Commission hires peer reviewer and continues four Trout Brook/Edgewater NOIs amid floodplain questions

The Dover Conservation Commission voted to hire Paul McManus and EcoTec to provide third-party peer review of four Notices of Intent (DEP 1440943, 1440947, 1440948, 1440949) for parcels on Trout Brook Road and Edgewater Drive and continued the hearings to Aug. 12 at the applicants’ request. The applications propose single-family houses, septic systems, driveways and stormwater work within shallow but extensive 100-year floodplain areas associated with Trout Brook.

Applicant presenter Mark (the project's engineer) walked commissioners through site mapping, FEMA floodplain contours and compensatory storage calculations. He showed that “the area filled is 1,700 square feet, 510 cubic feet of fill. Restoration, we have 1,120 square feet, and we have 570 cubic feet,” resulting in a net change of 60 cubic feet for one septic-related fill area, and described similar compensatory-storage features for other lots. Commissioners pressed on whether compensatory storage was counted correctly, where temporary disturbance was shown on plan sheets, and whether planting and demarcation would adequately protect restored areas. Janet (the commission agent) said she had already asked town counsel whether filing the NOIs while a 40B appeal is pending was allowed “at the owner’s risk,” and recommended the peer review given the technical questions raised.

The peer review vote was unanimous and the applicant agreed to stake out houses, driveways, floodplain mitigation areas and septic outlines so commissioners and the reviewer can inspect them in the field. The commission requested clearer plan hatches to distinguish temporary disturbance from permanent compensatory-storage areas, and asked applicants to provide planting details and to verify whether any natural-heritage or core-habitat polygons affect the lots.