Approved Conservation Commission Mtg Mins

Meeting date:

Wednesday, September 15, 2021

Approved

Wellfleet Conservation Commission

Meeting Minutes

September 15, 2021

Remote Meeting

Attendees: Chair Leon Shreves, Clerk Michael Fisher, Barbara Brennessel, John Cumbler, Ben Fairbank, Marty Murphy, Agent Hillary Greenberg Lemos, and Christine Bates, Committee Secretary.

4:00 pm Business Meeting

Mail / Discussion

Presentation: Anne Sterling on the development and stewardship of Sewell’s Gutter: Ms. Sterling gave a PowerPoint presentation. She provided pictures of the area from 1944 through today and identified how the area has changed over the years. She stated that part of Indian Neck was an island in 1944 and Sewell’s Gutter was a marsh extending into Blackfish Creek. Around 1960, the upper marsh area was filled in, which is now part of King Phillip Road, and at the seaward entrance into Sewell’s Gutter there was not much vegetation. In 2005, the filed in area began to expand along King Phillip Road and Sewell’s Gutter became more serpentine at the entrance. Sand was also starting to fill in. In 2018, the whole area got marshy even at high tide and trees have grown within parts of the area. In future, even more than currently, high tides will over wash the entrance area. There has recently been quite a bit of erosion on the beach and much of the vegetation there is gone. This area is heavily used and provides flood control for houses along Omaha Road and Hiawatha Road and is an important wetland resource with turtles, eels, crabs, birds, shellfish, coyotes, otters, and horseshoe crabs and the Gutter is an egret migration area. She stated the area at the end of Hiawatha Road has become a mess with hand carried pieces of material in the water channel. The road is in bad shape as well. Anne does not know who placed the road materials in the area 10 or 20 years ago and people are annually moving it around to make steppingstones, etc. She would like to see AmeriCorps help clean up the area to get rid of the asphalt. She feels that sand from nourishment projects at other locations is filling up this marsh. Leon Shreves asked if the sand could be dredged out and Anne did not know how fast the sand would come back. Ryan Curley stated there was a lot of excavation done in the 1950’s and 1960’s and most of the land formation that exists now is artificial. Barbara Brennessel stated she is very thankful for the presentation and stated the issue of sand renourishment is being considered town-wide and Wellfleet, Eastham, Truro, and Provincetown are working as a group to determine where the sand is moving along their shared coast. She is concerned with sea level rise and what the future will bring. Michael Fisher pointed out most of the Sewell’s Gutter property is owned by the Wellfleet Conservation Trust and it would be very difficult to get permission for any dredging, and at the end of Omaha Road, there has been in past years, a lot of small vessel impact on the dunes. Due to the approved seawall building at the ends of Hiawatha and Omaha roads in the near future, as well as renourishment conditions on several properties, there will be quite a bit of disturbance with trucks and construction in the area. Agent Greenberg-Lemos stated she is working with the DPW to remove debris from along Hiawatha Road and is also concerned with the debris. She is hesitant to ask AmeriCorps for assistance with the clean up because it is so labor intensive. John Cumbler recommended getting a record of properties that are being renourished and the amount of sand placed at these locations.

Presentation: Salicornia Sampling: Dr. Brook Moyer from U Mass Boston stated Wellfleet has a high rate of annual Salicornia. Her graduate students would like to sample at Duck Creek and they also have permission from MA Audubon for sampling at the Wellfleet Bay sanctuary. They propose to go out one day at a low tide, walk along the high tide mark, and harvest approximately 50 plants. They will take soil samples as well. She stated they will share their findings with the stakeholders, so they know what chemicals (especially heavy metals) are in the area. For every 10 plants they pull, they take a soil sample of approximately 6” x 3”. Barbara Brennessel requested they fill in the “sample holes” with soil in the area. They hope to receive permission so work can be done in October. Leon Shreves stated this is a good project to identify the value of plants and the health of the environment. This is a baseline of the scope of heavy metals in New England. Agent Greenberg-Lemos stated they do not have to do any filing with the Commission because it is scientific project and will only require an Administrative Review. The Commission was in favor of the sampling program and requested results from the sampling.

Mail / Discussion –

Michael Fisher stated the CPC annually requires a needs list from the Commission for principal priorities. He requested the members review the Open Space Needs List which he will send out to them and that they make suggestions. This will be discussed at the next meeting.

Agent Greenberg-Lemos stated she is having a meeting with Town Counsel on several issues for environmental / regulations.

