Shawmut Associates was back before the Rochester Conservation Committee on April 1 with a request to amend the Order of Conditions, which the commission unanimously approved after Project Manager Peter Flood of Green Seal Environmental explained the latest changes to the plan.
Changes to the 50 Cranberry Highway trash and recycling facility plan involve enclosing the originally proposed loading dock, adding a 60- to 70-foot long guard rail to be installed along the northwest side of the property, and relocating a diesel tank from the southeast side of the property to the eastern side of the building.
“Things are going well with the existing project,” said Conservation Agent Laurell Farinon, referring to the work that has already begun on the site. She said these new changes to the plan have resulted in an over-all better design.
Also during the meeting, Farinon told the commission that she issued a violation to Britney Ashley and Christopher Faustino, owners of 510 New Bedford Road for unpermitted clearing of trees within the 100-foot buffer zone – and right up to the very edge of the wetlands.
After receiving a call from a concerned resident, Farinon went to the property and issued the violation. According to the terms of the violation, Ashley and Faustino have until April 18 to file with the Conservation Commission.
The commission was handed photos taken of the logging and clearing at the site, prompting a “holy smokes” and a gasp from ConCom Member Kevin Cassidy.
“That’s a lot of clearing,” said Cassidy looking at the photos.
Cassidy asked Farinon who physically did the logging on the property, and Farinon told him it was Faustino’s father, Christopher Faustino Sr., owner of Faustino & Sons Logging of Rochester. Faustino Sr. was once a Rochester Conservation Commission member.
The extent of clearing Ashley and Faustino carried out requires a Forest Cutting Plan, which they did not have.
In a post-meeting interview, when asked if ConCom would have approved this scope of clearing before the work was completed, Farinon and ConCom Chairman Rosemary Smith both stated no.
In other news, Farinon told the commission that several cranberry bog owners are considering allowing solar farm projects on their bogs, but she would not disclose which ones.
“And they’re being approached by companies to do that,” said Farinon. She added that since cranberry bogs qualify as resource areas under the Wetlands Protection Act, any plans would come before the commission for approval.
In other matters, Michael Clements from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation Highway Division presented a plan for herbicide application to areas along Interstate 495 within the town border. He said the project is 94-percent mowing, one-percent herbicide application, and five-percent “other.”
It is standard procedure for the Mass DOT to renew its vegetation maintenance plan with the Town, and this plan will expire in five years.
“This plan will have no impact on wetlands resources,” said Clements. He said the herbicides and application methods have been researched and tested by the Department of Environmental Protection, and most of the herbicides, like Roundup®, can be purchased at most garden centers.
Mass DOT will notify the Town 10 days before spraying and applying the chemicals in June. The sprayer is a low pressure, low volume nozzle, and the chemicals can only be applied in dry weather, with wind below 20 miles per hour. The vote to approve was unanimous.
The commission also discussed an email complaint from a resident on March 30, the Sunday of the big rain storm, complaining of significant standing water, which the resident attributed to the nearby Connet Woods subdivision.
Farinon said she went to the site on March 31 and the water had fully dissipated. She stated that members from the Planning Board also checked out the site that Monday, and they found it to be a “non-issue.”
Farinon spoke of the Sunday storm commenting, “There was water every place.” She added that there appears to be a “neighborly dispute” now.
Also discussed, Farinon said a kiosk at Leonard’s Pond is being constructed by students at Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School.
A display case is also in the works for Doggett’s Brook to be located on the side of the restroom facility. Farinon brought several sample maps for the commission to look over.
The next meeting of the Rochester Conservation Commission is scheduled for April 15 at 7:00 pm at Town Hall.
By Jean Perry
