P. O. Box 308
Somers,
Connecticut 06071
CONSERVATION
MINUTES
3/6/02;
7:00 p.m.
Town Hall
I. CALL TO ORDER:
Chairman Simon Lipton called the meeting to order at 7:02
p.m. Members present
were: Simon Lipton; George Grant; Karl Walton;
Maurice Rondeau; Don Smith; Lise
Wood and Alternate August
Helberg. August Helberg was seated for
Joan Formeister.
Also present was David
Askew, Wetlands Agent.
II. AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION: There
was none.
III. OLD BUSINESS:
a. Discussion/Possible
Decision: Modification of Wetlands
Application #436,
8-lot Subdivision, Wood Road, JOIF Limited
Lise Wood recused herself from discussion of this agenda
item.
The Conservation Commission approved this subdivision with
the condition that if there were any changes in the detention area, the
applicant would come back before us.
David Askew pointed out the
changed area on the plan. The catch
basin will be modified and an erosion control plan is in place. David and the Town Engineer, Merv Strauss
checked the condition of the stream to see if it could handle the increased
flows. The Planning Commission is
requiring that the flows from this subdivision do not create an overall
increase.
Karl Walton said that this
revision should improve the present ponding situation on property across the
road. Eventually, this all ends up in
Thrasher Brook. The outflow will end up
in the pond behind Ed Crowe's house.
Mr. Crowe has no objection to this.
David Askew has no issues
with this application except the requirement for a pre-construction
meeting. There are no erosion problems
in Thrasher Brook and it can easily
handle the (2) cfs increase
in flow.
Maurice Rondeau made a
motion to approve Wetlands Application #436 with the condition that a
pre-construction meeting be held. This
motion was seconded by Karl Walton and unanimously approved by the Commission.
Lise Wood returned to her
Commission seat.
b. Discussion/Possible
Decision: Modification of Wetlands Application
#431,
18-Lot Subdivision, Hampden & Stafford Roads (East
Side), Wilson
Conservation Minutes
3/6/02
Page 2
This is a modification of a subdivision the Commission
previously approved. A culvert will be
replaced that will discharge into Thrasher Brook - further up from the Crowe
subdivision. The applicant's engineer,
Nat Sreenath, explained what will be done to satisfy Conservation Commission
requirements.
David Askew would like the
rip-rap extended down to Thrasher Brook and a pre-construction meeting to
verify erosion control.
George Grant made a motion
to approve Wetlands Application #431 with the conditions that rip-rap be
extended down to Thrasher Brook and that a pre-construction meeting be held
with the Wetlands Agent. This motion was
seconded by Karl Walton and unanimously approved by the Commission.
IV. NEW BUSINESS:
a. Wetlands
Application #442, 10x24 Fishing Platform at Somersville Pond,
School Street, Town of Somers
This is an Eagle Scout project for a handicapped accessible
fishing area on the north bank of Somersville Pond. Jason, the Eagle Scout in charge, said he would be meeting with
the DEP to find out their requirements.
He has to determine placement of the piers for this 24' x 10' fishing
pier.
David Askew said he has
information about a new type of treatment for these piers that
should last longer than
pressure treated. Jason will get this
information from David.
The Commission thought that
this is a great idea. There was a brief
discussion about availability of some funding - maybe from the Sportsmen's Club
and the project budget
of the Conservation
Commission. Jason was asked to let the
Commission know how much this will cost to complete.
b. Wetlands
Application #443, Barn within Upland Review Area, 200 Parker
Road, Fareria
David Askew said the owner of this property lives in Long
Island. The property is at the end of
Parker Road and there is a stream running along the back of the lot. The
application is for a 30' x
40' prefabricated storage building that is about 55' from the stream. David Askew has to check the grading on the
property.
c. Wetlands
Application #444, Addition & Inground Pool within Upland
Review Area, 67 Hall Hill Road, Capuano
The applicant would like to put an addition on the back of
an existing house. The wetlands have
been flagged. The deck and the pool are
35.7' away from the edge of the watercourse.
There is existing lawn and grassed area right down to the water's
edge. There are several other ponds on
the property. Erosion control measures
are in place. The grade
is pretty shallow - about 3
to 5%.
Conservation Minutes
3/6/02
Page 3
David Askew suggested a
de-watering area for the water to go during construction. This
could be held in place with
silt fence and haybales. Otherwise,
David sees no other problems.
d. Wetlands
Application #445, Construction of Pond & Stream Culvert,
119 Root Road, Stanton
Mr. Stanton said the wetlands have been flagged. He was supposed to do a select
cut of trees adjacent to the
wetland; however, Mr. Stanton clear cut this area. This is a violation of Conservation Regulations. Mr. Stanton only cut 50% of the trees in the
wetland - which is acceptable.
Mr. Stanton stated that the
logging falls under a permitted use of right because it is an agricultural
property.
David Askew said that there
is a 100' upland review area around the wetland and clear cutting and stumping
requires a permit for any non-agricultural activity.
Mr. Stanton would like to
use one area for growing Christmas trees; another area for mixed hay planting
and the last area where the pond will be for a family recreation area. Mr. Stanton has about 25 acres of land.
