More than 60 people filled Mattapoisett Town Hall or joined remotely Monday night for a Conservation Commission hearing on plans to replace existing rental houses on Mahoney’s Lane with seven larger single-family homes.
They did not get to hear the proposal.
The commission addressed the Mahoney’s Lane application first but continued the hearing after attendance exceeded the Town Hall conference room’s 42-person capacity. More than 20 additional participants were logged into the July 27 meeting through Zoom.
Commission members said the hearing could not proceed when everyone who wanted to attend could not be accommodated. Once the postponement was announced, people who had come for the Mahoney’s Lane hearing were told they were free to leave. Much of the room emptied before the commission continued with the remainder of its agenda.
The hearing had previously been continued from July 13.
Dennis Mahoney & Sons, Inc. has filed a Notice of Intent to demolish the existing houses at 1–7 Mahoney’s Lane and build seven larger single-family homes on the property. The site is near salt marsh, Eel Pond and Mattapoisett Harbor, placing portions of the proposed work within areas regulated by the Conservation Commission.
Neighbors have raised concerns about the size of the proposed homes, their proximity to protected wetlands, potential flooding and the effects of construction on the surrounding salt marsh.
Because Monday’s hearing was postponed before the application was presented, the commission did not review the plans, hear public comments or reach any conclusions about the project or the concerns raised by residents.
Dave Davignon of Schneider, Davignon & Leone, Inc., representing the applicant, agreed to the continuance.
Commission staff will look for a larger location capable of accommodating the anticipated turnout. The fire station was mentioned as one possible venue. A new hearing date and location will be announced.
Scheduling the hearing may be complicated by the expected recusals of two commission members. At least three eligible commissioners must be available to establish a quorum and hear the application.
The ConCom’s next regular meeting is scheduled for August 10, but no new date for the Mahoney’s Lane hearing had been set by the close of Monday’s meeting.
The Mattapoisett Conservation Commission also approved plans for a new Water and Sewer Department operations building at 15 Industrial Drive during the meeting.
The proposed 140-by-120-foot metal building will include a carport. Most of the project will be outside the 100-foot wetland buffer zone, although a portion of the parking area and a new stormwater infiltration basin will extend into the buffer.
The commission approved the project with several conditions.
The department will use an existing dewatering basin during construction rather than build another one. The existing basin has sufficient capacity, and its reuse will reduce the project’s cost to taxpayers.
The commission also required the project’s stormwater Operation and Maintenance Plan and Long-Term Pollution Prevention Plan to remain in effect permanently.
Approval is contingent upon the Massachusetts Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program raising no adverse concerns about the project.
The commission also approved the removal of approximately 650 square feet of invasive knotweed at 18 Crystal Springs Road. The work will be performed by hand-pulling and grubbing the plants.
Commission members added a condition prohibiting the use of wood chips or Tyvek within the protected resource area.
At 9 Oliver Street, the commission reviewed a proposal to replace an existing shed with a 15-by-25-foot shed and attached carport.
The property is located within a coastal velocity zone subject to storm flowage. The new structure must be supported by helical anchors or concrete sono tubes that allow floodwater to flow beneath it. A structural engineer must review and approve the foundation design.
The commission issued a Negative 2 Determination with those conditions, allowing the applicant to proceed without filing a full Notice of Intent.
A wetland boundary filing for 0 and 31 Randall Road was continued after commissioners found that the resource-area flags marking the property were no longer readable. The applicant must refresh the flags before the commission conducts a site visit.
The commission approved proposed site improvements at 84 Angelica Avenue with its standard conditions. The hearing had been continued from July 13 while the applicant waited to receive a file number from the state Department of Environmental Protection.
A three-year extension was granted to the Crescent Beach Association for its previously approved beach-nourishment work.
Commission members also discussed scheduling a site walk at the former Wolf Island cranberry bogs after August 3. The Buzzard’s Bay Coalition has proposed removing a dam and water-control structures and restoring the Mattapoisett River’s natural flow, riverbanks and floodplain.
Commissioners may inspect the property during the site walk, but commission business cannot be discussed or deliberated unless the visit is posted as a public meeting.
The commission’s next meeting is scheduled for August 10. Its planned August 24 meeting has been canceled because the Town Hall meeting room will be used for early voting.
Mattapoisett Conservation Commission
By Jeanne Hopkins