ARLINGTON CONSERVATION COMMISSION
MINUTES
AUGUST 18, 2005
Mr. Stevens called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. in the second floor conference room of the Town Hall Annex. Present were Nathaniel Stevens, David White, Catherine Garnett, Ellen Reed, Judith Hodges, and William O’Rourke of the Commission. Timothy Sullivan, of the Commission, was not in attendance. Brian Rehrig, of the Arlington Land Trust, Ann LeRoyer, Lee Ellis, Debra Dill, John McDermott, Lisa Lazarczyk and Karen Johnson were in attendance for the Symmes project. Peggy Grossi, Stella Kazantzas, Josephine Burton, Jeanne Leary, Maria Tsaklis, Nicolas Kozantzos, Elizabeth Cayne, Patricia Deal, Ann Smith, and Jessica Hekman, and Holly Kennedy of FOCCA were in attendance to discuss the dog park. Dan and Tim Taylor were in attendance regarding the lots on Dothan St.
7:30 p.m. - COMMISSION BUSINESS
O’Rourke/Reed motioned to approve the 8/4 minutes with minor edits; motion passed unanimously.
7:45 pm Hill’s Hill Dog Park – discussion with Summer St. Neighborhood Association
Ms. Leary presented arguments against the dog park proposal and distributed a packet of materials to the Commission. The presentation listed the following concerns: steepness of site, runoff to Mill Brook, clearing of any vegetation of area, pick up of dog waste will not happen since site is so secluded, rats eat dog feces, no water on site, disease transmission, ticks, smell, noise, Summer St impacts already lost many trees, dogs will tear up the area.
Mr. Stevens explained that the Commission will probably only get involved when and if a permit is needed for the development of the dog park, when we have a concrete proposal filed by the Park and Recreation Commission. That will only be necessary if the work is within 200 feet of an open section of Mill Brook (or within 100 feet of a wetland).
Ms. Kennedy spoke in rebuttal to the presentation by Ms. Leary and submitted materials to the Commission via email. She welcomed any questions.
Mr. Stevens ended the debate by requesting that Ms. Beckwith investigate and get a map of the Hills Hill area in relation to the open sections of the Mill Brook so that the Commission could determine whether Hills Hill lies within 200 feet of Mill Brook or is near another Resource Area to give the Commission jurisdiction.
8:15pm SYMMES OPEN SPACE – management plan and conservation restriction review
Debra Dill, of 17 Rockland Ave, has issues with the development’s scale, the height being 94 feet tall. The buffers are vegetated with Norway maples (an invasive species) but nothing else will grow on the ledge outcrops of those areas. There should not be any paths in the buffer areas. Page 7 of the Management plan – statement for plant work that makes it sound like Norway maples would be taken out.
Karen Johnson, of 88 Woodside, asked what was the final plan for the Conservation Restriction, as the draft submitted for this meeting had a few errors in it. She wanted the clarification as to why the Conservation Restriction was left until the end of the development’s construction. Mr. Rehrig explained that the Forest Management Plan will be done prior to the construction, therefore we will have a record of exactly what natural resources are on the site prior to construction and that its just the final enacting of the Conservation Restriction that will take place after construction since it is a document that cannot be undone/edited in the future.
Ann LeRoyer wanted to clarify that there is a dog walk, just a trail for walking dogs, designated on the drafted plan, not to be confused with a dog park.
Mr. O’Rourke proposed a site walk to the buffer areas to review the proposal by Mr. Ellis. The Commission will hold this site walk on August 15 at 7:30am, meeting at the northwest corner of the rear parking lot.
9:15pm Lots D and E Dothan St – working session with potential land owners
The board shared the file information with the two brothers who are looking for adjacent lots and are under agreement for these two lots on Dothan St. The lots have a wetland in the front portion. The board advised them to get a new wetland delineation and elevation survey to confirm floodplain on the lots. This may preclude the construction of any structures rendering the lots non-buildable.
10:00pm 210 Pleasant St – Certificates of Compliance for 91-129 and 91-176
White/O’Rourke motioned to approve the Certificate of Compliance for the house addition to 210 Pleasant St; motion passed unanimously.
COMMISSION BUSINESS (cont.) -
The Commission voted to convene at approximately 10:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Corinna Beckwith
Administrator
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