Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Veterans Memorial Beach topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Conservation commission approves Order of Conditions for Veterans Memorial Beach parking and shoreline work
Summary
The Sharon Conservation Commission closed the continued hearing for SE280-0664 and issued an Order of Conditions requiring a pre-install inspection of shoreline limits and inclusion of Mobi mats in the limit of work; the project will combine DPW paving funds with a pending DEP MVP grant application.
The Sharon Conservation Commission voted unanimously March 19 to close the continued public hearing for NOI SE280-0664 and issue an Order of Conditions permitting planned parking lot paving, stormwater work and shoreline landscaping at Veterans Memorial Beach, 82 Gunhouse St.
Town Engineer Kyle Dubuc presented revised plans showing erosion-control barriers, planting and the proposed locations for Mobi mats. He said the town will combine DPW capital funds for paving with grant funding from a pending Massachusetts DEP Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) grant, which has an application deadline next week. The grant would help fund drainage swales, a sediment forebay and a drainage basin.
Chair Peg Arguimbau and several commissioners requested specific conditions to limit disturbance along the shoreline. Arguimbau asked that the limit of work be pulled back so heavy equipment remain at least 3 feet from the water and that the Mobi mats be included within the limit of work; the commission required that the Conservation Administrator inspect the shoreline limit of work and the Mobi-mat area before that stage begins. The commission also supported a single construction entrance on the west end of the west parking lot nearest Gunhouse Street to reduce mud and sediment tracking.
Commission members noted concerns about invasive plants and degraded wetland conditions behind the west-side lot. Commissioner Susan Drisko urged restoration work and identified infestations of Japanese knotweed, buckthorn and multiflora rose; she offered to coordinate with LMAC and volunteers on potential restoration once plans and funding allow.
Motion to close the hearing and issue an Order of Conditions for SE280-0664 with the special conditions discussed: moved by Keevin Geller and seconded by Jon Wasserman. Roll-call vote: Wasserman — aye; McKeen — aye; Cremer — aye; Westman — aye; Geller — aye; Drisko — aye; Arguimbau — aye (7-0-0). The Order of Conditions will include the inspection condition and the Mobi-mat inclusion requirement.
Next steps: DPW and project consultants may pursue adjustments noted for future grant requests; any major plan changes tied to the DEP MVP application were said to be noted for later pursuit rather than required in time for the immediate grant submission.
