Conservation Commission

Minutes of the Taunton Conservation Commission January 13, 2020 All present for meeting. Motion to approve the minutes of the December meeting, DB, second RE, so voted. Certificate of Compliance: 1. 390 Winthrop Street, Uva, (COC), SE73-2817 ​See field report. Motion to issue COC, DB, second MH, so voted. 2. 70 Rosewood Drive, Lamb, (COC), SE73-2189 ​See field report. Motion to issue COC, DB, second MI, so voted. 3. 78 Liberty Street, Rochefort, (COC), SE73-2411 ​See field report. No work was done. Motion to issue COC, section B invalid, no work was done, this will close out the COC, DB, second MH, so voted. 4. 5 Cohannet Street, Enterprise Publishing Co., (COC), SE73-2794 ​See field report. Motion to issue COC, DB, second MH, so voted. Public Meeting: 1. County Street (Route 140), MADOT Hwy Div., (RDA), DSE-1213 ​See field report. Present Lars Carlson and Ken Caputo from VHB, and Jean Fox from MADOT. This is north of Mozzone Blvd, the sidewalk will be on the west side. It is currently a grassy shoulder. ST what is the total linear feet of this? 1500, approximately 310 is in the buffer. DB will this be done during the same time as the Route 24 construction or before? This will be done ahead of the Route 24 work. The track work starts first then the sidewalk, most likely late 2021, early 2022. There will be no overlapping of work. Motion to issue a negative determination with special conditions 1, 2, 4, 6, and 18, DB, second MI, so voted. ST does this go by TGI Fridays? No it goes from Home Depot plaza to Smokey Bones. Continued Public Hearing: 1. 409 Somerset Avenue, Binda, (NOI), SE73-2796 ​See updated field report. Motion to open the continued hearing, DB, second MI, so voted. Present Tracey Duarte from MBL Land Developing and Michael Binda the homeowner. Duarte spoke on the updates to the project. Originally this was to be 17 units total, 5 existing and a 12 unit, three story proposed. Now there are 8 proposed, they took the third story off essentially. It will not be the same size as the front building. 13 total units, 5 currently and 8 proposed. The city engineer also wanted two catch basins at the end of the driveway, those are in the plans and will be done. LF asked if MR has a new field report? MR said yes she does. LF last time there were no abutters present, tonight we have many abutters here. DB asked what home was the closest to this? Duarte said about 100 feet from the replication. There is going to be 790 square feet of disturbance, 3:1 slope, now a 6 foot wall instead of a 12 foot. DB snow storage and how far from wetland? Yes and 100 feet and 50 feet from the wetland. DB chemicals used? No and it will be in the O&M. Duarte also said Binda will have to hire someone to do the monitoring. LF asked when they last met with the abutters? Duarte said last summer at the Taunton Sports Club, then they were here in September and no abutters were present. ST asked what MR thinks of this? MR thinks there is still a grading issue. There are 2 spaces per unit, seems like a lot. ST asked what size apartments these will be? 2 one bedroom, 2 two bedroom, 1 four bedroom and the rest all three bedrooms. Abutters present and spoke regarding the project. 1. Sonia Riberio and her father, Manueal Ribeiro 419 Somerset Ave. They directly abut this property and they are strongly against the project. 2. Bill Torino 429 Somerset Ave. The tree line in the back down to the wetlands, will all the trees be gone? It’s a lot of trees. Duarte said after the proposed tree line, nothing will be touched. Torino is concerned there will be nothing to absorb the sound. The lighting on the property too, nothing to block it, it will light up the whole neighborhood. ST they will be required to have a lighting plan that keeps the lighting on their own property. 3. Joe & Denise DeCosta 23 Knight Street. The retention areas are a big concern to them. 4. Mr. and Darlene Fillipovich 16 & 18 Briggs Street. They are both against this project. They water out there is a concern, this will have a negative impact on the whole neighborhood. 5. Mary Lou Andrews 401 Somerset Ave. She is totally against this project. Sharon Laine her sister is also totally against this project. They are very concerned with what it will do to this whole area. The other day someone was there and left a hydrant running from 8am-2:30pm. It totally flooded everything, ending up all over her property too. Someone opened it, not the city of Taunton? It was done by a private company, hired by Mr. Binda. The hydrant is on the property and will eventually be accepted by the city. Motion to invite Cathal O’Brien in DB, second MH, so voted. O’Brien said because the project is not done, it hasn’t been accepted yet. He had to call in a guy for overtime to deal with this situation because it was done on a Saturday. DB said maybe we should be asking the applicant to pay for this overtime. Sharon did call the Water Dept. Binda stated he hired M&R Chaves. They were there to drain the hydrant for the chlorination test. Binda is not sure what went on after that. O’Brien said eventually the city will own it, chlorination test needs to be done before it can be accepted. Usually this testing is not done on the weekend and the water department is present too. O’Brien will speak to Mr. Chaves regarding what happened and it will not happen again. 