David said that the Army
Corps might require Mr. Stanton to get a permit
because 5,000 square feet of
the wetlands will be disturbed. David
suggested that Mr. Stanton do some testpits before the pond is dug in case he
hits a lot of ledge - which would make it impossible to dig out the pond. He also suggested a de-watering area to be
used during construction - held together with haybales and a silt fence.
David Askew said that in his
opinion, part of Mr. Stanton's planned activities fall into a permitted use of
right category. However, a full
wetlands permit will be required on the other area. Erosion controls are
adequate. Mr. Stanton paid for his
wetland permit at the meeting.
It was the consensus of the
Commission to add the following two items to the agenda:
f. Four Town
Fairgrounds - Wetlands Disturbance
This is
another existing permit to fill about (1) acre of wetlands in back of an
existing pull ring. Don Slanetz, the
contractor, was present. Mr. Slanetz
dug a ditch through the wetland and filled other wetland areas. David Askew estimated a (2) to (2.5) acres
of wetland disturbance.
Mr. Slanetz said additional
parking area was needed. He admitted,
however, that he should have come in and discussed what could be done with
David Askew before proceeding on his own.
Conservation Minutes
3/6/02
Page 4
David Askew said that only
one area was approved for this activity.
The contractor dug a ditch through the wetland in order to carry the
water away from the parking area. This
is
one of the biggest high value
wetland areas in Somers, and this activity has caused a significant impact to
it. David would like to see the ditch
filled in and the area restored.
He said the Commission
probably could have approved some additional fill, if we had been consulted prior
to starting this project.
David Askew's recommendation
is that the applicant hire a Soil Scientist or other qualified professional to
come up with a detailed plan for providing additional parking area with minimal
impact to the wetland. Part of the restoration
will be the filling in of the ditch.
Work can continue only in the area approved by the Commission. The applicant must come back to the
Commission with a comprehensive plan.
g. Camp Ayapo
- Eagle Scout Project
Jason, the Eagle Scout in charge of the project,
said they would like to clear an area 100' wide and 63' long right to the edge
of the lake. He wants to create a
little ampitheater for the Camp. He would
like to put up (35) benches, each bench being 10' long.
They would also be building
a stone fire circle. A contractor is
coming in to take out some rocks.
David Askew said the Camp
has not filed an application. A silt
fence and some haybales will be needed for erosion control. David said the Commission could vote to take
in the application and waive
the fee.
Don Smith made a motion to
accept the application, waive the fee and allow the project to proceed prior to
obtaining approval. This motion was
seconded by Karl Walton and unanimously approved by the Commission.
David Askew would like to
know when this project is started.
V. STAFF/COMMISSION REPORT:
David Askew reviewed his 3/6/02 Wetland Agent's Report with
the Commission.
He inspects the ongoing
logging operations on a weekly basis to be sure they are abiding by
Conservation Commission
regulations.
David said he has a
building/zoning application for a 680' addition to an existing house, which is
78' from the wetland. He asked if the
Commission would allow him to sign off on
this under Section 12 of the
Regulations. Maurice Rondeau made a
motion to allow David Askew to sign off on this application; seconded by George
Grant and unanimously approved by the Commission.
Mr. Van Wingerden of Hampden
is planning further development on some of his property.
David has met with him to
review the plan, which may require a wetland application.
Conservation Minutes
3/6/02
Page 5
Mr. Williams on 424 Hall
Hill Rd. has cleared within wetlands and relocated drainage ditches that feed
water to the wetland. He has agreed to restore
the area. David will follow the
progress on the restoration.
Maurice Rondeau made a
motion to accept the Wetland Agent's report; seconded by George Grant and
unanimously approved by the Commission.
Karl Walton passed out a
booklet to each Commissioner concerning the updating of the current Plan of
Conservation and Development. He said
there would be a meeting to
discuss this issue on
3/11/02 after the Board of Selectmen meeting with the Selectmen;
Board of Finance, Treasurer,
and Board of Assessors. All Land Use
commissions have also been invited to attend.
He asked that the Commissioners review this booklet and if at all
possible, attend this
meeting.
George Grant talked about
coming up with a penalty for the repeat offenders on wetlands violations. If a State Law was in place authorizing
these penalties, then perhaps repeat offenders would be a thing of the
past. David Askew said some towns have
tried penalties and ended up in Court - which costs the town more than the
assessed penalty.
VI. CORRESPONDENCE AND BILLS:
David Askew presented a bill for his services for a 6-month
period in the amount of
$4,370.00. Lise Wood made a motion to pay this bill;
seconded by Don Smith and unanimously approved by the Commission.
David said he received a
letter from the DEP stating they are offering trees for sale from the State
Nursery - $12.00 for 250 seedlings.
VII. MINUTES APPROVAL: February
6, 2002
Maurice Rondeau made a motion to approve the 2/6/02 minutes,
as written. This motion was seconded by
August Helberg and unanimously approved by the Commission.
VIII. ADJOURNMENT:
George Grant
made a motion to adjourn the meeting; seconded by Don Smith and unanimously
approved by the Commission. The
meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Joan Formeister, Secretary
Connie Carenzo, Recording
Secretary