EAST LYME CONSERVATION COMMISSION
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EAST LYME CONSERVATION COMMISSOIN
REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
AUGUST 6, 2007
Members Present: Ed Hafner, Chairman; Cheryl Lozanov, Alternate Members David Higgins and Joe Mingo
Also Present: Keith Hayden, Conservation Enforcement Officer
1. Pledge of Allegiance.
2. Additional Agenda Items.
None.
3. Public Delegations.
Joe Kwasniewski of 67 Walnut Hill Road stated the letters C B Y D are painted on the road in front of his property and there are hay bales there and trees have been cut down. Mr. Kwasniewski discussed potential development surrounding his property.
Mark Butterfield of 6 Upper Walnut Hill Road stated that the original plan for the Walnut Hill Subdivision plans called for a bridge and then the plan was modified to eliminate the bridge and put in a box culvert. Mr. Butterfield stated that a public hearing should have been held for that change of plan.
4. Acceptance of Minutes.
Ms. Lozanov stated that on page 2, paragraph 6, should read, “Ms. Lozanov asked “if” the storm water runoff will change.”
MOTION 1: Mr. Mingo moved to accept the minutes as amended. Seconded by Ms. Lozanov.
VOTE: Motion passed unanimously.
5. Ex-Officio Report.
No report.
6. Public Act 87-533 Matters (Pending Applications).
None.
Mr. Hafner called for a five minutes recess.
MOTION 2: Ms. Lozanov moved to add to the agenda items 7.A – Proposed By-Laws Subcommittee Report, 7.B – Cease and Desist Order – Scaccieferro – Boston Post Road – Status Report, and 7.C – 392 Boston Post Road- Wade – Notice of Violation. Seconded by Mr. Mingo.
VOTE: Motion passed unanimously.
7. Old Business.
7.A. Proposed By-Laws – Subcommittee Report.
Mr. Hafner noted that two members of the subcommittee were present.
Ms. Lozanov stated that she had typed up the recommended revisions to the by-laws.
Mr. Hafner stated that the Commission should wait until more members are present to vote on acceptance of the by-laws.
7.B. Cease & Desist Order – Scaccieferro – Boston Post Road – Status Report.
Mr. Hayden stated that he had received a letter from Clint Brown, Mr. Scaccieferro’s engineer, stating that the restoration work has been done and he sent photographs of the completed work. Mr. Hayden stated that the area has been stabilized and the Cease and Desist Order could be lifted and the engineer will continue to work on finding the cause of the water problem on the site.
MOTION 3: Ms. Lozanov moved that the Cease and Desist Order for 338 Boston Post Road be removed based on the evidence of remediation. Seconded by Mr. Higgins.
VOTE: Motion passed 3-0-1, Mr. Mingo abstained.
7.C. 392 Boston Post road – Wade – Notice of Violation.
Mr. Hayden stated that the property owner is in the process of hiring a soil scientist to delineate the wetlands on this site. They will be removing some of the logs from the site.
At this point in the meeting the Commission revisited agenda item number 3, Public Delegations.
Mark Christensen of 66 Grassy Hill Road stated that there is no reason to vote on anything the first night it is submitted. There is no need to vote tonight.
Tom Kalal of 80 Grassy Hill Road read a letter from Richard Bengtson of 67 Walnut Hill Road dated August 6, 2007, herewith submitted at Attachment A.
Kelvin Cooper of 44 Cardinal Road stated that he would like all applications to be considered and not voted on immediately. They should not be playing one commission against another. One commission gets some facts and another commission gets other facts.
Maureen Bell of 18 Upper Walnut Hill Road stated that what she has is only hearsay and the people working on the Walnut Hill Chase property told someone that this is what we do in East Lyme to get work done without a permit before meeting with Town officials. As a citizen it concerns her extremely. She just wanted the Commission to know that.
8. New Business.
8.A. 63A Walnut Hill Road – Gilligan – Notice of Violation.
Mr. Hayden stated that he had met with Mr. Gilligan, the property owner, and the excavator and told them to stop work and install sediment controls which they did and the controls were installed properly. They have hired a surveyor and an engineering firm to prepare an application for a permit.
Mr. Mingo asked if any watercourses were disturbed. Mr. Hayden stated that there had been some disturbance which had been stabilized.
8.B. Proposed Ordinance – Citations for Wetlands Violations.
8.C. Proposed Ordinance – Citation Hearing Board.
Mr. Hayden stated that the proposed ordinance were modeled after the Town of Ellington’s ordinance. One outlines the basis for assessing fines and one establishes a hearing board which would be the Board of Selectmen which makes sense if there is only an occurrence once or twice a year. The citation will have a two-tiered structure – one for violations in the upland review area and one for activity in a wetland or watercourse.
Ms. Lozanov noted that some companies may see the amount of the fines as a pittance to pay to get what they want. The fines could be based on square footage or area of disturbance. A home owner would be affected more than a big company. Mr. Hafner noted that this is a good starting point. As it is the Commission has to go to court to resolve violations. It can be changed if need be. Ms. Lozanov stated that she does not think this is heavy enough. Mr. Hafner stated that the Commission is trying to come up with something that the Board of Selectmen will support.
Mr. Mingo stated that the Board of Selectmen will have to decide if they want to act as a hearing board or not.
Mr. Hafner questioned who would be responsible for delivering citations. Mr. Hayden stated that would be left to the police.
MOTION 3: Mr. Mingo moved that the proposed ordinance for Citations for Wetland Violations and Citation Hearing Board be forwarded to the Board of Selectmen for their consideration. Seconded by Ms. Lozanov.
VOTE: Motion passed unanimously.
9. Chairman’s Report.
Mr. Hafner had no report.
10. Conservation Enforcement Officer Report.
Mr. Hayden had no report.
11. Adjournment.
MOTION 4: Ms. Lozanov moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:59 p.m. Seconded by Mr. Mingo.
VOTE: Motion passed unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Marilyn Wright, Recording Secretary