On Wednesday, June 13, the Marion Conservation Commission met and held two public hearings. The Commission heard from Dave Davignon, of Schneider and Associates, on behalf of Henry and Judy DeJesus, who would like to build a house at 12 Hartley Lane. Many abutters felt the scope of the project could negatively impact the neighborhood, from infringing on property lines to affecting the drainage of the area.
“There was a lot of concern among the abutters concerning the size of the house and location of the house,” he said.
Davignon went to the Board of Appeals and it was decided to move the house away from the property line to give more breathing room around nearby homes.
“We’ve created seven more feet between the western property line and what was proposed,” he said.
They have also reduced the amount of living space within the home, eliminated an exterior covered porch, and scrapped plans for a raised patio. The Commission voted in favor of the amendments to the project.
The Commission also spoke with Davignon on behalf of Dale and Laura Briggs, regarding a Request for Determination of Applicability to install a ground-level solar panel array, which would include the construction of a gravel access road and chain-link fence around the perimeter.
The array would require the removal of most of the vegetation in the area, which is why they are planning on laying down a layer of ground stone on top of gravel and sand in order to prevent plants from coming back, which raised concern with the Commission.
“What are you going to do if something tries to spring up? Are you going to use a chemical herbicide to take care of it?” asked Vice Chairman Normal Hills.
“We don’t even use pesticides on our own land, so we’d probably just weed-whack it,” Dale Briggs said in response.
The Commission voted in favor of the RDA.
The next meeting of the Marion Conservation Commission is scheduled for Wednesday, June 27, 2012, at 7:00 pm at the Marion Town House.
By Eric Tripoli
