Conservation Commission

CONSERVATION COMMISSION LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS May 22, 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. This meeting was held both in person and virtually using Zoom. Members Present: Vice Chair Dillon, Member Varnum, Member Downs, Member Laput, Member Burns, Member Ciccarelli Members Absent: Chairman Buitenhuys Others Present: Peter Cutrumbes, Assistant Planner CALL TO ORDER ORDER OF BUSINESS CONTINUED BUSINESS Enforcement Order Paulo Ferreira 55 Shawmut Avenue Lowell MA 01851 Violation Location: 55 Shawmut Avenue 01851 Enforcement order due to regrading and construction within the 100-year flood plain and the 100-foot buffer zone of a protected resource. On Behalf: Paulo Ferreira, with his son translating and speaking on his behalf. He said they were trying to put a patio for the house. Speaking in Favor: None Speaking in Opposition: None Discussion: K. Dillon explained that the Commission regulates the WPA and that the property owners need to notify the Commission before doing work within the 100-year flood plain and 100-foot buffer zone. K. Dillon said the shed is not on the property, so it will probably need to be removed. P. Ferreira said he built the shed, without realizing it wasn’t on his property, but property owner okayed it afterwards. K. Dillon said he is concerned about the distance from the shed to the wetlands. There is a strict 25 foot no build zone. He asked for clarification on how the shed was built. P. Ferreira said the shed was built by them, but didn’t know that they couldn’t put it there. K. Dillon asked if there is a concrete foundation. P. Ferreira R. Ciccarelli asked if the shed would be easy to move onto their land. P. Ferreira said they would have to dismantle it and then reconstruct it. The shed has been there for a couple years. R. Ciccarelli asked if they dug down to put in the crushed stone underneath the shed. P. Ferreira said they leveled the area and put the crushed stone on top. R. Ciccarelli asked how close the shed is to the water. P. Ferriera said roughly 8 feet. P. Downs asked if fill was brought in for the patio. P. Ferreira said yes, to make it level. P. Downs asked roughly how much fill. P. Ferreira said roughly 3 cubic yards worth. K. Dillon asked if the shed is anchored down. P. Ferreira said no. K. Dillon said that is helpful because in the case of the flood the shed would move. L. Varnum noted that it’d be difficult for the Commission to move all the sheds across the City to an appropriate space due to capacity issues. The applicant is taking a risk because the land would be under water with large floods. She is not concerned with shed, and she is more concerned with the patio in flood plain. K. Dillon agreed. K. Dillon asked what the extent of the regrading was. P. Ferreira said 3 cubic yards of fill. P. Downs explained that they are in a flood zone so the elevation needs to stay the same. P. Ferreira said he could take the exact amount of fill out. K. Dillon said that would be good. L. Varnum asked how close the patio is to the flood plain. S. Laput noted the flood plain comes up to the garage on MassMapper. L. Varnum said if the bricks for the patiowere recessed and didn’t add elevations the could maybe be in the flood zone. P. Downs asked if they could build a patio if it was not level. P. Ferreira said they could. K. Dillon said his primary concern is the fill. P. Ferreira asked if they could put the patio next to the house. P. Cutrumbes said that area is out of the flood zone. P. Downs said that means that they could. P. Ferreira asked how long they have to remove the fill, and noted they could do it in 2-3 weeks. P. Downs said that is completely fine. K. Dillon said it can be a tough situation because property owners aren’t always given information re: the wetlands and the WPA. P. Downs said in the future any work they plan to do should come before the Commission. Motion: P. Downs motioned to ratify the enforcement order, seconded by R. Cicarelli. The vote was unanimous (6-0). Abbreviated Notice of Resource Area Delineation Elizabeth Stetson Massachusetts Audubon Society, Inc. 208 South Great Road Lincoln, MA 01773 Project Location: 1413-1415 Varnum Ave 01854 An Abbreviated Notice of Resource Area Delineation has been filed by the Massachusetts Audobon Society, Inc to delineate the wetland at 1413-1415 Varnum Avenue. On Behalf: Montgomery Nsamba from Stefanski Engineering spoke on behalf. He presented the site plan for the ANRAD, showing the BVW around the irrigation pond. He noted that there is also an isolated wetland and another wetland in the rear of the property. Speaking in Favor: None Speaking in Opposition: None Discussion: K. Dillon said they are looking to figure out exactly where the wetland resources are on the property. L. Varnum said she believes this is a pretty good delineation. The pond boundaries straightforward. She is satisfied with the delineation there. She asked about the isolated wetland on 1415, and if it is large enough to be regulated by the WPA. M. Nsamba said no. L. Varnum said the other wetland is just barely at the rear of the property, and she trusts Mass Audubon to manage it. She feels comfortable with the whole delineation. PD concurred. James Clark of 15 Freda Lane (an abutter) had some questions. He noted that the pond does rise and fall, and he has seen it overflow at times. It sometimes need pumps. He asked if manmade ponds are wetlands. L. Varnum said the pond has been on maps over 100 years old, and that it started as natural pond. The previous owner may have deepened it. J. Clark asked how close could the applicant build to the pond. The Commission noted the 25 foot no build zone. P. Downs then explained the NOI process. J. Clark asked if the wetland is near Freda Lane. P. Cutrumbes said theya re outside the buffer zone. J. Clark said they are worried about a building installed and blocking their view. Renata Pomponi from Mass Audubon said they are preparing an NOI for the trail work and the outdoor pavilion. They are not doing the aforementioned buildings yet. L. Varnum asked if they could put markers to delineate the wetlands buffer zone. Workers may not know when they cross into a wetland. R. Pomponi said they do put up signage at certain times of year if there are environmental concerns. In general, they try to keep public paths clear of wetlands. Mass Audubon plans to have interpretative signage to let people know about the different habitats on the property. P. Downs motioned to close the public hearing, seconded by S. Laput. The vote was unanimous (6-0). Motion: S. Laput motioned to issue an order of resource area delineation with the condition that signage is marking 50 feet from the buffer zone. Seconded by M. Burns. The vote was unanimous (6-0). OTHER BUSINESS 5/8 meeting minutes P. Downs motioned to approve the minutes, seconded by M. Burns. The vote was unanimous (6-0) ADJOURNMENT M. Burns motioned to adjourn, seconded by S. Laput. The meeting was adjourned at 7:54 PM.