6. Doreen Kane 19 Knight Street. She currently has pumps running continuously, all year. She is opposed to this project, she is upset she never received a letter, and the applicant never bothered to work with them. Duarte explained that the 2 catch basins on the property will be in low points on the parking lot. They will handle the water from this property and will not put any water onto any other properties. If they do they will be held responsible. Duarte said their lawyer notified all within 300 feet and met at Taunton Sports. ST when all the abutters were here in June, it was announced that the next meeting would be in September. That was their notification. ST asked Binda to speak with the abutters. ST feels they should continue as there are a lot of questions and concerns still not addressed. O’Brien came back into the meeting. He had just spoken with Mr. Chaves. They were doing the bacteria sample, it did pass, and the city owns the hydrant now, as of a couple weeks ago. O’Brien also spoke with him about what went on there and told him that can never happen again. LF has a lot of concern here with the drainage. Is there any way of bringing the catch basins out to Somerset Ave, bring the ones out back to the front? Duarte said no it won’t meet the state standards, if they bring them out front they are putting more water there that wasn’t there before. They can’t just send it without recharging on the site. 7. Lilah Medeiros Knight Street. She owns about 9 acres out there and there is a lot of wetlands. She’s had an ambulance refuse to come out to her house due to flooding. Once an oil truck came out but got stuck, had to be pulled out, truck was totaled, she had pipes freeze because it was days before she could get an oil delivery. 8. Michelle Kane 19 Knight Street. She is opposed to this project. There is lots of water out there and this will cause major issues. 9. Allison Lundell 420 Somerset Ave. She stated the Planning Board said no to this in June, so that is why the abutters did not show in September. They assumed it was over. Her father went and got the minutes of the Planning Board, passed them out to the neighbors so they would know what was going on with this property. Lundell asked if it was legal to pump all of this chlorinated water into the wetlands? She said it was about 5,000 gallons maybe? MR said it wasn’t pumped into the wetlands but rather onto the lawn. Lundell asked if MR, don’t you think it would reach the wetlands? Lundell also asked what about the law regarding not parking within 20 feet of a hydrant? ST this is something they would need to find out from the Fire Department. Lundell said when the contractor was confronted about draining the hydrant, he said what do you want  me to do, water runs downhill. Lundell said Bob Campbell said no to this area for development twenty years ago. The flooding was the issue for him. ST agreed it has been flooding for years out there. Lundell asked what if water does come off the property? What if there are ice dams? The engineer says it will not put water where it does not belong, and the commission relies on his recommendations. If it does happen they come to TCC. Lundell said she has pictures of the water running down the driveway, where are the catch basins? ST they are not in yet. DB read the minutes of the Planning Board, supplied by Lundell. She asked Duarte if they have been back before Planning yet? No not yet, they came here first. 10. Ethel Caldeira 398 Somerset Ave. She is opposed to this project. She is concerned with the impact on the wetlands. Caldeira is concerned with traffic, there is so much already and parking on the street. Why add so much more, be satisfied with what is already there in the big house, why add more units? Why not side with the people and not with the developer. Fillipovich again stated that the storm drains are nice but leaves clog them up. Will Binda be paying to have them cleaned and unclogged yearly? Yes it will be put into the conditions. DeCosta stated again that the parking issues are a concern. ST stated TCC does not handle it but Planning and Zoning do. 11. James Medeiros and James Medeiros Jr. 24 Knight Street. Both are opposed to this project. Motion to continue to March 16, 2020, in the time between now and the March meeting the commission would like Binda to meet with the abutters, not just those within 300 feet but all of them with concerns, no further continuances, no publication this is the notice, call MR with questions, DB, second MI, so voted. 