Conservation Commission

CONSERVATION COMMISSION LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS April 24, 2024 Note: These minutes are not completed verbatim. For further detail, video recordings are available at the Pollard Library, second floor reference desk or online at www.LTC.org. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this meeting was held both in person and virtually using Zoom. Members Present: Chairman Buitenhuys, Member Varnum, Member Downs, Member Laput, Member Burns, Member Ciccarelli Members Absent: Member Dillon Others Present: Peter Cutrumbes, Assistant Planner CALL TO ORDER A quorum of members was present, and B. Buintenhuys called the meeting to order at 7:01 PM ORDER OF BUSINESS CONTINUED BUSINESS Enforcement Order Sy Dang 258 Varnum Ave Lowell MA 01854 Violation Location: 258 Varnum Ave 01854 Enforcement order due to debris dumping within the 100-year floodplain. On Behalf: Applicant was not in attendance and requested a continuance. Speaking in Favor: None Speaking in Opposition: None Discussion: None Motion: P. Downs motioned to continue to the May 8th meeting, seconded by R. Ciccarelli. The vote was unanimous (6-0). Note: L. Varnum motioned to take Llewellyn and Christian Street out of order and P. Downs seconded. The vote was unanimous (6-0). However, the wetlands scientist for the applicant was unavailable at this time. L. Varnum motioned, and P. Downs seconded, to move this project back to its original place on the agenda. The vote was unanimous (6-0). NEW BUSINESS Request for Determination of Applicability Genesis LPD, LLC 72 Willowdale Ave Tyngsboro, MA 01879 Project Location: 963 Chelmsford Street 01851 A Request for Determination of Applicability has been filed by Genesis LPD, LLC. The applicant is seeking to repave the existing parking area with porous asphalt. The proposed work is within the 100-foot buffer zone of a protected wetland. On Behalf Gregory Doyle from Genesis spoke on behalf. The project is just a simple repaving. They will pull any loose debris offsite. The project should take two days. Speaking in Favor: None Speaking in Opposition: None Discussion: L. Varnum asked if they are removing all the pavement or just the loose debris. G. Doyle answered they are just removing loose debris and putting a fresh coat. L. Varnum asked about improvements to the asphalt to make it last longer. G. Doyle said it is newer technology and they believe it will last longer. Motion: P. Downs motioned to issue a negative 3 determination, with R. Ciccarelli seconding. The vote was unanimous (6-0). Request for Determination of Applicability Donik Corp. 15 Spaulding Hill Road Pelham, NH 03076 Project Location: 585 Market Street and 408 Suffolk Street 01854 A Request for Determination of Applicability has been filed by Donik Corp to demolish the existing structures at 408 Suffolk Street and 585 Market Street and construct a 33-unit mixed use development on the property. The proposed work is within the 100-foot buffer zone of a canal. On Behalf Russell Tedford, Hancock Associates and Will Soucy from Donik Corp spoke on behalf. R. Tedford gave a brief description of the project. The property slopes down towards Market and Suffolk. Resource area is Suffolk Canal. A pocket park will be available for residents. There will be an underground stormwater management system underneath the park. Utilities will be drawn from mains on Suffolk and Market. Erosion controls such as straw waddles, silt fence, and catchbasin sediment bags will be used. It has been approved by the PB and ZBA as well as the Stormwater Engineering team. Speaking in Favor: None Speaking in Opposition: None Discussion: B. Buitenhuys said there is ample storage to keep materials and equipment outside the buffer zone. He wants to make sure they use that space whenever possible. He is happy to see another project in the Acre. P. Downs said the project is an improvement on the lot that is there now. It is good to have more housing. L. Varnum worried about flying debris and asked if the silt fence was on the property. R. Tedford said yes. L. Varnum said it may make sense to put it across the street right next to the canal, but is happy to just have silt fence up. B. Buitenhuys said he is not sure who owns the fence there but itd be great to double up if its the City’s fence. Motion: P. Downs motioned to issue a negative 3 determination, with L. Varnum seconding. The vote was unanimous (6-0). Request for Determination of Applicability Elaine Pantano 74A Roper Street Lowell, MA 01852 Project Location: 74 Roper Street 01852 A Request for Determination of Applicability has been filed by Elaine Pantano to extend the drainage pipe system at 74 Roper Street. The proposed work is within the 100-foot buffer zone of a Bordering Vegetated Wetland. On Behalf Elaine Pantano, applicant, as well as Robert Duff from McClure Engineering. He noted the downspout discharges onto the sidewalk. It is not safe in the winter. The project intends to extend the downspout underneath the roadway and discharge into a preexisting swale. The work would be done relatively quickly. The applicant in the process of repaving parking lot and want this work completed before they do that. E. Pantano added that basements are flooding in the condo complex. They found out they were not connected to a City drain pipe, just a leeching