David Smith approached the Rochester Conservation Commission on November 15 looking for approval to clear two properties that previously belonged to George Church and that now belong to the Rochester Land Trust. Commission member Rosemary Smith excused herself from the discussion due to personal involvement with the application.
“We’ve recently bought a 3.5 acre property on the east side of Mattapoisett Road, opposite the Church homestead and the Church Fields and pony pastures,” he explained. “There are a lot of stone walls on the property, but there’s woody growth all around them and in the fields. We’d like to cut all of the woody vegetation on the insides of all the walls and the outside of the walls bordering the road. We’d also like to clear the fields of any hardwoods or small trees, and return them to pasture and possibly eventually a hayfield.”
“So you aren’t tilling the soil or anything?” commission member Kevin Cassidy asked. “You’re just removing brush and trees?”
“No, right now it’s just removing the brush and undergrowth,” Smith confirmed.
“From what I see, it’s really just a continuation of what George Church used to do, and what the Land Trust has done, which is to mow the property once a year,” Conservation Agent Laurell Farinon said. “Mr. Smith is just trying to return the property to more of a pasture-like appearance, which is what it once would have been.”
Farinon recommended that the board issue a negative determination with a stipulation that the field be mowed between December 1, 2016 and March 1, 2017. The motion was approved.
Marc and Meredith Rousseau of 301 Walnut Plain Road came before the board with a proposal to construct a leaching trench that would fall within the 100-foot buffer zone of the bordering wetlands. The Rousseaus have a separate filing with the board, which had been heard previously, for the relocation of a driveway, the installation of 98 feet of new paved driveway, and the installation of a vinyl privacy fence. Representative Douglas Schneider of N. Douglas Schneider & Associates Inc., explained, “While the previous filing was being heard, the owners decided that they also wanted to add this leaching trench, so we’ve added this filing as well.”
Schneider told the board that the 18 inch-deep trench was done mainly to move more runoff water on the property. The proposal was approved with a negative determination, allowing it to move forward.
The last proposal of the night came from A. Hammerman and M. Kirby for property at 80 Snow’s Pond Road. The owner’s representative, Rick Charon of Charon Associates, said, “Basically the property is a peninsula into Snow’s Pond made of sand. We’re trying to repair two cottages and a main house. The two cottages currently have separate septic tanks; we’re trying to combine them both into one septic system. The main house will still have a separate system. We’re tying everything into a leaching field for eight bedrooms.”
Charon noted that the original plan, which was revised, was to take down about 12 large trees to create a new leaching field. When he spoke with Farinon to revise the problem though, they took a second look at the property and were able to move the leaching field to an area that had previously been cleared.
“So this project won’t take down any trees at all?” Rosemary Smith asked.
“Nope, not even to run the pipe,” Charon said. “We’re even able to run that between the pipes.”
The project was approved with a negative determination, on the stipulation that the board be called in to re-inspect the erosion barriers before the project was completed.
The next meeting of the Rochester Conservation Commission will take place on December 6 at 7:00 pm at the Rochester Town Hall.
By Andrea Ray