2. 0 Hamlen Street, Sullivan, (NOI), SE73-2818 ​Motion to continue to February 10, 2020, DB, second MH, so voted. 3. 0 & 2318 Bay Street, Gulf Resources, Inc., (NOI), SE73-2819 ​Present Jamie Bissonnette from ZCE, Jeff Lovely, Mark Smith, Rich Carigg, Attorney William Rounds, Mr. Rockwood, and Cathal O’Brien. O’Brien had some questions for the applicants. He asked about tanks being double lined-they are, if the franchise was a corporation or local? Its a corporation and is insured. He also wanted to know if the water is treated and if it’s the first inch, and it is. DB asked O’Brien if he had any concerns about the Dever wells and if there is an accident or spill? He said there are always concerns but they monitor the Dever wells over there already and they make sure the business is licensed and insured. LF asked O’Brien if he had any problems with this project? No it’s not a threat but treated as a concern. They are cautiously optimistic that as long as the business is up front and everything is out in the open and the rules, regs, laws, and processes are followed, he (O’Brien) is respectfully comfortable with it. If this was before the highway and industrial park were there, this would be a different story. Public Input: Diane McGuerney 33 King Phillip Road. She had concerns with this being a Zone 2 area, that this should be a legitimate concern to any neighbors of this project. Diane thinks there is a risk with this type of business going in there and that the intensity will grow. She feels fire and spills are a great concern. A panicked clerk can forget all training and things can go bad very quickly, leading to a worse situation. Diane asked about the car wash and noise? Rich and Jamie said the blowers will be directed into the car wash and they are not sure on whether it will have doors that close. Diane stated this site drains toward critical areas such as the lake and also the Snake river. Mark Lincoln 2368 Bay Street. He had a question on the existing water line? O’Brien said Taunton’s water line ends at the Industrial Park. Norton water line is on the other side of the highway. O’Brien said an 8 inch line is what Taunton would want to see but where it’s Norton, he cannot say. ST asked who they are paying for water? They are paying Norton for water. They will locate water lines prior to any construction. O’Brien asked what size 8 or 10? Jamie said town of Norton said it’s a 6 inch if that’s correct, they will want a 12 inch. ST said all of that is on Norton and what they want/require. Lincoln asked if there was a letter, DB said yes she will read it into the record. It is from a consulting firm hired by Mr. Lincoln, Goddard Consulting. A letter was also read into the record from Phillip Rose 2330 Bay Street. Lovely stated that is Mr. Rose’s wishlist. He said they agreed to monitor the neighbors not because of concern but due to their worries. They don’t have any concern on their part. He said they will test for the following which was determined by the LSP: Volatile Petroleum Hydrocarbons with gasoline target analytes only and Extractable Petroleum Hydrocarbons with diesel range target analytes only. This will require access for testing and inspection to determine other likely sources of contamination on the property. Prior to certificate of occupancy and annually for 10 years. Lovely did say if they test and after a second failed test, if their station is responsible then they would connect Mr. Rose. Again if it is proven that they were responsible. Diane said salt won’t be used correct because if it is banned in the ordinance? No it won’t be used on the site. MH asked MR, Shawn was here last time with some recommendations, are there any outstanding issues that have not been addressed? MR said anything not done would be attached to the Order of Conditions. At this time there are none, but if any come up they will be added. Motion to approve with special conditions, the attached peer review recommendations, and this will hold for the current owner Gulf and any future owners of this site/property, LF, second MH, vote taken, passes 4-2, MI and DB voted no.  4. Lot 3 Run Brook Circle, Run Brook Development, LLC, (NOI), SE73-2820 Motion to continue to February 10, 2020, MH, second JR, so voted. 5. Lot 10 Woodbine Street (64-153), Woodbine Properties Dev., LLC, (NOI), SE73-2830 ​Motion to continue to February 10, 2020, MH, second JR, so voted. Public Hearing 1. 