The May 16 public meeting of the Marion Board of Health provided the members with an opportunity to hear from familiar design engineers on septic projects around town.

            Dave Davignon of Schneider, Davignon & Leone, Inc., was on hand to represent the owners of septic systems at 1 West Drive and 2A West Drive.

            In his update to the board, Davignon reviewed 1 West Drive as having proposed a new septic system as part of a teardown of an existing house and a new-dwelling plan for the purposes of obtaining a building permit. The intention, he explained, was never to tie into that septic system because, as anticipated, there is a new, approved septic plan to tie into town sewer that comes down Point Road to North Drive and ending at the west end of West Drive.

            A town-ordained review via Weston & Sampson resulted in a delay of several months, but Davignon told the Board of Health that the Select Board approved the sewer extension. Manhole and sewer-line installation is imminent, to be followed by testing with a plan to be up and running during the second half of July.

            Meantime, a grinder pump and force main are operational. The resident’s request is to temporarily pump to 2A West Drive for a maximum of two months, after which both homes would be connected to town sewer by the end of July.

            The board considered the plan reasonable.

            Marion Public Health Director Lori Desmarais corroborated the Select Board’s approval of the sewer extension and noted that Department of Public Works Director Becky Tilden vouched for the details and logistics of the plan.

            Davignon also represented the owner of property at 2 West Drive, a separate entity.

            The proposal at 2 West Drive involves an addition, renovation and a “lifting” of the house into compliance with FEMA regulations relative to the flood zone in which it resides.

            The homeowner wishes to use a sewer manhole as a temporary holding tank for the grinder pump. They also plan to live in the cabana building while work is being done on the house. Davignon said up to nine different contractors are involved altogether.

            Desmarais said a written pumping contract is necessary, and on that premise, the board voted to approve.

            In an informal discussion, Brian Grady of G.A.F. Engineering was present to represent the owner of a septic system at 18 Sippican Lane and told the board what is being proposed is a multiyear, phased project.

            The addition to the existing home will consist of living space, including a couple of bedrooms. Grady said that the system installed in 2002 can accommodate the addition of the bedrooms, but the plan is to replace the septic tank and pump chamber with “IA technology” (denitrification) system.

            Grady said the proposal is to give the two-bedroom addition above the garage its own septic system.

            As a second home, a 2022 test that yielded data of 50 gallons per day was considered consistent with second-home usage. The house will continue to function as a second home.

            Since the addition above the garage is to be used only three weeks per year, Grady proposed a conventional septic system dedicated to that addition.

            Pumping across to the main system, Grady explained, is complicated by the fact the tennis court and parking area on the property are situated approximately 12 inches above the water table.

            Grady plans to apply to declassify a drainage ditch on the site currently classified as a river because it is dry.

            Dr. Edward Hoffer, chairman of the board, agreed that a conventional system is appropriate given the limited use planned by the owner. “The problem is what happens when they sell it, and somebody moves in who’s got four kids …,” said Hoffer.

            Grady suggested drafting a deed restriction to be recorded with the sale of the property, which passed a Title 5 inspection in 2022 because, as Grady noted, the property’s seasonal usage.

            “I’m comfortable with something like that,” said Hoffer. “The big thing that I want to protect against is when it’s sold and now it becomes a four or five-bedroom (situation) with a limited (septic) system.”

            Board member Albin Johnson said this quandary is “one of the reasons I want to rescind the (town’s) nitrogen regulation. … We have septic systems in town that passed Title 5 and (if) you do anything now in the town, you’ve got to upgrade.”

            Dr. John Howard nodded his agreement that as long as it is seasonal use, then a conventional system dedicated to the two-bedroom addition proposed above the garage is appropriate.

            Rick Charon of Charon Associates did not appear, having been granted a continuance in the case of a septic system upgrade at East Avenue.

            In her update, Desmarais told the board that Frank Murphy has taken over beach testing this year from John Powers. Semiprivate beaches were scheduled in May, and Desmarais said public and semipublic beaches are set to begin testing on June 10. Marion Health Agent Shallyn Rodriguez will serve as Murphy’s backup in testing. Routine testing between June 10 and September 2 is funded by the state.

            On Tuesday, Plymouth County Mosquito Control began receiving requests for spraying at homes.

