The long-awaited Point Road walking and bike path has made strides recently and might save $30,000 in donated gravel.

            In the works for nearly four years, the Point Road Path project is coming along, according to Marion Open Space Acquisition Commission Chairman John Rockwell.

            At the commission’s November 2 public meeting, Rockwell updated the membership that Frank Linhares will be conducting retaining-wall work for $12,500, while Arne Excavating will be removing nine rocks in the area to help clear the path. That bid came out to $7,250.

            On another note, Rockwell said he and a member of the Marion Select Board are working on the possibility of getting approximately 2,000 yards of donated gravel, which would be a savings for the project.

            Rockwell and MOSAC had no specific timeline, but residents in that area have long called for a nice walking and biking area. That area has no safe place to run, walk or bike. A 2019 Town Meeting approved $268,000 for the project. Rockwell told residents at the meeting that the project has been long-awaited but is coming together.

            One resident asked how the path would connect to adjacent Jenna and Joanne Drives and how snowplows could impact the areas connected the path to those streets. Rockwell said he envisions enough gravel to make the path join easily with those drives, and he even hopes for a handicap-accessible strip to allow for safe access to the path from those roads.

            MOSAC disappointed residents last summer who wanted the path open this summer, but Rockwell at a July meeting explained that engineering and permitting account for 30 percent of costs.

            Rockwell also said at the July meeting that $117,000 of the $268,000 approved for the project in 2019 was allocated to “in-kind services” such as the Notice of Intent to plot the wetlands line and a match involving contract supervision and design work.

            Residents on the Zoom call at a November 2 meeting expressed gratitude with the project moving forward.

            The project ties in with the South Coast Bike Alliance, which seeks to create as many continuous bike paths all over the South Coast, connecting Marion and Mattapoisett with Greater New Bedford communities while also connecting to Greater Fall River communities.

            The next meeting of the Open Space Acquisition Commission was not scheduled upon adjournment.

Marion Open Space Acquisition Commission

By Jeffrey D. Wagner

Rochester’s Conservation Commission Tuesday continued its review of two large projects until November 21 to give the town’s Planning Board time to review both plans first.

            JPF Development is seeking approval of a Notice of Intent to build a 15-acre, self-storage facility at Kings Highway and Route 28 that will feature the construction of seven self-storage buildings and an office with associated paved, access drives, parking areas, utilities and a stormwater-management system, located within the 100-foot wetlands buffer zone.

            Bob Rogers of G.A.F. Engineering opened the public hearing by explaining that the site has a varied topography because of the work that has been done on the site over the years. He is proposing to build a system that will grade stormwater runoff to the south into three separate water infiltration systems. These will include one for the parking area alone and the largest one for the area of the self-storage buildings.

            Rogers added he is asking the Conservation Commission for a continuance in order to hear first what the Planning Board will say about the project at the petitioner’s meeting with that board on November 14. He said he needs at least until November 21 to see how that input may change the plan.

            Conservation Commission Chairman Chris Gerrior emphasized the need to schedule a site visit as part of its review of the plan. Rogers hesitated to schedule one so soon. He said he is still busy with his survey crew, and where they would want to take their walk is not yet clear enough. It was agreed to wait to schedule that walk until after November 14.

            BWC Snows Pond LLC’s Notice of Intent plan is to build a solar array on 12.55 acres of a 31-acre parcel at 0 Cushman Road, to include a 2.39 megawatt (direct current), single-access tracking photovoltaic array and associated battery-energy storage within the 100-foot wetlands buffer zone.

            Engineering consultant Andrew Hamel said currently the lot is a grass field with woods that will need to be partially cleared, and there is a stone wall that will need to be cut into to provide an access road. He, too, said his project is being reviewed by the Planning Board on November 14.

            Melanie Sherman Morrison complained that she is such a close neighbor that she will have to constantly look at this solar array once it is erected. She wanted to know how close the array operations will come to her property and the wetlands near her and what will happen to stormwater runoff.

            Hamel said the array operations will stop 180 feet away from the area that concerns her, and that there will be no additional runoff caused by the project. Gerrior encouraged her to continue providing input when the Planning Board reviews the proposal on November 14.

            Here, too, the commissioners agreed to schedule a site visit via email with the membership, the petitioner and Conservation Agent Merilee Kelly and to continue the hearing until November 21.

            In other action, the commission approved a Notice of Intent to expand a back yard behind a single-family home at 31 Hiller Road by leveling the area with fill addition no closer than 25 feet from wetlands.

            Previously, homeowner Nathaniel Reece said he had already placed a silt fence and boulders where he wants his work to start. On November 7, he returned with a precise delineation of where the wetlands begin from a wetlands specialist. Those readings showed that his work will be no more than 35 to 40 feet from wetlands. The board will now work on the project’s Order of Conditions.

            The Rochester Conservation Commission scheduled its next meeting for Tuesday, November 21, at 7:00 pm at Town Hall, 1 Constitution Way.

Rochester Conservation Commission

By Michael J. DeCicco

What constitutes a bedroom was up for debate at the last two public meetings of the Marion Board of Health, and on November 2, Building Commissioner Bob Grillo asked for direction from the board on the matter.

            For instance, a home might be classified as a three-bedroom home but could be used as a five-bedroom home or more, putting more strain on the property’s septic system. Grillo said some applicants want answers before they begin design work on a home.

            Such an issue could lead to legal issues and a failed septic system, according to board members.

            Grillo said the definition of a bedroom should be a room with an egress or a window; a windowless room should only be considered a den or office. Board members did not debate that but debated the board’s policy on the matter.

            “Our main concern is the additional rooms,” Board of Health Chairman Dr. Ed Hoffer said. “If someone wishes to add rooms to an existing house without upgrading septic, they should sign a deed restriction.”

            Board member Albin Johnson had a different take. Citing the first homes built in Plymouth, he said there is a history of a homeowner’s right to use rooms as they wish.

            Johnson said there are legal avenues in place to protect homeowners and the environment if people buy the house for more bedrooms than what is advertised. Johnson said a realtor could lose his or her license for false advertisement.

            “I’m a minimalist,” he said. “You receive a certain bundle of rights when you purchase a piece of property. … The first registry of deeds was in Plymouth.”

            The board could not agree to a policy but directed Grillo that any windowless rooms resembling a bedroom should be considered an office.

            In other news, the board agreed that if a business selling tobacco sells the property, the tobacco license should be transferred over to the new ownership – if it is a similar business. Hoffer described it as a pro-business move.

            “It takes away the value of business,” Hoffer said, if officials do not allow a transfer.

            Not all tobacco businesses selling their property will sell it to a tobacco-sales entity, so it will still decrease the number of permits.

            In other business, Johnson took aim at an environmental report for the Marion Sanitary Landfill. He said the most recent report includes an extensive history. In recent years, monitoring wells across the street from the town’s Wastewater Treatment Plant at Benson Brook have not detected nitrogen, and the area is clean of pollutants, according to Johnson.

            Johnson and the board asked for clarification from engineers to guide the board with an interpretation of the report to inform a decision.

            “We are not polluting the environment,” Hoffer said.

            The next meeting of the Marion Board of Health was not announced upon adjournment.

Marion Board of Health

By Jeffrey D. Wagner