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2016.12.08 Staff Report To: Conservation Commission From: Sarah LaValley RE: Staff Report, December 8 Commission Meeting Date: December 8, 2016 5:30 PM: Continuation- Notice of Intent for bank stabilization and stream channel structure realignment. Work to take place in land under water, bordering land subject to flooding and riverfront area to Roberts Meadow Brook. Northampton DPW, parcel IDs 10-006 and 009, 10B-103 and 15-001 The applicant has requested a continuation, with no discussion to be held at this time, until January 26, 2017, at 5:30 PM Staff Recommendation: Continue the hearing as requested. 5:30 PM Discuss Potential Assignment of Licensing Responsibility for Agriculture on Conservation Properties to the Agricultural Commission The new municipal modernization act creates the authority for Agricultural Commissions to hold interest in land, a provision that was absent but very much needed from the original legislation creating ag commissions. Following this new rule, the Agricultural Commission began planning future possibilities for agricultural land, as well as existing ag lands, that are held by the ConsCom mainly because the ag commission was not able to at the time the properties were originally acquired. The Ag Commission has offered to assume the licensing responsibilities for these areas, with the understanding that this is more a part of their core mission than the ConsCom, they have more contacts with farmers, and this could help both Commissions. Members of the Ag Commission may be present to discuss this option. Current agricultural considerations:  Portion of Mineral Hills Conservation Area: License to end of 2017. Not organic, Agricultural Preservation Restriction requires the area be farmed  Bleiman Section of the Meadows: Currently not licensed. Must be farmed or mowed as a condition of acquisition  Elwell Section of CT River Greenway: Currently not licensed. Organic. Previous farm went out of business.  Portion of Monview Conservation Area: Madge Evers, Licensed to end of 2019. Organic.  ‘Northern Bookend’ portion of Mineral Hills. Currently not licensed. Historical 5:50 PM Notice of Intent for crew house addition and deck, and construction of an elevated accessible walk. Work proposed within land subject to flooding and buffer zone to bank. Trustees of Smith College, College Lane, Map ID 31D-10 Application Overview: The application proposes a 175 square foot second story addition to the Crew House, including second story and deck, supported by structural columns, and a 600 linear foot elevated wooden boardwalk supported by helical piers or concrete footings. Work is located within bordering land subject to flooding, and buffer zone to bank. (No riverfront area within Paradise Pond) Grading is Conservation Commission Staff Report 1 December 8, 2016 proposed to comply with foot-for-foot compensatory flood storage requirements. Removal of existing vegetation The limit of the buffer zone (not identified on project plans) is near the edge of the roadway. Consistency with the WPA: Compensatory flood storage requirements are detailed. There are no additional standards for buffer zone. The work is located within Priority Habitat, but NHESP dtermined that this project as proposed, will not adversely affect the actual Resource Area Habitat of state-protected rare wildlife species, and meets the state-listed species performance standard for the issuance of an Order of Conditions. Consistency with the Northampton Wetlands Ordinance: Work is proposed within the Protected Zone, but is allowed pursuant to the Ordinance: Projects in or affecting protected zones or resource areas containing areas already degraded or developed, subject to the following criteria: At a minimum, proposed work shall result in an improvement over existing conditions of the capacity of the resource area to protect the interests identified in MGL c. 131, § 40. When a lot is previously developed but no portion of the resource area or its protected zone is degraded, this section shall not apply. The hillside currently includes many invasive species and mown lawn, the project as proposed will remove invasives and plant native species Within the resource area and its protected zone, proposed work shall not be located closer to the resource area than existing degraded conditions. It is not Proposed work, including expansion of existing structures, shall be located outside the resource area or toward the resource area boundary and away from the resource. It is The area of proposed work shall not exceed the amount of degraded area. It does not. Staff Recommendations: The building department has indicated that flowthrough flood vents will most likely be required in the Crew House to bring the structure into compliance with current building code. If this is the case, the interior of the structure can be utilized for required compensatory flood storage, thereby reducing the amount of proposed grading and disturbance to the hillside. Staff would prefer that this method for flood storage compliance be utilized, and a new planset and must be required if this is the case. Native trees and herbaceous plants are also proposed. The bank is currently mown lawn to the edge of the water – the application proposes no change or alteration to this area as part of the project, but this could present an opportunity for improvement. Discuss ceasing of mowing and/or planting of appropriate wetland vegetation along the bank. If all above issues are discussed and satisfied, issue an Order of Conditions. Require silt fence and haybales at the edge of work nearest the pond, and in another row farther up the hillside. The erosion control proposed is inadequate for the slope. Add a condition requiring that a request for certificate of compliance be accompanied by a report on the health of all plantings after two growing seasons, and that all unsuccessful plantings shall be replaced. Require a continuing condition that invasive species within the project area be hand-removed annually. Conservation Commission Staff Report 2 December 8, 2016 6:10 PM Notice of Intent for driveway construction within bordering vegetated wetland and buffer zone. Jerome and Susan Camposeo, Coles Meadow Rd, Map ID 08- 70. Application Overview: The application proposes construction of a driveway to access a future single-family home. The planset revised 12/1/16 proposes 1,668 square feet of BVW, and 3,053 square feet of 0-100 foot buffer. The driveway is proposed to be between 12 and 16 feet wide. Temporary construction impacts are not quantified. The application proposes replication of 3,336 square feet of wetlands. Conceptual locations of a house and septic system are shown on plans, likely to include additional buffer zone disturbance but that work is not proposed as part of this application. The lot on which the driveway is proposed originally included the area shown as ‘parcel 1’ on project plans, but the owner divided the property and sold lot 1, and a single family home currently exists there. A previous, similar NOI application was denied under the Northampton Wetlands Ordinance in January 2014. Consistency with the WPA: The work is presented as a Limited Project driveway crossing under 310 CMR 10.53(3)(e). ‘Limited Projects’ can be permitted by the Conservation Commission notwithstanding the performance standards and regulations for inland wetlands. The limited project provisions provide Commissions with discretion to consider certain types of projects that do not meet all applicable performance standards. Commissions are not required to give approval to projects filed under this provision, but should examine the facts and determine whether the project qualifies as a limited project. DEP’s guidance for interpreting the limited project provisions for driveways is attached for reference. However, the project as proposed can be able to meet applicable performance standards for BVW under 310 CMR 10.55 (4), and consideration of the proposed work as a Limited Project is not appropriate. Consistency with the Northampton Wetlands Ordinance: The project is located within the Rural Residential zone. There is no reduction in the Protected Zone within this zone. The Ordinance is specific that “the Commission shall not permit alteration within resource areas or their associated protected zones,” subject to several exceptions, none of which apply to the proposed work. Work within the Protected Zone does not conform to the Ordinance. Staff Recommendations: The project as proposed should not be considered as a Limited Project, and the Protected Zone disturbance proposed does not meet the performance standards of the Northampton Wetlands Ordinance. Issue an Order of Conditions under the Wetlands Protection Act. Deny an Order of Conditions pursuant to the Northampton Wetlands Ordinance, finding that the proposed work cannot be conditioned to meet the standards set forth in Chapter 337 of the Northampton Code, specifically, 337-10 (E) regarding work in Protected Zones. Include a finding of fact that the Commission does not find the work proposed to be a 310 CMR 10.53(3)(e) limited project. Such decision is not a taking, given consideration of whether adjacent property, which would have provided dry access to the uplands, has been sold off or built on. The denial is without prejudice, and a new application conforming to the performance standards of the Wetlands Ordinance may be considered in the future. Conservation Commission Staff Report 3 December 8, 2016