Commission pushes Moss Road COC to June after plantings fail to establish; staff given approval authority for revised list

The Town of Yarmouth Conservation Commission voted to continue review of a certificate-of-compliance for a property on Moss Road to June 18, citing underperforming mitigation plantings and two downspouts that discharge inside the 50-foot wetland buffer.

At the hearing staff described the site conditions and recommended a continuance to allow time to reassess the viability of the mitigation plantings and, if necessary, for addition of replacement plants. Staff noted that many of the originally installed plants are very small or have been browsed by deer and rabbits and that the plantings are not fully filling the mitigation area.

Commission discussion focused on two management questions: whether the downspouts closest to the wetland should be altered (gravel pads, dry wells, or short elbows/extensions) and whether the remnant lawn inside the mitigation area should be removed and replaced with denser plantings. One commissioner advocated leaving the current downspout arrangement if there was no erosion, while others urged steps to direct flow away from the wetland and to protect plantings with fencing or larger, less-palatable species.

The commission voted to continue the item to its June 18 meeting with the condition that a revised planting list be prepared and that staff (as referenced in the hearing) be authorized to approve that list. The commission also directed that the mitigation area contain no lawn and that the applicant coordinate with the landscaper and the commission staff on a planting and timing plan.

No enforcement hearing was scheduled at the meeting; staff indicated they would contact the landscaper and provide the commission with an updated planting plan ahead of the June 18 review.

The continuance preserves the COC process while giving the applicant time to demonstrate compliance with the original mitigation intent.