Lee — Following last month’s contentious hearing on a request involving the clearing of land to construct a home, the Lee Conservation Commission voted on August 6 to impose on the applicant an enforcement order with a notice of intent.
That order, issued by the commission, occurs when there is a violation of the state’s Wetlands Protection Act and mandates the violator to stop work and mitigate for the effects of the wrongdoing.
The decision stems from allegations that Kristen and Greg O’Brien allowed trees to be cleared in a wetlands area that lies on the 9.5-acre tract at 200 Fox Drive in conjunction with their efforts to build a home.
According to Lee’s new Conservation Agent and Land Use Assistant Colby Youndt, however, the commission had not finalized the enforcement order as of August 8. “They still need to decide on the specific conditions they would like to impose, as well as solidify the order in which they would like to proceed,” Youndt responded to The Berkshire Edge in an email. The item is slated to be on the group’s meeting agenda set for August 20 at 7 p.m.
At the meeting, commission members also decided to move forward with a peer review of the project issue. “Our job is the wetlands,” Chair Kathy Arment stated. “The consultant will probably look at the delineation of the property and the wetlands.”
Background
According to a draft copy of the July 16 Conservation Commission meeting minutes obtained by The Berkshire Edge, an engineer testified that wetlands are on the property, with about 17,000 square feet of trees cut from that area. Another resident, Matthew Roche, claimed a vernal pool exists just off the property’s edge.
Commission members declined to approve those minutes at the August session, with Arment opting for the group to take time to review the lengthy transcript before their next meeting.
In between the July and August meetings, the commission conducted a site visit to the property.
At the most recent meeting, commission members boiled down options for the impacted area: restore it as a forest, replace it with a vegetative meadow harboring pollinator species, or let the site grow back naturally.
Butting heads
The session brought out neighbors whose homes surround the O’Briens’ lot, with some of those individuals filing a July 17 complaint with the commission alleging inappropriate action by one of its members. A copy of that complaint can be found here.
After the Conservation Commission rendered its August 6 decision, Gary O’Brien told The Berkshire Edge that he and his wife believe the neighbors are concerned the couple are not using the property for a residential purpose but instead for a commercial intent. Although they own a trucking company, he said the vehicles on the property are being used in the construction of their new home.
However, according to William Talbot—a signee of the July 17 complaint who lives on Fairview Street—“a lot of truckloads have scraped the land.” He said he could see onto the Fox Drive property and estimated an alleged 300 truckloads of fill have been brought onto the site. Lucy Roche, another signee, alleged the property cuts have run up to the wetlands and vernal pools.
“We will see what happens,” Talbot said.
