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Commission approves temporary scaffolding for Spalding Coupe Bridge with daily debris‑removal condition
Summary
The Townsend Conservation Commission issued negative determinations (-2 and -3) for a request to install temporary scaffolding at 1 South Street to support siding repairs to the 1790 Spalding Coupe Bridge, adding a special condition requiring daily removal of debris from tarp containment; the vote was unanimous.
The Townsend Conservation Commission on June 24 approved the temporary installation of scaffolding around the Spalding Coupe Bridge at 1 South Street to permit restoration of exterior siding, imposing a special condition that debris captured by containment tarps be removed at the end of each work day.
The commission held a public hearing under the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act and the town wetlands bylaw on a Request for Determination of Applicability (TWWB 2026-00009) filed by the Townsend Historic Society. Engineer Frank McFarland of Dillis & Roy described the work as temporary access scaffolding placed on three sides of the 1790 bridge and said the project would not involve excavation, dredging or permanent obstructions in wetland areas.
“This project will not alter areas defined as bordering vegetated wetlands or bordering lands subject to flooding,” McFarland said, adding that adjustable jack posts would bear on existing granite blocks and that a tarp would be secured under the scaffolding to collect any debris.
Commissioners focused questions on riverbed contact points, erosion controls, lead-paint mitigation, tarp handling and storm contingency plans. McFarland told the commission he expected eight to 12 contact points on stable granite slabs and said tarps would be emptied daily; he estimated the scaffold would remain in place for about a month.
After discussion about which negative determinations were appropriate under state and local rules, the commission agreed to issue a negative -2 (work within an area subject to jurisdiction but not altering it) together with a negative -3 (buffer-zone conditions) and attached a special condition that any debris retained in tarps beneath the scaffolding be removed daily at the end of the work day. A commissioner moved to approve the determinations with that condition; the motion was seconded and passed by roll call (Mike: yes; Abigail Farley: yes; James Gates: yes; James D.: yes; Sandra Lord: yes; Brian: yes).
The agent advised the applicant that work may not proceed until the commission signs the determination and that the applicant could seek superseding determinations from the state department if needed. The commission also noted contractor licensing and containment measures would be enforced as part of the order of conditions process.
The commission signed the action at the meeting and the determination will be available to the applicant to allow work to move forward under the daily-cleaning condition.
