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Fall River commission approves restoration plan and order of conditions for Hayfield Lane property
Summary
The Fall River Conservation Commission approved an order of conditions allowing a mix of replication and restoration after a patio encroached on wetlands at 101 Hayfield Lane; the plan includes 670 square feet of replication and plantings to restore disturbed wetlands.
The Fall River Conservation Commission voted to issue an Order of Conditions for work at 101 Hayfield Lane after the property owner proposed a mix of wetland replication and restoration to offset patio encroachment.
The action matters because the plan—submitted following an enforcement inquiry—aims to restore disturbed bordering vegetated wetlands and avoid net loss of wetland functions for neighboring properties.
Dan Aguiar, the commission’s conservation agent, summarized the proposal as three work areas: the wetland under the patio (670 square feet of altered wetland), two replication areas to the north and south that together total 670 square feet, and additional restoration of about 940 square feet of previously disturbed wetland. Attorney Gregory Bland, representing the owner, said the owner “erroneously put his pavers in” after buying the house and thanked the commission for patience while consultants prepared a remediation plan. Jeffrey Coleman, the project consultant, described plantings and a horseshoe-shaped replication area around the patio and said the only relocation required would be a single roof recharge system outside the replication area.
Commission discussion included whether a fence could be placed to mark the replication boundary; the commission’s staff indicated a fence aligned with the silt barrier would be acceptable. Aguiar told the commission he recommended issuing the Order of Conditions. A motion to issue the Order of Conditions carried on a voice vote.
The approved plan calls for: 670 square feet of replication to compensate for the patio encroachment, restoration of about 940 square feet of disturbed wetland, and plantings that include highbush blueberry and sweet pepperbush in the replicated areas. The filing arose from an enforcement referral; commission staff said the property owner cooperated and secured consultants to complete the proposed remediation.
The commission closed the item after the vote. Any future changes to the plan must be submitted to the commission as amendments to the Order of Conditions.
