The Rochester Conservation Commission Tuesday night permitted signage to be placed at 52 Wolf Island Road to allow boaters access to the watery part of that property.
The commission ruled that a plan to install the two state Department of Environmental Protection Chapter 91 signs near the dam at that address will not impact wetlands there, after the property owners’ engineering consultant, Matthew Leone, noted that this is all that is planned for that portion of the parcel.
Leone said in his appearance before the board on Zoom that four 4-foot-high, pressure-treated wood posts will hold up signs that will mark the entryway where the public in their boats may access the waterway. He said the contractor will simply dig the holes and set them in impacted gravel.
Commission member Ben Bailey asked if there is a regulation that allows a minimal amount of earth displacement on a project like this.
Either way, Leone said, it will be only a minor displacement.
“I’m just curious if there are any standards,” Bailey said, “under so many cubic yards.”
The final “negative determination” (of impact to the resource area) vote was unanimous.
Commission Chairman Christopher Gerrior explained after the vote that the signs will mark “a portage spot” that can only be accessed by someone already boating in the area.
Gerard W. and Lucille Morris own a home and cranberry bogs at the address.
Next, the Conservation Commission approved a plan by homeowners on Walnut Plain Road to remove a dead tree that could hit their home if it is not taken away soon. Gerrior explained to the commission that a new regulation allowing Conservation Agent Merilee Kelly to permit a homeowner to take such action without a tree-removal permit application if it is a single tree that will not fall into wetlands. Kelly simply wanted to make sure this instance fits that criterium.
Gerrior then announced that there will be no more ticketing of 89 Box Turtle Drive for wetland violations, as directed by Town Counsel Blair Bailey. He said Bailey is now in conversation with the property owner’s attorney.
The commission’s violation order against 89 Box Turtle Drive in July was for clearing land too close to wetlands without a permit and not even trying to communicate with commission members to resolve the issue.
The board’s next meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 18, at 7:00 pm at Old Colony Regional Vocational-Technical High School library and accessible via Zoom.
Rochester Conservation Commission
By Michael J. DeCicco