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Conservation commission requires after-the-fact reviews and issues enforcement warnings over unauthorized work
Summary
The commission required an after-the-fact Request for Determination for an unauthorized deck extension at 13 Dunes Road, agreed to issue an Enforcement Order for an unpermitted patio at 78 Bleak House Circle, and approved a warning letter halting mechanized sand removal on certain private roads until a Notice of Intent is filed.
At its June 25 meeting, the Dennis Conservation Commission directed an after-the-fact administrative review and enforcement steps in multiple compliance matters.
Agent Boyer reported that the owner of 13 Dunes Road had received an Enforcement Order after an approximately 18-inch unauthorized deck extension was added during decking replacement. The owner paid a citation and the extension was removed; the contractor, Chase Deluga, said the decking otherwise matched the original footprint. Agent Boyer told the commission he would not be comfortable approving the work via administrative review and recommended requiring an after-the-fact Request for Determination of Applicability (RDA). The commission directed Mr. Deluga to file the after-the-fact RDA.
Separately, Agent Boyer reported an unapproved 1,700-square-foot stone patio installed at 78 Bleak House Circle that, according to approved plans, places roughly half the patio within the 50-foot buffer to an isolated wetland. Agent Boyer recommended issuing an Enforcement Order requiring either removal of the patio or submission of an after-the-fact Notice of Intent and citations for the installation and violations of special conditions in the approved Order of Conditions; the commission agreed.
Agent Boyer also presented aerial imagery showing that one beach access path in the private road neighborhoods of Schofield Road, Mandigo Road and Collins Avenue has expanded from about 8 feet to roughly 30 feet, apparently through repeated mechanized maintenance that has reduced adjacent coastal dune. He recommended issuing a warning letter stopping further maintenance until property owners file a Notice of Intent so the commission can establish maintenance parameters; the commission approved the recommendation.
These actions reflect the commission’s emphasis on formal review when unpermitted work affects resource areas and its preference for Notices of Intent over retrospective administrative approvals when impacts to buffers or dunes are significant.
