Conservation Commission

City of Laconia Conservation Commission Wednesday, August 5, 2020 - 6:00 PM City Hall in the Armand A. Bolduc City Council Chamber Accepted 9/2/2020 8/5/2020 - Minutes 1. CALL TO ORDER At 6:22PM Chair Dean Anson called the meeting to order. 2. ROLL CALL Members present: Chair Dean Anson, Lisa Morin, Marnie Schulz, Deb Williams, Wes Bates (6:39PM) and Liaison Stacy Soucy. Members Absent: Mike Foote Staff: Planning Director Dean Trefethen, and Ashley Ruprecht, Conservation Technician Guests: Steve Smith for 360 Court Street, John Pelletier and Jennifer Riordan for Laconia Municipal Airport, and Richard Homsi and Brian Iske for Woodvale Dr. Lot 5. The Commission saluted the flag. 3. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS 3.I. Acceptance Of Minutes From July 8, 2020 Chair D. Anson moved this item after the New Business presentations. D. Williams had corrections under item 7.V. L. Morin motioned to accept the minutes with the changes discussed. D. Williams seconded. All voted in favor. 4. NEW BUSINESS 4.I. 360 Court Street Wetland CUP Application Steven Smith provided an overview of the application to demolish an existing building on the site and construct a new 4 bay garage for storage of tractor trailers. Parking and storage of tractor trailers is the existing use of the property, and being able to store them in a building will remove the hazard of snow and ice buildup on the tops of the trailers. There are 2 wetlands on the site. One is wooded and the project is outside of it's buffer. The second was caused from a foundation drain that was not maintained and is now a wetland. The new building will be the same distance (approx. 15 feet) as the existing building that will be removed from the manmade wetland. There is discussion about drainage, snow storage, street trees, invasive emerald ash borer (EAB), green space coverage, and the gravel parking area. L. Morin recommended that the applicant reaches out to the County Forester to see if the proposed ash is susceptible to the invasive EAB, or if they recommend a different species of street tree. M. Schulz motioned to support the application. L. Morin seconded. All voted in favor. 4.II. Laconia Municipal Airport  M. Schulz motioned to support the application. L. Morin seconded. All voted in favor. 4.II. Laconia Municipal Airport John Pellieter from Jacobs Engineering Group and Jennifer Riordan from GM2 Associates, Inc. presented a preliminary application regarding FAA required tree cutting on behalf of the Laconia Municipal Airport (LMA). J. Riordan explained the proposal to cut 4.2 acres of trees in Gilford and Laconia, which includes access paths to the cutting areas. 0.36 acres of clearing are proposed in Laconia from Sargents Place in Gilford to Hillcrest Dr in Laconia. There will be 1.12 acres of clearing between Walmart and Lily Pond which is a prime wetland in Gilford. NHDES has suggested restoration plantings after cutting is completed in this area. They are proposing to conduct work in the winter, and NHDES will check 10 days in advance of the start of work that the ground is in frozen conditions. They are pending approval on state permits, and have notified property owners about the work. The permanent impact is one area where they will need to leave the trees after they are cut due to access issues. L. Morin clarified that she is not an abutter to the project, and voiced concerns about the level of impact to the wetlands, Black Brook, and businesses downstream. L. Morin asked why the cutting needs to be done and if larger planes are coming to the LMA. J. Pellieter said the cutting needs to be done because the areas are currently penetrating the visibility surface. J. Riordan said they will try to leave as much of the understorey brush as possible. L. Morin suggested that they should have plantings everywhere they cut. Species and height of plantings are discussed. Chair D. Anson asked if plantings could be done in the fall before the cutting since if they wait until after the winter cutting the snowmelt may cause issues. J. Riordan said this would not be possible as they would likely be trampled during the cutting operation, but there will be temporary erosion and sediment controls in place during work for stabilization. A wetland functionality assessment was conducted for the application and will be provided to the Laconia Conservation Commission (LCC) when they submit the application to the state. D. Williams said that plantings and stream flow need to be taken into account and recommended the applicant walks from Walmart downstream along Black Brook to see its condition since it is compromised. Chair D. Anson recommended that they review the Black Brook Assessment and see if there is a project they can take on to help restore the brook, or see if ARM funds can be contributed to a Black Brook project. L. Morin recommends the applicant reviews drainage reports from Walmart and the study conducted by Gunstock. J. Riordan will take the recommendations into consideration and said it will likely be another month or so before they revisit with they revisit with the LCC and Gilford Conservation Commission (GCC) before going out to bid. Chair D. Anson asked that they provide 1 month notice to the LCC so they can coordinate a joint meeting with the GCC to provide recommendations at that time. 4.III. PL2019-0135-Wetland CUP For Woodvale Dr. Lot 5. Richard Homsi and Brian Iske presented the application for Woodvale Dr. Lot 5. The second driveway has been removed from the proposal and the application includes the proposed 48'x90' storage building. Jess Bailey conducted a vernal pool survey and found a vernal pool within the wetland on the NE side of the property. The retaining walls on the property were approved in the