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Yarmouth panel accepts revised driveway plan for Baker Road property, asks for tree and planting swaps
Summary
The Conservation Commission approved a continued notice of intent for a proposed garage and driveway at 61 Baker Road after the applicant rotated the building to preserve trees and agreed to revise mitigation plantings per commission suggestions.
The Yarmouth Conservation Commission on May 1 accepted revisions to a previously filed notice of intent for a garage and driveway at 61 Baker Road and voted to approve the project with special conditions after the applicant agreed to swap some proposed plantings and to provide a revised mitigation plan.
Kieran Healy, a land surveyor with VSC Group representing owners Keith and Claire Felter, told the commission he rotated the proposed building and shifted the driveway slightly to preserve two cedar trees and salvage a 14‑inch specimen previously slated for removal. Healy said the changes allowed the project to retain a significant tree and move the driveway farther from the bordering vegetated wetland.
Nut graf: Commissioners asked the applicants to adjust the mitigation species and spacing: the board recommended replacing some proposed hazelnut plantings with white pine and tightening spacing on one‑gallon specimens to conform with Barnstable County spacing guidance. The commission voted to approve the project with special conditions and the condition that the applicant file a revised planting plan showing the swaps.
Healy said the owners are willing to modify the planting list and that some plant material initially suggested by the homeowners might be replaced by larger‑caliper trees such as white pine or oak. He also said the homeowners would fill a small, seldom‑used pathway to make space for the proposed mitigation plantings.
Commission staff asked the applicant to rework spacing for one‑gallon shrubs; the applicant replied that spacing had been chosen to reflect mature sizes but agreed to revise to the county’s suggested spacing when submitting the revised mitigation plan. The commission also asked for a revised planting plan showing five white pines in place of some hazelnut selections; Healy said he would submit the updated plan.
A motion to approve the project with special conditions, including the required revised planting plan, carried by voice vote.
Ending: The commission’s approval is conditioned on receipt of the revised mitigation plan and on the applicant following the town’s special conditions for work in the wetland buffer.
