Your contractor can tell you whatever they want to, but it is the homeowner’s responsibility to file for permission with the Marion Conservation Commission before any work is done on your property if it contains wetlands, said commission member Jeffrey Doubrava to Chuong Pham of 22 Bass Point Road.
Pham came before the board to ask for an addition to his landing for a second bathroom, but left the July 8 meeting having to amend his Request for Determination application to include an after-the-fact deck built three years ago behind his house within the 100-foot buffer zone.
Chairman Norm Hills said Pham’s property featured three distinct wetlands and is within the velocity zone.
“You should’ve come to us to have that work done,” Hills said.
Pham told the commission he did not know he had to file with them, saying his contractor never told him. Pham said he assumed the contractor would acquire any necessary permits. When asked, Pham said he did not apply for a building permit for the deck, either.
The commission performed a site visit at the property prior to the meeting, and Hills said he saw something else he did not like.
“There’s a fuel tank down there on the bottom and the strapping over it is not sufficient to keep it from going out there,” said Hills. “If water comes up, it’ll try to float up out there.”
ConCom member Joel Hartley said the fuel tank was outside the commission’s purview, but Hills still referred to the mention of the fuel tank as “pollution prevention.”
Pham was cooperative in his response, saying he would do whatever the commission needed him to do.
The commission continued the hearing for the bathroom addition until July 22 because Pham did not have a plot plan displaying the wetlands lines or construction plans with him.
Also during the meeting, the commission gave a negative determination for Ernest Weber of 15 Kabeyun Road to enclose a back porch and outside staircase that leads down to an existing separate workshop/office attached to the dwelling.
“I’m closing the workshop, and I’m going to turn the building into one home instead of having a workshop downstairs and an office,” said Weber, his walker beside him. “At my age, I’m not as active as I used to be.”
The Notice of Intent for the Town of Marion to reconstruct the 4-foot high stone wall at Sprague’s Cove was continued until August 12. Hills said the reason for the string of continuances over the past several months was because the Town had not received correspondence from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; however, they finally received word the day before the meeting.
The next meeting of the Marion Conservation Commission is scheduled for July 22 at 7:00 pm at the Marion Town House.
By Jean Perry
