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Board refuses to grant certificate of compliance until removed stepping stones and updated engineer plan are submitted
Summary
The Falmouth Conservation Commission declined to grant a certificate of compliance for 69 Barnack Road on Jan. 29, asking the trustee to remove unapproved inlaid flagstone steps or provide mitigation and to submit a certified as-built plan from their engineer.
The Falmouth Conservation Commission on Jan. 29 declined to sign a certificate of compliance for a property at 69 Barnack Road after staff and commissioners identified unauthorized changes to hardscape and discrepancies in as-built plans.
Staff said the property’s site contains inlaid flagstone pavers near an at-grade doorway and that aerial comparison shows an enlarged hardscape area compared with the originally approved plan. The commission’s staff advised mitigation at a standard 3:1 ratio for newly added hardscape in a resource buffer unless the hardscape is removed and the as-built matches the originally approved plan.
The trustee for the Dogwood Realty Trust stated the stepping stones were present when the application was first filed and that the tree that had been mapped in the dune died of natural causes years earlier. The trustee said she would be willing to remove the stepping stones but raised concern about the cost and effort of returning engineers to re-certify the site for the record.
Commissioners said they would accept removal of the stepping stones and a certified revised site plan from the applicant’s engineer showing the current, post-removal as-built condition as the route to compliance. Staff recommended — and commissioners agreed — that the engineering firm prepare a corrected compliance plan overlaying the old and new conditions so staff can quantify any remaining mitigation required. Commissioners also discussed a drainage element shown on older plans that was not installed; most commissioners indicated the drainage omission alone did not justify denying compliance, but noted the drainage must have been included in the approved plan and the omission should be documented.
The trustee agreed to arrange removal of the stones and work with the applicant’s engineer (Capen Islands / Holmes & McGrath history was referenced) to submit a corrected compliance plan. The commission continued the request for certificate of compliance to Feb. 26 to allow the trustee time to produce the corrected engineered plan and to document the removal of the inlaid stones.
What happens next: The trustee must arrange removal of the stepping stones (or provide mitigation), have the engineer submit an updated, certified as-built/compliance plan quantifying any new hardscape, and coordinate with staff. The commission will revisit the compliance request on Feb. 26.
