year and a cease and desist was issued, which was completely disregarded. There were soaps, detergents, grease, oils and other pollutants that have the potential to impact adjacent resource areas. Also I want to preface this when considering an extension of an existing Order of Condition, if the property owner cannot abide by current standards of the Wetlands Protection Act, it leads me to believe that they lose their right to receive their extension until they remediated these ongoing issues. I recommend that the Commission direct the property owner to immediately discontinue this activity. If the practice continues after notification, I recommend that the Commission authorize the issuance of a formal Notice of Violation and pursue appropriate enforcement action. J. Almonte assured the Commission that all car washing activities on the property have ceased. A letter will be sent of a pre-warning of enforcement if activities continue. Brian Lafferty of Empire Management, owner of the property, was present. The dealerships rent the property. A statement that this will not happen again, there will be no more car washing at the facility. H. Jamie stated that she was at the property and she witnessed the washing of cars. Topography is such that the highest point washes to the lowest point. Car washing was at the highest point washing into the lowest point, which is a wetland. H. Jamie respectfully stated that she witnessed the car washing and spoke directly to the entity washing the cars. Violations are sent to the name and address listed in the public records of the Town of Lunenburg. Motion: M. Wilson, to approve the extension to Order of Conditions for 3 years Second M. Larouche Vote: M. Wilson – AYE M. Larouche – AYE A. Burnap - AYE J. Pewtherer – AYE T. Doucette - AYE d. Certificates of Compliance: None e. Notice of Project Change: None 8. ENFORCEMENT a. Violations, Enforcement Actions, and Hearings: i. 1168 Mass Ave Rear H. Jaime notice from DEP. They advised the Commission should move forward with an Enforcement Order to best address the situation. They are requesting that the Enforcement Order require the following: An evaluation of the property for all the wetland resource areas and reviews that quantify all the altered wetland resource areas, the evaluation to be conducted by a qualified wetland professional and the evaluation should ===PAGE 5=== include subservice soil analysis of sufficient depth throughout the site, including areas along the stream and areas that confirm through the ORAD. DEP recommends that this deliverable is due no later than 30 days of the issuance of the Enforcement Order. They are also asking for the submission of a restoration plan, which includes surveyed topo plans and a description of the unpermitted work and the areas to be restored. They want written confirmation of the intent to comply with the Order within 5 business days of the date the Enforcement Order is issued. They recommend that the Commission review the bvw delineations associated with the ORAD so we can confirm the bank resource area associated with the intermittent streams and that it is still present on the property and should be included in the evaluation. The 2 year time frame to inforce violations is nearing the end. We have reached out to the property owner numerous times, it took a long time to get DEP out there and made numerous attempts in various ways to contact the property owner without a response. They seem to wants to work on this but are not being pushed enough so that they are present something to resolve the issues. DEP wants an Enforcement Order issued and H. Jamie is in favor of doing same. Motion: M. Larouche, to Issue Enforcement Order with DEP Recommendations Second T. Doucette Vote: M. Wilson – Recuse M. Larouche – AYE A. Burnap - AYE T. Doucette – AYE J. Pewtherer - AYE b. Emergency Certifications: None c. 9. NEW BUSINESS a. Updates: None Commission Open Discussion M. Wilson – Mass Recreational Trails Grant Program is a good source of funding for the Commission to do conservation land improvements. This year we applied for two separate grants. One for the Table Rock parking area and the permitting work that had been done by Mass Recreational Trails and one for installation of the Rayno property parking area with engineering and permitting done by Recreational Trails. Unfortunately we were not awarded grant money. It appears grants funding is down this year. They had 121 applications and funded 50. A lot of the ones funded were funding for rail trails and bigger ticket projects. Federal Funding has gone away. We can apply again next year. Rayno property might be a property for state funding grants. T. Doucette stated he appreciates the work done although grant funding was not approved. Mention was made that M. Wilson did most of the work on grants. b. By-Law Discussion H. Jaime continued to a later meeting. 10. OLD BUSINESS a. Conservation budget: i. Massey Tract H. Jamie stated that this property is a part of the Forest Legacy Program and that North County Land Trust is helping the property owner. The Director of North County Land Trust and Town Counsel talked regarding what is required by the Town. Town Counsel advised that they had a conversation with and our Town Manager J. Warren who is differing to the Commission with regard to a question regarding the deed. North County Land trust is requesting a commitment of 25% of the cost of a Title Search and Title Insurance, of which 75% will be reimbursed by the Federal Government. According to Town Counsel, the total cost of Title Insurance and Title Search is below $5,000 of which the Commission would be responsible for 25%. M. Wilson suggested that these funds come from the Timber Rights Account. Motion: M. Wilson, to approve 25% of the funds necessary for title search and title insurance for Massey property as a part of Forest Legacy Program (through North County Land Trust) Second M. Larouche ===PAGE 6=== Vote: M. Wilson – AYE M. Larouche – AYE A. Burnap - AYE T. Doucette – AYE J. Pewtherer - AYE b. Encroachment Issues: None to discuss. c. Hollis Rd Residence: Cleaned on July 6th and 7th Woodstove on Facebook – M. Wilson has a Facebook account for posting Personal Property Left in the Residence Deed to Hollis Road Property stipulations and restrictions – to be circulated by H. Jamie Building tour with Plumber – corrosion on boiler, installed in 2005, no leaks p-traps missing although they are present in the basement and to code kitchen faucet – only screen needs cleaning shower values – no leaking and working building needs upgraded from 100 amp service – not needed at this time Updated List from Chris Ruth – had been circulated to Commission New roof on shed Appliances supplied by custodian not the Commission d. Committee Reports – No Update i. Master Plan Steering Committee: No update ii. Open Space: No update iii. Storm Water: Meeting on the 24th went through commercial properties and made sense to what is in town 11. COMMUNICATIONS / PUBLIC COMMENT 12. UPCOMING MEETING SCHEDULE: a. Wednesday 07/15 at 7:00PM by Zoom 13. ADJOURN Motion: M. Wilson, to adjourn at 9:43PM Second T. Doucette Vote: M. Wilson – AYE M. Larouche – AYE A. Burnap - AYE T. Doucette – AYE J. Pewtherer - AYE Respectfully submitted, Andrea Schnepf – Admin Asst.