Jurisdictional Opinions: 86 Upper Marsh Road, Map 41, Parcel 30, build a detached studio outside of the buffer zone. They require permission to enter the property at a point 10 feet within the 100-foot buffer zone. There will be no tree or vegetation disturbance. If there are any tracks or damage, they must return that land to its original state. Barbara Brennessel moved to approve the Jurisdictional Opinion; seconded by Leon Shreves. VOTE: Ben Fairbank aye, Barbara Brennessel aye, Michael Fisher aye, and Leon Shreves aye. 5-0.

Meeting Minutes Barbara Brennessel moved to approved the amended 9/01/21 meeting minutes (which now include additional information that Martin Murphy was a summer resident in Wellfleet for over 40 years and became a year round resident one-and-a-half years ago); seconded by Leon Shreves. VOTE: Ben Fairbank aye, Marty Murphy aye, Barbara Brennessel aye, John Cumbler aye, Michael Fisher aye, and Leon Shreves aye. 6-0.

Barbara Brennessel moved to adjourn the business meeting at 4:55; seconded by Ben Fairbank. VOTE: Ben Fairbank aye, Marty Murphy aye, Barbara Brennessel aye, John Cumbler aye, Michael Fisher aye, and Leon Shreves aye. 6-0.

5:00 Public Hearings

In attendance: Chair Leon Shreves, Ben Fairbank, Marty Murphy, Barbara Brennessel, John Cumbler, and Clerk Michael Fisher

Sexton, (Cook Family Trust) 420 Lecount Hollow Rd., Map 31, Parcel 600, Request for 3 year extension (WPA Form 7) Michael Fisher stated an NOI was approved with an Order of Conditions in 2015 to move the cottages from the coastal bank and another NOI application for much the same project was approved for 3 years in 2018. In 2018, Mr. Sexton had stated there had not been enough erosion to move the cottages. Agent Greenberg-Lemos stated she would like to know how much erosion has taken place over the past three years and recommends continuing until we have that information. Since no one appeared to represent the applicant, Barbara Brennessel moved to continue to 10/06/21; seconded by Leon Shreves. VOTE: Ben Fairbank aye, Marty Murphy aye, Barbara Brennessel aye, John Cumbler aye, Michael Fisher aye, and Leon Shreves aye. 6-0.

Johannot, 65 Chequessett Bluff Rd., Map 19, Parcel 140, Certificate of Compliance (Form 8B) Jim Peluso, attorney for the new owners, stated there are no available records. Doug Guey-Lee has done a site inspection. Agent Greenberg-Lemos provided information regarding the probable seawall and nourishment project, and she spoke with Attorney Ben Zehnder who had represented the original owners. He was going to talk with Wellfleet Marine regarding further nourishment requirements. Once this Certificate is approved, if the new owners want to renourish the sea wall, they will have to file another application with the Commission. Leon Shreves moved to approve the Certificate of Compliance; seconded by Michael Fisher. VOTE: Ben Fairbank aye, Marty Murphy aye, John Cumbler aye, Michael Fisher aye, and Leon Shreves aye. Barbara Brennessel abstained. 5-0-1

DeMoss, 30 Ione Rd., Map 28, Parcel 60, Certificate of Compliance (Form 8B) Agent Greenberg-Lemos stated this was for a septic upgrade and is in compliance. Leon Shreves moved to approve the Certificate of Compliance; seconded by Michael Fisher. VOTE: Ben Fairbank aye, Barbara Brennessel aye, John Cumbler aye, Michael Fisher aye, and Leon Shreves aye. Marty Murphy abstained. 5-0-1

MA Audubon Society, Map 40, Parcel 172, RDA, reduce impact on the marsh from vehicles by reducing volume of parking (Form 2) Barbara Brennessel moved to continue to 10/06/21; seconded by Leon Shreves. VOTE: Ben Fairbank aye, Marty Murphy aye, Barbara Brennessel aye, John Cumbler aye, Michael Fisher aye, and Leon Shreves aye. 6-0.