78 Liberty Street, Rochefort, (NOI), SE73-2834 ​See field report. Present Elise Tripp representing the applicants and the applicants Katie and Todd. Motion to approve with special conditions 1, 2, 3, 5, 19, 21, 24, 25, 26, and 27, DB, second MH, so voted. Continued Violation: 1. 110 Country Way. ​Continued, homeowner is working on this. 2. 208, 218, 228 Berkley Street. ​MR spoke to Tony Abreau before he went away, before the holidays. He told his crew to get sandbags out there. MR called again when she went by and the sandbags were not there. After her call they placed them last week on the edge of the grass and property. ST said what about on the edge of the curb? ST wanted them put there. MR said no they placed them on the edge of the property, they said they couldn’t block use of the sidewalk by placing the sandbags there. MR said due to ADA they could not be placed on the sidewalk. ST asked if a straw wattle would hold the water? ST said his concern is keeping the water totally off the sidewalk. JR asked Estrella how many sandbags were there? 8-10 feet of them, but the way the bags are set up, the water will penetrate them. Estrella said they have been coming here for a year now and they are sick and tired of it. ST said at this point this is on the city now. The road needs to be graded so the water will stop running up and over the sidewalk. MR said according to Tony, the construction person for the site is in charge of the roadway. ST stated Tony said Hyde will mill it, that never happened. MR it was held up by the Gas Co. Abutter stated the Gas Co. was there on Saturday. She said she was under the impression Jeff Tardanico was going to cut away the curb and raise the sidewalk. ST said they could never tell Jeff to do that and they would not have. ST said in his eyes at this point, Jeff is off the hook, now it’s on the city. LF said this is the first time he has heard of this gas line needing to go in. Members of commission said no this has been talked about for a while, was known a long time ago. LF when is Fisher or City of Taunton going to fix the road? Why not just pull the bond? ST said they wanted to do the road but the Gas Co. had been pulled off all jobs for the month of  October and when they came back, this job wasn’t a high priority. ST asked MR to reach out to Tony again, this has to be done and it seems like the Gas Co. is all done out there. Estrella did state the Varley’s are always helpful and accommodating. They were present for this meeting tonight. Motion to have the DPW Commissioner Fred Cornaglia or his representative present at the meeting on 2/10/2020, as well as Brian Fisher and/or Jeff Tardanico, and continue this to 2/10/2020, DB, second, MI, so voted. Abutter asked what will happen with the hill out back, he has pulled materials from there and it is a mess. Can he be made to put it all back? MR recommended she call the City Engineer. He is stripping the hill and ground back there. Scott Varley, owner of 208, 218, and 228 Berkley Street was present. He said Tony has been nothing but helpful. That Tony is the reason why the Gas Co. eventually came out. Regarding the hill and work out back there the following motion was made. Motion to refer this to the City Engineer and building department, determine if an earth removal permit was filed and what recourse we have if it wasn’t, this is all to be the first order of business at the meeting on 2/10/2020, DB, second MH, so voted. Other Business: 1. Intern. MR the intern has been coming into the office and will be attending a meeting too. 2. MACC Conference. ​Some have already let MR know that they were going. Others asked MR to send info. 3. Motions. ​DB stated that in order for a motion to be put down as such, it needs to be made in the proper way. She said to commissioners, we all have a habit of saying something but not making it in the form of a proper motion and then moving on to something else. Then when we go looking for it in the minutes, it isn’t there. It is important that we do this correctly. 4. Emergency Cert. ​Motion to approve, DB, second MH, so voted. 5. Re: Binda project. ​This back and forth with all the boards, there should be more communication between all of the boards. MR will speak with Denise about creating a form for this. Motion to look into a flow chart, a checks and balances, that MR and Denise create to help the communication between boards, JR, second DB, so voted. 6. LF-by-law discussion. ​LF asked what happened to the commission all sitting down to go over the by-laws and deciding what would stay, and what should change. It was stated that all of the Commissioners should start thinking about it. Check dates and get back in February with what works and set a date to do this.  7. Vote for Chair and Vice Chair. ​Motion to keep it the same with ST as Chair and DB as Vice Chair, LF, second RE, vote taken 5-1 passes. Motion to adjourn, DB, second MH, so voted. Meeting ended at 9:45pm.