            Desmarais reported that approximately 30 residents attended Marion’s Stroke Awareness event on May 1 and approximately 20 residents for a “lunch and learn” event on May 16. Animal Control Officer Sue Connor presented on domestic animal bites and wildlife.

            Wednesday walking events have been met with rain, but persistent participants are continuing with the program.

            The plotter (large printer) being replaced in the Town House will stay at the Board of Health, where it is frequently needed.

            The Public Health Excellence Grant will cover Marion’s epi-pens, which last approximately one year and can be stored at room temperature.

            The board agreed to meet monthly through the summer, but the next meeting of the Marion Board of Health was not announced upon adjournment.

Marion Board of Health

By Mick Colageo

The Marion Conservation Commission issued an Order of Conditions, including special conditions to the Marion Lands Trust LLC, paving the way for the construction of a single-family house off Wareham Street on Lot 98 of Map 11.

            As the decision was being crafted for the commission’s vote, Marion Conservation Agent Doug Guey-Lee stressed the importance of the town’s ongoing authority to monitor and enforce erosion controls.

            Dave Davignon of Schneider, Davignon & Leone, Inc., represented the applicant at the commission’s May 16 public hearing, displaying a site plan and explaining that access around the wetland dominated the property’s Route 6 frontage has been approved via an easement on the other side of adjacent properties.

            The Notice of Intent, explained Davignon, was filed essentially to gain clearance to complete the previously proposed work. Davignon said the property sits in an AE flood zone and, at its lowest, sits 1 foot above grade. The driveway bordering the wetland boundary will have a recharge trench.

            Davignon said the plan has changed very little since being originally approved.

            Silvershells, LLC, was issued an Order of Conditions, including flood control to carry out the construction of a single-family house on Lewis Street, Map 16, Lot 98A.

            Dave Davignon of Schneider, Davignon & Leone, Inc., represented the applicant, David Croll, whom he said lives on the adjacent property. Davignon described the land and the plan. Davignon said the lot has existed for several decades.

            Commissioner Shaun Walsh called site plan, for its location, the least controversial design he’s ever seen.

            David Johnson was issued a Negative Box 3 Determination of Applicability for backyard grading and reconstruction of an existing deck at 2 Sassamon Trail. The project is proposing the addition of approximately 40 yards of fill and 20 to 30 yards of topsoil. Erosion control was a condition of the determination.

            Mary Ricks filed a Notice of Intent for the construction of two private pickleball courts, associated site work and landscaping at 131 Allen’s Point Road. The commission granted a continuance to June 12.

            There is a conservation restriction on the land, land surveyors requested additional time to prepare as the land is within two jurisdictional areas, the buffer zone to the wetlands line and within land subject to coastal-storm flowage.

            Susan Wood was issued a Negative Box 2 and 3 Determination for construction of a 10×12-foot greenhouse attached to the front of a house at 42 Stoney Run Lane.

            Doubrava said the plan lacked a strategy to prevent runoff into the wetland areas, and Walsh echoed the concern, suggesting preventive measures as a condition for approval.

            Krill Carson appeared before the commission to talk about small research weather stations proposed at The Cove and Aucoot Cove. Drawing on his experience as an attorney, Walsh recommended the commission run the matter with a focus on potential liabilities by the town administrator.

            Known for her work conserving the turtle population, Carson also talked to the commission about issues at Aucoot Cove.

            In regard to notification and photos submitted by a neighbor to an unpermitted, semicircular rock wall 290 Delano Road, Guey-Lee confirmed the property is in the AD Flood zone.

            The commission also discussed concerns about a trench proposed for the submersion of utility wires from Front Street to the bandstand and to the Harbormaster building construction at Island Wharf. Guey-Lee said it was not on the original site plan because it was not known where the electrical ran at the time of the vetting process.

            Walsh characterized it as a temporary impact. The commission will recommend the filing of a RDA by the town.

            In action items, the Dexter Beach Improvement Association c/o Kenneth Parsons was granted a three-year extension to its Order of Conditions at Beach/Dinghy Road.

            The commission discussed a letter returned to sender that was intended for Robert Smith regarding unauthorized activity observed at 21 Olde Meadow Road.

