WORCESTER, Mass. — The owner of 522 Grove Street presented a retroactive Notice of Intent on June 30 for docks and a deck along the shoreline; staff said the work had been the subject of an enforcement order issued in 2020 and that the applicant filed the required filing and received a DEP file number.

Sebastian, identifying himself as the owner, described two docks at the property — an older wooden dock and a newer aluminum dock that “can be moved in 5 minutes” — and said he and staff had worked through permitting steps. Staff reported the only impacted resource area is borderland subject to flooding and that the filing was handled as a limited project under the ordinance. Staff recommended standard order conditions with several exceptions and noted DEP had previously requested clarification about resource area delineation; staff said that follow‑up confirmed no bordering vegetated wetland on site.

Staff described proposed conditions to be satisfied prior to issuance of a certificate of compliance: providing Chapter 91 authorization where required, final as‑built measurements, and requirements for docks that any seasonal components be stored upland and secured, and that no fuel be stored within 100 feet of the lake. Staff also recommended lifting the enforcement order once the order of conditions becomes valid (appeal period elapses and recording occurs).

The applicant asked whether the existing, decades‑old wooden dock could be removed and the aluminum dock relocated to that spot. He described the old structure as very deteriorated: “It’s literally 2 loose 2 by sixes. It would be a 2 minute job, and it wouldn’t disturb the ground at all,” he said. Staff and commissioners supported adding a condition that the deteriorating wooden dock be removed as part of the order conditions.

The commission voted to adopt the recommended order conditions with the added requirement that the deteriorated wooden dock be removed; the recorded roll call showed Commissioners Kirschner, Nystrom and Chair Diane Fratoni voting in favor.