MA Audubon Society, Map 41, Parcel 182, RDA, fill road with 2” gravel at east end of the Lt. Island Road causeway (Form 2). Representing Mass Audubon, Ian Ives stated there is a large rut within the roadway (Meadow Road) and the proposed gravel fill will not have an impact on the marsh or even when there are high tides. Barbara Brennessel stated the that Regulations prohibit dumping stone within a salt marsh and she stated that it would not affect shell fishing in the area if the shellfishers walk out instead of driving; she did not approve of filling with clam shells either. Further, since there will be sea level rise, this proposed project would not be a long-term solution. She recommended grading or placing sand of specifications matching the current roadbed. Shellfish Warden Nancy Civetta thanked Audubon for their support for the shell fishing industry and feels this rut should be patched because the road is used as access all winter long. Agent Greenberg-Lemos stated the Request for Determination form was not filled out correctly. She put the GIS location on display to identify the area as dune and salt marsh. The Commission reviewed the GIS map further to determine if an alternative route could be created. John Cumbler stated this proposed fill would be a bad precedent and the water is moving inland and will search for a low point and gravel is the wrong solution. Barbara Brennessel recommended the shell fishermen use a cart with large wheels to transport their materials and not drive through the road’s low area. Agent Greenberg-Lemos questioned if groundwater rise or tide is creating the puddling. Michael Fisher moved to continue this indefinitely to determine ownership for an alternative route and any environmentally-sound solutions; seconded by Barbara Brennessel. VOTE: Ben Fairbank aye, Marty Murphy aye, Barbara Brennessel aye, John Cumbler aye, Michael Fisher aye, and Leon Shreves aye. 6-0.

Maistros, 2043 Harbor Light Circle, Map 20, Parcel 19, RDA, extend decking 6’ x 4’ (Form 2). A site visit was made. There was no representative at the meeting. John Cumbler felt the project will cause no significant impact to the area. John Cumbler moved to identify the RDA as a Negative 2; seconded by Barbara Brennessel. VOTE: Ben Fairbank aye, Marty Murphy aye, Barbara Brennessel aye, John Cumbler aye, Michael Fisher aye, and Leon Shreves aye. 6-0.

Cook, 30 Main Street, Map 15, Parcel 15-2, NOI, replace current accessory building with a pre-constructed accessory building within 100 foot wetland area at same location (Form 5) A site visit was made. Peter Cook stated the existing accessory building is not in good shape and they would like to replace it. They would use Diamond Pier foundations. He identified the invasive ivy and would like to replant with native plantings attractive to birds and pollinators. Agent Greenberg-Lemos stated the site plan did not identify the 50’ buffer line, and the new building will be 3 feet wider and deeper than the current building, plus there is a 36 square foot extension from the new building’s back. Agent Greenberg-Lemos stated she can’t identify some of the septic lines from the house which are on the site plan. Any foundation must be the legal distance from a leach field. Mr. Cook stated the Title V septic was brought to current code 17 years ago. Michael Fisher would like a planting plan since the replacement building is twice as large as the current building. He recommended there be a Condition that no water/plumbing be placed within the building and if electricity was going to be put in the future, the owners would have to come back for permission. Barbara Brennessel wants to see current square footage of the shed size vs proposed and the total of what is within the 100 foot. Mr. Cook stated no herbicides will be used to remove the ivy. The Commission requested a planting plan identifying the amount of ivy to be removed as well as having the square footage of the proposed building on the plan. A DEP number had not been issued and we require proof of abutter notification. Barbara Brennessel moved to continue to 10/6/21; seconded by John Cumbler. VOTE: Ben Fairbank aye, Marty Murphy aye, Barbara Brennessel aye, John Cumbler aye, Michael Fisher aye, and Leon Shreves aye. 6-0.

Callahan, 149 Commercial St., Map 27, Parcel 120, NOI, replace segment of marine bulkhead (Form 5). The applicant requested a continuation because they will be using different material than originally proposed. Leon Shreves moved to continue to 10/6/21; seconded by Barbara Brennessel. VOTE: Ben Fairbank aye, Marty Murphy aye, Barbara Brennessel aye, John Cumbler aye, Michael Fisher aye, and Leon Shreves aye. 6-0.

Leon Shreves moved to adjourn at 6:25 pm; seconded by Martin Murphy. VOTE: Ben Fairbank aye, Marty Murphy aye, Barbara Brennessel aye, John Cumbler aye, Michael Fisher aye, and Leon Shreves aye. 6-0.

Respectfully submitted,

Christine Bates, Committee Secretary

Documents:

Jurisdictional Request

Sexton: request for extension

Johannot: request for Certificate of Compliance

DeMoss: request for Certificate of Compliance

MA Audubon: Request for Determination and backup materials

Maistros: Request for Determination and backup materials

Cook: Notice of Intent and backup materials

Callahan: email for continuation