Conservation Commission, August 21, 2019

The town published minutes (text) and an agenda for this meeting. Those minutes are the record; what follows is a guide to the recording.

legalplanning and zoningpolicypublic commenttown departments

Present: Richard burisch (chair); Todd wire (Todd Dwyer) (vice chair); Katie child's (member); Carl luck (clerk); Jackrabbit (member); Bob Pease (treasurer); Matt (conservation agent); Kent (member). Names are the caption model’s hearing and may be wrong.

Votes

1. ▶ 7:06Motion on the notice of intent for the septic upgrade at 128 Highland Street; a second and a voice vote of aye followed, but the motion's exact wording is unclear in the captionsnot audible
2. ▶ 17:22Issue a negative determination at 380 Sunset Lane on the RDA, with the caveat that the commission is told when erosion protection is installed before construction startspassed
3. ▶ 22:17Negative determination for tree removal at 43 Fire Road 19, with the applicant adding two 8 to 10 foot trees and two shrubspassed
4. ▶ 33:20Continue the 915 Northfield Road hearing to September 4 if there is no DEP numberpassed
5. ▶ 34:46Continue the DPW culvert replacement hearing at Sunset Lane and Northfield Road to September 4 because abutters were not notifiedpassed
6. ▶ 41:47Continue 320 Birch Street to September 4passed
7. ▶ 1:09:43Continue the Sunset Lane retaining wall hearing to September 4passed
8. ▶ 1:48:12Continue 131 and 133 Lunenburg Shirley Road to September 4passed
9. ▶ 1:49:17Continue the 100 Summer Street hearing to September 4 at the applicant's requestpassed
10. ▶ 2:55:03Reappoint the current officers (chair, vice chair, clerk, treasurer) by roll callpassed

And 1 procedural: adjourn the meeting (▶ 3:00:39).

Against the town’s minutes

The town published minutes (text) for this meeting; ours were compared item by item. 5 agree, 0 caption errors resolved by the official reading, 8 substantive differences. The town’s minutes are a partial record.

1. differs380 Sunset Lane negative determination condition and abstention▶ 17:22

   recording Issue a negative determination at 380 Sunset Lane on the RDA, with the caveat that the commission is told when erosion protection is installed before construction starts — passed

   town’s minutes “negative determination motion was made with the added condition mm to inspect erosion controls made by td with a second jr . the vote to approve was unanimous”

   Condition differs (commission notified vs. MM inspects erosion controls), and our minutes call it an RDA while the official says notice of intent. Structured summary also notes CL abstaining though the quote says unanimous; check the recording.

2. differsContinue 320 Birch Street / Burr Age Street▶ 41:47

   recording Continue 320 Birch Street to September 4 — passed

   town’s minutes “a motion was made by cc to continue for lack of a dep number to the september 4 meeting at 7 pm in the ritter building. td second and the commission unanimously approved the motion.”

   Likely the same item with the street name misheard (Birch vs Burr Age); check the street name; official gives a lack of DEP number reason.

3. differsSunset Lane retaining wall continuation▶ 1:09:43

   recording Continue the Sunset Lane retaining wall hearing to September 4 — passed

   town’s minutes “a motion was made by kj to continue for lack of a dep number and to have the issues with mr. storms property resolved, to the september 4 meeting”

   Likely the 4 Sunset Lane NOI; official gives reasons (DEP number, Mr. Storm's property) that ours omits. Confirm it is the same item.

4. differs131/133 Lunenburg (Leominster) Shirley Road continuation▶ 1:48:12

   recording Continue 131 and 133 Lunenburg Shirley Road to September 4 — passed

   town’s minutes “a motion was made by td to continue for lack of a dep number and to have the issues outlined by rb resolved, to the september 4 meeting”

   Same hearing, but road name differs (Lunenburg vs Leominster-Shirley); verify the name and the stated reasons.

5. differs100 Summer Street vs 260 Fallualah Road continuation▶ 1:49:17

   recording Continue the 100 Summer Street hearing to September 4 at the applicant's request — passed

   town’s minutes “a motion was made by kj to continue for lack of a dep number and the applicants request, to the september 4 meeting at 7 pm in the ritter building.”

   Both are applicant-request continuations, but the address differs (100 Summer Street vs 260 Fallualah Road); check the recording for which property.

6. differsOfficer reappointment▶ 2:55:03

   recording Reappoint the current officers (chair, vice chair, clerk, treasurer) by roll call — passed

   town’s minutes “a motion as made by jr to re-elect all the existing offices to the same positions. kj seconded and the commission approve the motion by unanimous vote”

   Outcome agrees, but ours says roll call and official says unanimous vote; minor, check the method.

7. differs127 Pleasant Street outcome▶ 1:53:53

   recording The owner at 127 Pleasant Street is to work with the agent on a plan and be heard on September 4; a cease and desist was issued.

   town’s minutes “the owner appeared and the commission required a filing of a request for a determination. mm will assist.”

