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Owner apologizes, abutter documents flooding as Nantucket commission orders site visit for unpermitted work at Grove Lane
Summary
At an enforcement hearing the commission reviewed substantial unpermitted fill, a berm and driveway changes at 34A Grove Lane; the owner apologized and the commission scheduled a March 31 site visit and asked for a remediation plan to remove berming and restore wetlands.
The Conservation Commission on March 19 opened enforcement action proceedings for 34A Grove Lane after staff presented photos and plans showing unpermitted changes to jurisdictional areas, including an added stone driveway, expanded decks and a berm and fill that now pond water on the abutter’s land.
Paul Santos of Nantucket Surveyors presented aerials and before-and-after photos showing the added driveway, deck infill and the berm along the shared boundary. He described fill placed in a back area that had previously functioned as wetland, and a berm and trench that now retain water on the neighboring property.
Homeowner Louis (Lewis) Brusman apologized to the commission: "This is my fault. I thought that... I was given approval from HTC and I thought I had the approval here, too." He said his intent was to delineate the property and provide safe access to the house, not to harm the neighbor, and that he would work with the commission and his surveyor to remediate the site.
Abutter Susan Lister Lock told the commission the berm had effectively created a ‘‘Hoover Dam’’ that flooded her yard and rendered portions of it marshy and unusable; she urged the commission to require removal of berming and restoration of native wetland vegetation. Commissioners expressed concern about privet and other non-native plantings in the buffer and asked the owner and representatives to prepare a remediation and restoration plan.
The commission scheduled a site visit for March 31 (late afternoon) so members could view staking and the altered topography, and asked the owner to return with a remediation plan at the next meeting. Commissioners indicated they expect substantial removal of unauthorized fill and berming and restoration of the wetland area where practicable; they also noted that any structural elements that might remain should be evaluated through a Notice of Intent process rather than as part of the enforcement order.
