Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Park Maintenance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
DCR boardwalk repairs at Cutler Park approved under RDA; filing fee waiver granted
Summary
The commission approved a negative determination allowing the Department of Conservation and Recreation to replace decking and some stringers on two Cutler Park boardwalks, granted a waiver of the bylaw filing fee, and noted DCR's habitat management plan covered the work.
The Needham Conservation Commission on May 8 approved DCR’s request to proceed with repairs to two deteriorated boardwalks at Cutler Park under a Request for Determination of Applicability and granted a waiver of the commission’s filing fee.
Alexandra Achandi, trail planner for the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, told the commission the project would replace decking and some rotten stringers on two boardwalks (one about a half‑mile, the other about a quarter‑mile) originally permitted in the 1990s. DCR said most work will be conducted from the existing boardwalk surface, with minimal stepping into a managed vegetation strip only if necessary to remove and replace rotted elements. The work is scheduled for July and will be performed by a Student Conservation Association crew overseen by DCR trail staff.
Achandi said the boardwalks lie within the 100‑year floodplain and within a Department of Fish and Game priority habitat (Priority Habitat 1181) but that DCR has a Habitat Management Plan covering routine trail maintenance and had coordinated with the Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program; Heritage determined this work fits within the existing habitat management agreement and did not require additional review.
Commissioners described the boardwalks as severely deteriorated and supported repairs on public‑safety grounds. The commission voted to close the hearing, to issue a negative determination of applicability for the proposed boardwalk repairs, and to waive the commission filing fee for the project. Staff will include appropriate determination language (including Determination C/D language as applicable) when drafting the formal decision and will mail the signed determination to the DCR contact.