catch basin. The basin was failing so water was backing up, back down the pipe, and into the basements. An engineer told them to cut the pipe and discharge the water on the driveway as opposed to in the failing catch basin. Speaking in Favor: None Speaking in Opposition: None Discussion: B. Buitenhuys confirmed with E. Pantano that it is a leeching catch basin. She said it is all groundwater that is leeching up. B. Buitenhuys asked R. Duff if the building is connected to a leeching catch basin or not. If it is connected, it would not just be groundwater. R. Duff said yes. He said the project would extend the cut pipe so that water instead goes under the street to a swale instead of discharging onto the sidewalk. B. Buitenhuys noted the swale is in the wetlands. He asked if the catch basin is constantly leaking or if it is because the excessive rain. R. Duff said the problem is the rain due to the high water table and saturated ground. B. Buitenhuys said the percolation rate does not change in soil if they are not below the water table. The catch basin isn’t draining any slower than it always drains then. Joseph Vezina, a resident of the complex at 90 Roper Street, also came up to speak. He is a former Army Corps Engineer. He described the drainage system at the property. The water from the property is sumppumped uphill to deposit into the catch basin. Now that there is more rain, the catch basin is over capacity and the water is running back down the pipe and flooding basements. R. Ciccarelli asked for some clarity and a better sense of what is there now and how it is functioning. J. Vezina said the original drainage is a poor design and the basements shouldn’t have been built. R. Cicarelli said the idea proposed tonight may not be the best solution. E. Pantano said that for 38 years the sump pumps have handled the water but the increased rainfall is the problem. B. Buitenhuys said climate change says rainfall will be similar to this year. E. Pantano said the city stormwater engineer told them to do this. L. Varnum asked if the pipe will go under the public street. E. Pantano said no it is crossing their their parking area. R. Ciccarelli asked if the sump pumps are working correctly. E. Pantano said yes. L. Varnum said they should have some kind of filter system for sump pump water and surface run off. R. Ciccarelli said would it be possible to do as a two step solution to address the immediate need and then a long term plan. E. Pantano said the water is coming down from Fort Hill and could be contaminated at any point. It is not pure water to begin with. B. Buitenhuys says their job is to make sure there is no more pollution in the water. B. Buitenhuys said he will do a site visit. P. Downs said maybe continue to next meeting. B. Buitenhuys said look at treatment options. E. Pantano said the basements are dry since they cut the pipe. B. Buitenhuys noted that we are far from winter so the discharged water will not be frozen. Motion: P. Downs motioned to continue to the May 8 meeting, with L. Varnum seconding. The vote was unanimous (6-0). Request for Determination of Applicability Berkeley Development, LLC 16 Pulpit Rock Road Pelham, NH 03076 Project Location: 115 Llewellyn Street and 129 Christian Street 01850 A Request for Determination of Applicability has been filed by Berkeley Development, LLC seeking a determination whether there is a resource area subject to the Wetlands Protection Act present on the site. On Behalf: Ian Ainslie from Meisner Brem came to speak on behalf. Wetland Scientist Luke Hurley from Hurley Environmental also spoke. L. Hurley summarized the project. There are two parcels. It was previously apple orchard. The plan is to subdivide the property into homes. The land slopes from west to east from Llewellyn to Christian. The slope is pretty gradual. He did a delineation of the site in the fall, taking vegetation notes and soil samples per the DEP and Army Corps standards. Speaking in Favor: None Speaking in Opposition: Corey Robinson 5 West 10th Street spoke in opposition. In July and August there is water coming off the property. In the winter it is even worse. Thats why the basins are installed. He does not know where the water comes from or if it is wetlands, but it is not a normal, dry site. He believes it warrants an investigation from the Commission. He also said there may be pesticides in the soil. Robert Gignac of 91 Llewellyn spoke in opposition. He thanked L. Varnum for her assessment. He is a direct abutter to the project. There has been a lot of activity on the site since the owner purchased it, including heavy equipment. It appeared that the developer was filling in wetlands to avoid this process. He walks the area every day and noted it has changed significantly since the new developer has taken over. He wants to make sure they are not flooding neighbors or contaminating water soil and air. He noted that when he met with a previous attempted developer, his plan showed wetlands. B. Buitenhuys said if filling of the wetland is happening notify DPD. It is a serious violation and the Conservation Agents will handle it. Cathy O’Malley of 82 Llewellyn Street spoke in opposition. She is a 39 year resident of the neighborhood. She built her house there in 1985. During their first spring the basement flooded. The City Engineer at that time said there were springs