The Inland Wetlands and Watercourse Commission unanimously approved an application from property owner Robert Manicasio Cascio to remove an existing house at 59 East Lake Street, reuse the foundation and footprint, and build a new home with a second floor. The commission listed standard conditions and added a $1,000 performance bond and a requirement that the applicant submit the engineer’s infiltration calculations before permits issue.

The commission’s approval matters because the property fronts the lake and the applicant proposes a stone detention/infiltration area to receive roof leader flows and to protect large trees on the lot. The applicant told the commission the work will “clean the water, get [it] through the soil” and that he plans to reuse on-site boulders to build the infiltration system while minimizing disturbance to tree roots.

At the meeting, commissioners asked about existing footing drains and the site’s sump pump connection to an older septic system. The applicant said the house may lack footing drains and that a sump pump currently discharges to the old septic system; he agreed to add interior footing drains as needed and to route them into the new stone infiltration facility. Commission staff and members also asked for the engineer’s sizing calculations for the infiltration area and recommended tying any new footing drains into the proposed leader-drain collection. The commission recorded the approval with the conditions that a $1,000 bond be posted before work begins and that the engineering calculations be filed in the project record.

The vote was unanimous among members present. The commission said erosion-control details shown on the plan (silt fence, filter sock) were acceptable but that staff should verify those details in the field and that the engineering calculations must be present in the file. The applicant said construction would start after Labor Day to avoid peak summer use of the lake and that precast piers will replace existing piers as part of the foundation work.

Commissioners emphasized the difference between discussion and requirement: while staff recommended routing footing drains to the stone basin, the formal condition is the submission of the engineer’s calculations and the $1,000 bond. The commission’s file will include the engineering calculations and the recorded condition notes.