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Commission conditions temporary crossing plans for East Hodgees Street after questions about mat method and contractor proof
Summary
Norton conservation commissioners asked the applicant for East Hodgees Street to either use the originally proposed assembled mat roadway (33 mats) or to require the contractor to provide engineering proof that a smaller swing-and-reuse mat method would not widen the impact. The board also noted board-of-health inspection logistics and will vote on the order at the next meeting.
The Norton Conservation Commission pressed the applicant for 250-1199 (East Hodgees Street) on Feb. 23 over how heavy equipment would access upland test pits and the potential for expanded impacts to wetland buffers.
Brian Dunn of MBL Land Development said the team staked the center line, buffer limits and erosion-control limits on site and added plan details showing staging, equipment storage outside the buffer, and a construction sequence. "We went out and had our surveyor stake out again the center line and both sides of this crossing," Dunn said, describing blue buffer flags and orange erosion-control flags placed on site.
Commission member Joe repeatedly questioned whether a proposed "swing" method — using three to four overlapping mats that are lifted and rotated — would keep operations within the approved envelope. Joe pressed for engineering proof that an 18,000‑lb zero-tail-swing excavator could rotate on the mats without widening the operational footprint. The applicant's contractor, Charbell Latou, confirmed he would perform the excavation work and be on-site for mat installation.
The board discussed two options: require the applicant to return to the original plan showing a connected, bolted assembly of roughly 33 mats forming a single temporary roadway, or accept the smaller overlapping-mat procedure only if the contractor provides certified construction means-and-methods calculations demonstrating the machine will remain inside the limit of work. Staff and a board-of-health agent also flagged practical inspection concerns: the board-of-health inspector needs a stable roadway to access test pits and perform percolation tests, and an assembled mat roadway makes inspection logistics simpler.
Dunn said he could incorporate the commission's condition or revert to the 33-mat approach; commissioners indicated they would add a condition requiring either the assembled roadway or contractor-supplied proof. The commission closed the public hearing and asked staff to draft an order of conditions reflecting that choice so the applicant can move forward with board-of-health filings and percolation testing.
What happens next: staff will prepare an order of conditions for the next meeting; the applicant may either supply contractor engineering evidence that the swing method stays within the envelope or revise the plan to show the full 33-mat assembled roadway before the order is issued.
