At the August 1 meeting of the Rochester Conservation Commission, the commission and the public heard for the first time about plans for a new business on Kings Highway proposed by Craig Canning of Progressive Grower Inc., as the plans pertain to the wetlands. Those plans are to develop the property for an agricultural supply business. The property in question is owned by Tremont Enterprise Corporation of West Wareham.
Represented by Brian Grady of G.A.F. Engineering, Canning’s plans include six 60-foot by 120-foot buildings for the storage and distribution of fertilizer and agricultural supplies.
Grady described the areas under the jurisdiction of the Conservation Commission: stormwater management conceptual plans, limits of work, and wetlands flagging.
One abutter who aired concerns about stormwater management was assured by Grady that the proposed system would not add to his basement flooding issues.
Grady said that he would be working closely with Ken Motta of Field Engineering, Rochester’s consultant during plan development phases, and said that they would soon be meeting for the first time with the Planning Board.
Given that the proposed project was in the very early stages, Chairman Michael Conway asked if the applicant wished to continue the hearing for several weeks. Canning agreed, and the Notice of Intent hearing was continued until September 5.
Next stop for Canning is the August 7 Planning Board hearing that is scheduled for 7:00 pm and will be held at the Rochester Memorial School. The abutter was urged to attend that meeting.
After-the-fact Notice of Intent continuations for Decas Cranberry Corporation’s unpermitted logging activities were again before the commissioners. But this time, the environmental engineer had remediation and mitigation plans buttoned up.
For property owned by the cranberry grower at Old Middleboro Road, 223 Burgess Avenue, and Walnut Plain Road, Brooke Monroe of Pinebrook Consulting presented plans for seeding and planting that pleased the commissioners.
With minor modifications that included monitoring of new plantings over two growing seasons by a qualified environmental scientist, re-planting any vegetation that fails to thrive, and completion of all work by October 2017, the three filings were conditioned.
Also receiving good news for an after-the-fact Notice of Intent filing were members of the trustees for the Hartley Beach Trust: Patricia Corwin, Norene Hartley, and Keith Cannon.
Mitigation plans for unpermitted clearing were submitted by Brian Madden of LEC Environmental.
The plans were accepted along with a request by the commission that the owners place timber posts along the no-touch zone for visual limits of work for any future landscape activities. Restoration must be completed by the fall of 2017.
Commission member John Teal spoke up at the end of those cases, saying, “I think we get too far into these mitigation areas…. Mother Nature does a good job…. Natural processes work just fine.” He also said, “We should be enhancing; otherwise, just leave it alone. Let Mother Nature have a hand in what goes on rather than over-engineering.”
Conservation Agent Laurell Farinon concurred, saying that was the intent from her vantage point also.
The next meeting of the Rochester Conservation Commission is scheduled for August 15 at 7:00 pm in the Rochester Town Hall meeting room.
Rochester Conservation Commission
By Marilou Newell