previous CUP and constructed in the last 12 months, although the one on the NE side still needs to be completed. The building will store all of the trailers, jet skis, etc. on the property and will be metal and a neutral color like brown to blend in from neighboring properties. The remaining driveway on the plan is already existing and will not be paved. The applicant is proposing to plant additional plantings on the property, along the roadside of the property. All stormwater will remain on the property. There is discussion about specs for the roof overhang and the crushed stone drip edge. There is discussion about the drainage issue on neighboring properties that the neighbors have complained about. A. Ruprecht and D. Trefethen explain that they have been to the site with the applicant and noticed a large mound about 2' high of lawn debris that has been placed there overtime adjacent to the edge of the neighboring property and is blocking natural drainage to the wetland on the property, causing the neighbor's lawn to flood. While the City does not know who is placing the materials, it appears neighbors have used the applicant's property as a dumping area for their lawn debris and have created the drainage issue on their property. R. Homsi will remove the dumped debris  There is discussion about the drainage issue on neighboring properties that the neighbors have complained about. A. Ruprecht and D. Trefethen explain that they have been to the site with the applicant and noticed a large mound about 2' high of lawn debris that has been placed there overtime adjacent to the edge of the neighboring property and is blocking natural drainage to the wetland on the property, causing the neighbor's lawn to flood. While the City does not know who is placing the materials, it appears neighbors have used the applicant's property as a dumping area for their lawn debris and have created the drainage issue on their property. R. Homsi will remove the dumped debris to restore the natural drainage. There is discussion on whether the applicant's property is in good standing with the City due to a potential wetland fill violation. A. Ruprecht explained the situation and that the property is in good standing with no violations. D. Williams asked if the Conservation Commission could have a site visit. R. Homsi agreed. D. Williams reiterated the recommendation for additional plantings wherever the applicant can that is not within the wetlands. Chair D. Anson motioned to support the application for a 48'x90' storage building, where the stormwater will remain on site, plantings will be installed, and the drainage in the NE corner of the property will be restored. L. Morin seconded. All voted in favor. 5. NEW HAMPSHIRE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES APPLICATIONS The Commission had no questions or comments on the signed NHDES applications. 5.I. 170 Paugus Park Rd NHDES Wetland PBN 5.II. 738 Weirs Blvd NHDES Wetlands PBN 6. OLD BUSINESS 6.I. State School Property Update There is discussion on the recent veto by Gov. Sununu on the bill to create an Authority for the State School property. D. Trefethen mentioned there is a meeting next week via zoom. Sometime in September there will be a vote to override the Governor's veto decision. There are still efforts underway to continue progress at the property. A wetland delineation will be conducted in September and Phase 1A on some of the buildings. A soil study was conducted and there are a few small areas with contaminated soils that would need remediation if disturbed. 6.II. Application Checklist The Commission reviewed the checklist and provided feedback to add information about snow storage, portable toilets, etc. A. Ruprecht asked for any additional feedback to be provided to her the Friday before the next meeting so she can update the document before the meeting. 6.III. Tributary & Paugus Bay Water Quality Sampling A. Ruprecht and Chair D. Anson will be conducting VRAP samples of Paugus Bay tributaries on 8/6. NHDES is only sampling for Chloride this year due to COVID-19 and it will be free of charge. 6.IV. Rules Of Procedure 7. LIAISON AND SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS 8. STAFF REPORT A. Ruprecht said she has been talking with the Parks Director about solutions to the goose issue at Opechee Park and requested that the Conservation Commission weighs in on potential solutions. She said that grape Kool-Aid may be a suitable alternative to purchasing the costly grape seed extract that is sprayed since geese dislike the taste. A. Ruprecht said that if anyone would like to assist with restoring the beach their help is welcomed. The Commission is in support of assisting in any way they can and thinks it would be helpful for Parks to provide a plan of action. It is recommended to see how Meredith has handled the issue in their town as well. 9. ADJOURNMENT W. Bates motioned to adjourn the meeting. L. Morin seconded. All voted in favor. The meeting adjourned at 8:29PM  beach their help is welcomed. The Commission is in support of assisting in any way they can and thinks it would be helpful for Parks to provide a plan of action. It is recommended to see how Meredith has handled the issue in their town as well. 9. ADJOURNMENT W. Bates motioned to adjourn the meeting. L. Morin seconded. All voted in favor. The meeting adjourned at 8:29PM 10. OTHER BUSINESS No other business at this time. 11. PUBLIC HEARINGS, POSSIBLE CONSIDERATION AND VOTE Note: The Purpose Of This Agenda Section Is For The Board To Have A Presentation From The Applicant And Open A Public Hearing For The Public To Provide Input. The Board May Also Deliberate The Application, Decide And Conduct A Final Vote At This Time. No Public Hearings--- This does not belong on the agenda.