A paper road, public lands, easement confusion, and Japanese knotweed were front and center as Rachel Richardson, 22 Park Street, reported that her neighbor, Christine Szuszkiewicz, owner of 0 Railroad Avenue, has performed unpermitted activities on her property, public lands, and an easement.
Richardson said that Szuszkiewicz had claimed an easement over her property to access her parcel and had begun clearing activities to remove invasive vegetation such as Japanese knotweed. Richardson said that since this past March she had attempted to have the neighbor stop burning brush and cutting, including on her property, activities she said were also impacting Tubb Mill Brook. She asked the commission to intervene, as she believed the activities were unpermitted, illegal, and taking place on land not owned by Szuszkiewicz.
Conservation Agent Elizabeth Liedhold commented that an application for a permit had been pending, but that Szuszkiewicz had withdrawn that request back in 2005. This prompted Chairman Mike King to say, “So she knows the process.”
Richardson said that a paper road, Railroad Avenue, leads into Szuszkiewicz’s property, but that more recently she had found out there wasn’t an easement across her Park Street address. She said she was advised to have her own property surveyed to ensure she understood where the boundary lines are located should further action be required.
In the meantime, Richardson’s photographic evidence and the fact that Szuszkiewicz had withdrawn an application for similar activities in the past lead King to instruct Leidhold to issue a Cease and Desist Order and to request that Szuszkiewicz come before the commission to explain just what her intentions are with respect to clearing invasive species. King said that under the Wetlands Protection Act (WPA) the activities reported required further investigation.
After hearing from Richardson and a follow-up on general discussions regarding Enforcement Orders, King told commissioners that under the WPA they had the right to impose fines up to $25,000 per day per violation retroactively up to two years. He said he wanted to establish a policy that the commission could impose to get violators to cooperate and bring activities into compliance when necessary.
A subcommittee that includes Trevor Francis and John Jacobsen will undertake writing a policy draft, which will be further reviewed by the whole commission and legal counsel, King said. They hope to have the policy established by the end of the year.
In other business, the troubled subdivision Brandt Point Village, owned by Armand Cortelleso of Brandt Island Realty Trust and Omega Financial, represented by Al Loomis of McKenzie Engineering Corp., came before the commission requesting an Amended Order of Conditions for two lots on Nantucket Drive.
But it wasn’t long before the conversation focused on previous enforcement orders issued by the commission and longstanding complaints by abutters that Phase One was not finished as ordered by the Planning Board before additional work could take place.
Resident of the subdivision and advocate for homeowners in the neighborhood, Gail Carlson, once again complained that construction debris was strewn around the site, and turtle fencing was incomplete, inadequate, or falling down. Furthermore, she said that two homes in Phase Two were merely incomplete shells that, until recently, had been open to the elements, and that sanitary units for workers had never been placed on the construction site.
“All that is going into the wetlands,” said Carlson.
Loomis defended his client, saying that fencing was in the process of being installed now and that the developer had gone over and above what was necessary by completing roadways throughout the site. But Carlson said that Cortelleso had informed her he was not responsible for anything associated with Phase One, those incomplete items belonged to one of the previous developers.
Francis supported Carlson’s claims by providing photographs he had taken of the site that very evening, photographs that showed trash and disabled wildlife habitat fencing.
Other issues such as siltation build-up in drainage systems was also pointed out to Loomis.
“They are trying to get a contractor to hydroseed the basins,” said Loomis. “They are aware of that, and plan on doing that as soon as possible.”
Loomis said he would bring all these issues to his client.
“A change of owners caused things to not be addressed,” said King. “We’d like to see that work be completed before the end of this growing season.”
King said if things weren’t finished by October, an enforcement order would have to be issued.
“I’ll be clear with them,” said Loomis.
Carlson was adamant that Cortelleso was aware that Phase One was not 100-percent finished and now claimed it wasn’t his responsibility.
“I called the building inspector because there was so much trash and no portable potties,” said Carlson.
Leidhold pointed out that the current order of conditions would expire in the coming months, at which time the commission could refuse an extension if everything wasn’t completed by that time.
King directed Leidhold to make a site visit and compile a complete report of the current conditions of the entire site while rhetorically saying, “For the last couple of years we’ve been having problems out there. … What can we do to force them to bring conservation issues into compliance?”
Loomis said of the financial backers to the project, “Omega was left holding the bag when the developer disappeared.” He pointed to what Cortelloso had done since then versus what remained to be completed, prompting Carlson to retort, “They knew what they were getting into. I think you know what trouble this project has been.”
In the end, the commission agreed to grant the Amended Order of Conditions, given that those were minor in scope, but added the original order of conditions as well in an effort to get all conservation related issues completed.
In other matters, a Negative determination of applicability was issued to Holly Management, 5 Industrial Drive, for brush and tree clearing. Another was issued to Christopher Gonsalves, 129 North Street, for construction of a deck.
An Amended Order of Conditions was issued to Chase Canopy, 117 Fairhaven Road, for the reconfiguration of a drainage basin.
An order of conditions was issued to Malcolm Campbell, 8 Dyar Road Nominee Trust, for the removal of a sewage tank and installation of a new sewage system.
The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Conservation Commission is scheduled for August 12 at 6:30 pm in the Town Hall conference room.
Mattapoisett Conservation Commission
By Marilou Newell