   Ours has a cease and desist and a September 4 hearing; official requires an RFD filing with MM assisting. Check the recording.

8. differs131-133 Shirley Road requested information▶ 1:47:51

   recording Applicant at 131/133 Lunenburg Shirley Road is asked for stormwater basin calculations, riverfront alteration numbers and a report from the wetland consultant on the pipe elevation.

   town’s minutes “the commission indicated they wished to have the 30 foot restored.”

   Different requests recorded: official has the 30 foot no-touch zone restored and an amended NOI with revised riverfront numbers; ours lists calculations and a consultant report. Check.

Compared 2026-11-05. Neither record is treated as the referee: a caption error is the same fact heard badly; a difference is for a person to check at the timestamp.

The money

1. ▶ 2:06:53Wetlands filing fee schedule

   Proposed regulation changes to the fee schedule: subdivision fee gets a per-foot charge and commercial fees are replaced by a per-square-foot charge.

   as heard:250 dollarsone dollar per linear foot$250 plus ten cents per square foot

2. ▶ 2:16:44Violation fines

   Fines for violations revised to a maximum per day, and daily offence fines set within a range.

   as heard:three hundred dollars each day100 to 300 dollars per day

Settled without a vote

• ▶ 22:17Applicant at 43 Fire Road 19 must plant two 8 to 10 foot trees and two shrubs.
• ▶ 1:02:33A straw poll of commissioners favored changing the wall footprint at Sunset Lane to save the large trees.
• ▶ 1:47:51Applicant at 131/133 Lunenburg Shirley Road is asked for stormwater basin calculations, riverfront alteration numbers and a report from the wetland consultant on the pipe elevation.
• ▶ 1:53:53The owner at 127 Pleasant Street is to work with the agent on a plan and be heard on September 4; a cease and desist was issued.
• ▶ 2:43:12Commission agreed to add a definition of structure and the words permanent and temporary structures to the regulations.
• ▶ 2:51:11The September 4 meeting will be at the Ritter building, with regulation revision added as a discussion item.

Documents and exhibits

State law asks minutes to list the documents and exhibits used at a meeting (M.G.L. c.30A §22(a)). Names from the recording are the caption model’s hearing; the two sides are matched by name, by script, so a document named two different ways can be missed. A place to look, not a finding.

Public comment

1. ▶ 1:07:11An abutter objected to the proposed catch basin, walls and riprap encroaching on his property at the Sunset Lane retaining wall hearing, and favored a continuance. — Andrew storm, as heard, abutter, 735 Flat Hill Road

Where the time went

Minutes of recording by subject, from the topic spans below. A topic with two subjects counts toward both.

• planning and zoning117 min · 66%
• legal61 min · 34%
• policy57 min · 32%
• fees57 min · 32%
• public comment28 min · 16%
• personnel3 min · 2%
• roads and dpw1 min · 0%

The whole meeting, in order

1. ▶ 0:00Call to order and roll callprocedural · 1:01 long
2. ▶ 1:01Septic upgrade, 128 Highland Streetvoted · 6:27 long · planning and zoning
3. ▶ 8:10Slope stabilization and stair repair, 380 Sunset Lanevoted, negative determination · 9:58 long · planning and zoning
4. ▶ 18:35Tree removal, 43 Fire Road 19voted, negative determination · 4:52 long · planning and zoning
5. ▶ 23:49915 Northfield Road house and septiccontinued · 10:36 long · planning and zoning
6. ▶ 34:25DPW culvert replacementcontinued · 0:41 long · roads and dpw
7. ▶ 35:06320 Birch Street driveway and additioncontinued · 7:03 long · planning and zoning
8. ▶ 42:09Sunset Lane retaining wall in the floodplaincontinued · 27:55 long · planning and zoning, public comment
9. ▶ 1:10:04Grading and culvert, 131/133 Lunenburg Shirley Roadcontinued · 38:30 long · planning and zoning
10. ▶ 1:48:34Riverfront remediation and 100 Summer Streetcontinued · 1:44 long · planning and zoning
11. ▶ 1:51:22Enforcement at 127 Pleasant Streetinformational · 4:14 long · planning and zoning, legal
12. ▶ 1:55:36Wetlands regulation revisions and the definition of structurediscussion · 56:57 long · policy, fees, legal
13. ▶ 2:52:33Commission reorganizationvoted · 2:50 long · personnel
14. ▶ 2:55:23Agent report, old business and adjournmentadjourned · 5:36 long · planning and zoning

What the captions could not carry

• Captions for the 128 Highland Street motion do not show its exact wording or the vote count
• Abstention at 380 Sunset Lane is only partly clear in the captions
• Several wall-distance and tree details at Sunset Lane were garbled

Written 2026-11-05 by scripts/write_recording_minutes.py (sonnet) from sources/data/youtube-transcripts/conservation-commission/2019-08-21-pJzkNZlHlw0.json — 3,579 caption segments, sha256 797fe1e3dc4c…. All recorded meetings.