            The Weweantic Bridge Project was the subject of a notification letter from the Army Corps of Engineers.

            The commission discussed a letter from the town’s Board of Health regarding a revised site plan proposing a house and sewage disposal at property on East Avenue.

            The next meeting of the Marion Conservation Commission is scheduled for Wednesday, June 12, at 7:00 pm at the Police Station.

Marion Conservation Commission

By Mick Colageo

In a meeting room crowded with concerned residents, Rochester’s Zoning Board of Appeals on May 23 approved the Special Permit for Marion resident Mark Briggs’ plan to construct two buildings to store and repair collectible automobiles, trucks and other motor vehicles on New Bedford Road.

            The plan will now be scrutinized for approval by Rochester’s Planning Board and the town’s Historic District Commission. It is the same project the three boards met jointly to review on May 15. The Planning Board’s next hearing of the petition will be June 4.

            Briggs attorney Karla Chaffee began the May 23 public hearing by noting the plan for Briggs’ Hobby Barn is under an existing Special Permit issued by the ZBA last year but needs a new one because the site plan has changed.

            Surprisingly, no one in the crowded room volunteered to speak when ZBA Chairman David Arancio invited public comment. Board members then debated the conditions that should accompany the permit and ended up with the following: no outside storage of automobiles; no automobile revving or other noise between 8:00 pm and 8:00 am, limited to collectible car storage and limited auto sales by appointment only, no signage; no livestock storage; no residential use, no heavy body work or use of a spray-painting booth. Any change of use must come before the board for approval and any change of ownership outside of the LLC charter will require review by the board and a new public hearing may be required.

            The vote to approve the Special Permit with these conditions was unanimous.

            Next, also to a packed room of residents, the ZBA overturned a Notice of Violation and Cease Order for the use of an office and activities not allowed in a Residential/Agricultural District that had been filed by Building Commissioner Paul Boucher against Eastover Farm at 131 Hiller Road.

            Boucher referred to a 1996 Use Variance Permit the farm received that allowed “agricultural business and office use.” He said that use does not include their new plans for three new office tenants. “It’s not an agricultural use,” he said to the board. “They just need to have it done right. They need relief from you to do these other activities.”

            Owner-operator Erik Hedblom defended the new plan as categorically not a change of use. He said the building has had a Use Variance Permit for office use for decades. The current plan, he explained, is a wellness center occupying three offices, one for himself, one for a baby photographer, Jessica Lawson and the other for a holistic skin care specialist, Erika Ingalls, all of them “for customer consultation only.”

            Boucher noted a recent social-media post from the skin-care business announced that a “renovation was under way.” “What kind of renovation?” he asked. “No building permits have been filed.”

            Hedblom said the renovation was merely to remove carpeting and paint the walls.

            Defenders of the property’s office use noted much of the farm is owned by the town to preserve as open space. The Hiller family that has owned the farm since 1910 has just been trying to “keep the farm going,” family member Deb Clark said. “Keep some money coming in. I don’t see any of these businesses as offensive to the public.”

            Clark noted the family has lost money because of the Cease and Desist. “We weren’t aware we were not following the (permit) process,” she said.

            Board members, at first, wrestled with what action to take, noting that they were only allowed to approve or overturn the building commissioner’s Cease and Desist order. They could not add “conditions” as they could with a special permit.

            Richard Cutler said the family should have also filed a variance or special permit application at the same time it appealed the Cease and Desist. “I don’t have enough information,” Cutler said. “We can’t grant a permit tonight.”

            Arancio said he saw no change of use between the 1996 permit and today, and there appears to be no time limit on Use Variance permits.

            As the board approved overturning the building commissioner’s order, Arancio strongly advised Hedblom to apply for a Use Variance Special Permit to avoid a future problem. Hedblom agreed to do so.

            In other action, Arancio announced a vacancy on the zoning board due to the recent retirement of Thomas Flynn. The panel delayed filling the seat with an associate member until next meeting because only one of its two associates were present on May 23. The board then approved petitioning the Select Board to issue a Citation to Flynn, publicly recognizing his service to the town.

            Board administrative assistant Andreia Lacerda announced there will be no June 13 meeting as no petitions have been scheduled.

Rochester Zoning Board of Appeals

By Michael J. DeCicco