At the Conservation Commission meeting held on June 13, board members discussed issues ranging from zoning board cases to improving conditions on the Musquash Conservation Area.
The meeting began as the commission spoke with several individuals representing Cross Farm Development, LLC, who were there to explain the impact a new elderly housing community will have on the property’s wetlands. An entire overview of this section of the meeting can be found on page 7.
The Cross Farm representatives made their case and left the meeting, leaving the commission to discuss Zoning Board Amendment No. 6/21/17-2, which involved the Nevins Adult Community, another elderly housing community which hopes to decrease the conservation overlay district buffer facing part of their property from 50 feet to 25 feet for the sake of lawn management.
The commission, however, failed to see why this was necessary, as the request seemed to be more about avoiding a restriction on the use of pesticide and herbicides on the lawn. The commission noted that Nevins was told previously that they could still use potash as a fertilizer, so they refused to support the amendment not only because of the triviality of it, but also because there was some ambiguity behind its overall purpose. The commission said they would like to see some clarification, with Chair Marge Badois stating that “[they] just need to sort it out.”
The commission also plans to spearhead a number of improvements to the property surrounding Tanager Way, Scobie Pond, and Kendall Pond, namely adding parking spaces for those visiting these areas. The plans are still in their early stages, and the commission discussed needing to establish a request for proposal before putting the plan up for bid by talking to neighbors surrounding these locations about these potential changes and putting together a ballpark figure of how much the improvements will cost.
The commission then discussed creating a series of signs to place throughout the Musquash Conservation Area, pinpointing specific locations on maps. It was also mentioned that Eversource Energy, New England’s largest energy provider, had offered to plant various trees and flowers in place of a gap in a line of trees along Wheelwright Circle, which was caused by tree trimming efforts.
To close the meeting, members discussed their continued efforts to stop the removal of water from public water bodies for commercial use. Unfortunately, a sign next to one of these water bodies that warned about Ordinance 2017-03, which forbids said water removal, was recently taken down and destroyed by unknown individuals. However, a new sign will soon be put up at the location of the original.