underneath parts of Christian Hill. Three houses in the neighborhood are putting in french drains currently. Sump pumps are common in the neighborhood. She feels the developer may be asking people to move into homes that may flood. She noted she also saw that the developer had equipment up there. The site used to be densely wooded and is now much more sparse. There are also large areas filled with crushed rock. Mike Harrington of 201 Christian Street spoke in opposition. His house is right above reservoir, and he frequently needs to use sump pumps and french drains. The water table is very high. He noted that as a child he skated on a pond called Duck Pond on the site. He noted that, as a board member of CNAG, the Board expressed concerns to the Water Department about the reservoir leaking. A staffer came to their meeting and said the water tanks were not leaking. Dorothy Aste of 115 Reservoir Street spoke in opposition. She is concerned about chemicals dumped in the apple orchard. She has head Lowell Gas Company and utility companies used to dump stuff there. She noted these chemicals could be leeching into people’s water. B. Buitenhuys said that if any soil leaves any lots it will be tested. He noted that because the lots are already subdivided, this makes soil testing likely. Jeff Miller, the developer said previous owners had cut down trees. He didn’t. He just cleaned up the owner’s previous mess. He never went near the blue line on the GIS. If the people on the top of the hill are having water in their basement it isn’t from that blue line, as they are at a higher elevation. B. Buitenhuys wants the third party reviewew to be aware that work was done on the site. B. Buitenhuys says the water is coming from springs. It could be just as likely that the water from there is running onto the development. Eric Gitschier of 34 Livingston Ave. He is the former Director of the Water Utility. He emphasized that the tanks in the reservoir are not leaking. He noted it is technically a high hazard dam, not a reservoir. The water found in the area does not have fluoride in it, indicating it did not come from the reservoir. R. Ciccarelli thanked E. Gitschier. Discussion: M. Burns asked if he has gone back to reassess it with all the rain. L. Hurley said that data shows that fall had as much rain as spring. He felt the ground was as saturated as it could be in the fall. B. Buitenhuys does not have questions about the project at hand. B. Buitenhuys says he is hesitant to make a decision, and wants to let neighbors speak. He noted that a third party review would be the best option. L. Varnum asked if the site had been cleared in the fall. L. Hurley said no. L. Varnum said she saw evidence that there was grading done on the site from before the assessment was done. It is hard to tell if there are wetlands now that the site has been disturbed. It appeared that fill was brought in. She noted there are two new storm drains on Christian Street. She is not sure if the City or developer put in those drains. L. Varnum said the drainage area was running with water. Due to the disturbance of the site, it is hard to tell how it was before. The drainage had to navigate through the disturbed area. She speculated that they installed the storm drains to handle this drainage. She also believes that there may have been an area where water stood at some point. She tried to figure out why the water isn’t percolating. She noted there may be ledge or a spring underneath. She thinks test pits should be done. She imagines the development will need grading or retaining walls due to the steepness. She asked if the City Engineers or DPW have been involved? She believes in this case the interests of the WPA to are the prevention of flooding and pollution. Orchard pesticides could be in the run off. She said these question can be best answered by an NOI.Thinks these questions would be best answered in an NOI. L. Hurley said the catch basins were put in by the City. Jeff Miller said it was for water running down the street behind the berm from the reservoi. People higher on the hill have water in their basements, which couldn’t be from his site. B. Buitenhuys said he has no intent on deciding if the property is wetlands. He would like to request a peer review. P. Downs said there is precedent. B. Buitenhuys said he wants the work that Mr. Miller had done included in a report to the peer reviewer. M. Burns asked if there can be a time limit on the evaluation because it will be drier in the summer. P. Cutrumbes said they will have to put it out to bid. J. Miller asked if any of it can go forward. B. Buitenhuys said no, as there are now questions of where the wetlands are on the entire property. Motion: L. Varnum motioned for the City to hire a third-party wetlands scientist/engineer to look at the site and evaluate whether wetlands or isolated lands subject to flooding are present. She requested to include specifically that part of the site had been regraded and worked on. P. Downs seconded. The vote was unanimous (6-0). P. Downs motioned to continue to the 6/12 meeting. L. Varnum seconded. The vote was unanimous. OTHER BUSINESS 4/10 meeting minutes M. Burns motioned to approve with R. Ciccarelli seconding. The vote was unanimous (6-0). ADJOURNMENT P. Downs motioned to adjourn with M. Burns seconding. The meeting was adjourned at 8:34.