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Southborough Conservation Commission continues hearing on 38 Sears Road pool reconstruction in wetland buffer
Summary
The Conservation Commission continued a notice of intent for 38 Sears Road after commissioners asked the applicant to revise planting species and supply a DEP file number; the applicant agreed to update narrative language, plant list and construction access details and return April 10.
The Town of Southborough Conservation Commission on March 27 continued a public hearing on a notice of intent for work at 38 Sears Road (Map 63, Lot 14) that would reconstruct an in-ground pool, deck and associated landscaping within the 100-foot wetland buffer.
Representatives for the applicant described a plan to remove and replace an existing pool and deck in the same general footprint, reduce impervious area in the buffer slightly, and install native plantings and a dry-well recharge system for deck runoff. Bruce Ringwall of Goldsmith Press and Ringwall said the proposal would convert some landscaped lawn back to more natural lawn/grass and that the new deck would be slightly smaller than the existing structure. He also said the submitted plans added a construction access drawing and corrected erosion-control labeling from hay to straw waddles.
Commission staff and consultant reviewers raised several outstanding items. Lucas Environmental’s reviewer (Joe) told the commission he had not yet seen the revised materials submitted that morning but reported no major problems with the wetland delineation; he noted a recently cut stump near the fence, a plastic drainage pipe discharging toward the wetland, and a deposit of tennis-court material accumulated at the wetland edge that the applicant should remove by hand. Commission members asked the applicant to remove or justify two non-native species on the proposed buffer planting list and to supply the DEP (Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection) file number and the revised wetland log uploaded by Matt Morrow of Morrow Environmental.
The applicant agreed to revise the narrative to make clear the work is in the buffer (not the resource area), to ask the landscape architect to replace non-native species with native alternatives or seek a waiver with justification, and to re-submit the wetland log and construction access detail to the Commission portal and directly by email if needed. The project was continued to the Commission’s next meeting on April 10 at 7 p.m.
The hearing record contains conditions the commission asked staff to confirm at continued review, including native-only planting in the buffer unless a waiver is justified, and hand-removal of dumped material near the wetland edge. No formal order of conditions was issued at the March 27 session.
The continuation gives the applicant time to address the consultant’s comments, correct plan text and confirm the DEP reporting number before the Commission considers a final decision.
