Town of Wellesley, Massachusetts

Zachary Secrest described a bridge he plans to build as a Boy Scout project. The bridge would be located along a town trail, on Babson College land behind the Boston Sports Club site on Great Plain Avenue. He showed pictures of the site and drawings of the planned bridge, and asked if the Committee would need more information or had any questions. At the crossing, the stream now flows through pipes roughly laid on the ground and covered with dirt or gravel. The pipes would not be removed. Peter Keenan said the stream was not flowing when he visited the site recently. Committee members expressed no concerns about the proposal at this time and look forward to a formal Request for Determination.

Since the first presentation at the March 9 meeting, representatives of the Wetlands Protection Committee (Mary Jane O’Donnell and Peter Keenan), the DPW (Michael Quinn), and the Trails Committee (Miguel Lessing) met on site to discuss the scope of the project and the concerns that arose at the Committee meeting on March 9.

Alex Hoffman presented a revised plan, dated March 30, for his Eagle Scout project at Morses Pond Old Beach. Invasive plants to be removed include Norway maples, Asiatic bittersweet, and multiflora rose. An arborist from the DPW will be on site or will have marked the trees to be removed. Cut material will be placed in dumpsters supplied by DPW. Two benches, purchased by the Town, will be installed as the second part of this project. No other alterations are planned. The work will be done on May 6 and May 13, with May 20 as a rain date. Only hand tools will be used.

In answer to the Committee’s questions, Alex Hoffman said that the work area was about 3000 square feet. Miguel Lessing, of the NRC’s Trails Committee, described the existing infestation of bittersweet, which in may cases is strangling good trees near the pond.

Based on the project as now described, Marc Taylor moved to issue a negative Determination of Applicability, thus reversing the vote at the March 9 meeting. Rhonda Ryznar seconded the motion, which was approved 5 – 0.

Neil McLaughlin, builder of the new house at 15 White Oak Road, presented a landscaping plan that would require revisions to the plan approved by the Order of Conditions. Under that Order, no trees or other vegetation were to be removed from the 100-foot buffer zone unless shown on the plan. The new landscaping plan would extend the lawn farther back into the property, including areas within the outer 75 feet of the buffer zone, but would mitigate this by removing all existing lawn in the wetland and the inner 25 feet of the buffer zone and replanting with a specified variety of suitable native shrubs.

Marc Taylor asked Mr. McLaughlin to consider environmentally benign alternatives to the use of chemicals for lawn care. Mr. McLaughlin said that the owner, for whom he is building the house, would probably want an installed lawn sprinkler system.

Patricia Bishop presented a proposal to remove four trees from the back yard of the house she is purchasing at 22 Meadowbrook Road. The trees are in the middle of lawn, as shown on a sketch plan submitted with the Request for Determination. The four trees to be removed are between 15 and 27 feet (approximately) from an intermittent stream flowing through the back yard. As part of her plan, Ms. Bishop will have four other trees – a red maple, a crabapple, a sweet gum, and a white oak – planted, as shown on a second drawing attached to the Request for Determination. The bank of the stream nearer the house has moss and some grass on it. Ms. Bishop plans to develop a planting plan for the area near the stream, which would be submitted later for approval. Only the tree removal and replacement are covered by this Request.

Peter Keenan reported that he found several remaining problems with the submitted material. Part of the proposed new building is within Bordering Land Subject to Flooding (BLSF), which is made clear on the revised topographic plan, but the material submitted, including the Notice of Intent form, does not acknowledge that this resource area is impacted and does not demonstrate compliance with BLSF performance standards. The sizes of the Stormceptors are not specified nor is a supporting calculation provided. The drainage calculations report submitted is incomplete and unclear. The Stormwater Management Form, item #3, is incomplete. The amount of discharge into the wetland from the proposed stormwater system is inconsistently reported. The single drawing for both existing and proposed grades makes evaluation of flood storage changes unnecessarily difficult.

Applicant Dean Behrend agreed to a further continuation so that his engineer can address these comments. Rhonda Ryznar moved to continue the hearing to April 20, Robert Lubker seconded, and the motion carried 5 – 0.

Rebecca Weissman and Peter Keenan reported on their observations on March 22 at the small pond. The depression remained as full as previously observed. A goldfish about 6 inches long was in the pond. The pond is at least two feet deep and has a thick layer of organic material on the bottom, with no hard or stony bottom found. There was no evidence of vernal pool obligate species, but there was evidence of at least two facultative species (a clam and a dragonfly larva). The surrounding area contains little area of upland habitat for mole salamanders or wood frogs.

Marc Taylor moved to issue a negative Determination of Applicability, stating that the area outlined in the submitted plan is not subject to the jurisdiction of the Wetlands Protection Act or the Wellesley Wetlands Protection Bylaw. Robert Lubker seconded, and the motion carried 5 – 0.

Surveyor Terry Ryan showed a sketch of the existing conditions at 3 Sunnyside Avenue, where a vacant and derelict house is within a riverfront area of a stream flowing across the backyard. Although he has not yet confirmed the accuracy of wetland flags found on the site, Mr. Ryan suspects that the bordering vegetated wetland reaches to within a few feet of the rear of the house. The backyard, which is now overgrown, could be almost entirely in bordering vegetated wetland. To avoid drawing up plans that could not meet the Committee’s approval, he asked the Committee’s informal opinion on the prospects for rebuilding or landscaping. Committee members said that the regulations would have to be met, and building beyond the current footprint could be difficult.

Penalties - Mary Jane O’Donnell’s draft of penalty guidelines had been distributed. Members were encouraged to review, comment, or redraft it. Peter Keenan will attempt to provide a table of past fines matched with the factors that could be used to judge the severity of the penalty.

Enforcement, 27 Yarmouth Road – The Committee asked Peter Keenan to follow up the violation notice with an Enforcement Order, requiring a replanting plan and reminding that Section 10 of the Bylaw provides for a fine of $300/day for continuing violations. Failure to comply with Enforcement Order will result in further fines.

Enforcement, 81 Croton Street – Peter Keenan will send a letter to document the oral agreement. The owner is expected to present a plan for any changes or restoration beyond what is already approved, and arrange for a site meeting.

Enforcement, 57 Whiting Road – A site meeting to assess the extent of unauthorized landscaping will be arranged, preferably at 6:00 pm on a weekday evening. (The violation was last addressed at the January 5, 2006, meeting, when a springtime site visit was agreed on.)