By Journal Staff
The Revere Conservation Commission (ConsComm) held its regular monthly meeting last Wednesday evening (August 2) in the City Council Chambers.
Chairperson John Shue and fellow commissioners Joseph LaValle, Robert Cassidy, Samantha Woodson, Nicholas Rudolph, and Brian Averbach were on hand for the meeting.
The commission first took up three requests for determinations of applicability (i.e., whether proposed work falls within the ConsComm’s jurisdiction), taking votes on two of them, but setting aside the third for further consideration at its next meeting.
Angela Guarino-Sawaya, President of the Point of Pines Beach Association, came before the commission seeking a Determination of Applicability for the pruning, maintenance of bushes/shrubs, and beach clean-up for the coming year.
“We’ve had the same determination for the past 10 years,” said Varioso. “We may add some additional sand fencing that will protect the dunes even further.”
The commission unanimously voted for a negative determination of applicability as regards the association’s usual maintenance work, but the commissioners noted that the addition of fencing will require the association to seek approval from the ConsComm.
The commission also made a negative finding regarding the soil borings being conducted by Verdantas, LLC, a construction engineering company, for testing at Brown Circle for the clean-up of an oil spill when a tanker overturned. Jeff Little from Verdantas presented the application to the commission, with commissioners noting that test borings such as these generally do not invoke review by the ConsComm because of their minimal impact on the land.
However, the commissioners delayed taking action on the request for a Determination of Applicability by the city for its proposed project at McMackin Park to determine whether it is subject to the jurisdiction of the Wetlands Protection Act and the City of Revere environmental ordinance.
Lorena Escolero from the Revere Dept. of Planning and Community Development said the city is conducting a study to determine whether the former McMackin Little League Field and an adjacent building can be utilized for a recreation area by the city.
“I drove by and was kind of shocked to see that that was a field at one point,” noted Averbach, referring to the weed-patch that the former Little League field, once regarded as a jewel among Little League ballfields in the region, has become in recent years.
LaValle said he had “reservations about signing off on this because it is a low spot and is subject to flooding during heavy rains, which could adversely affect nearby homes” on Victoria Street.
Woodson added that if the park eventually is filled-in, it could cause a flooding problem for nearby residents and could be deemed as “isolated land subject to flooding.” However, that determination requires a finding that the land is of a sufficient size to fall within the parameters of the city’s ordinance. The commission then voted to measure the size of the property in the coming weeks and will make a decision on the Determination of Applicability at its next meeting.
In other business, Larry Beals from Beals Associates sought an Abbreviated Notice of Resource Area Delineation for the property at 195 American Legion Highway, which is owned by Vincent Conte, 190 ALH Realty, LLC, to verify the wetland boundaries for the pending construction of a storage facility building next to the Amazon Warehouse and across the highway from the Rumney Academy school building.
The site presently contains a variety of small businesses, including a Prime gas station, an auto repair facility, and a contractor’s yard. The wetlands area surrounds the site, but Beals Assoc. is seeking to establish the wetlands boundary in order to assist with the design of the building. Beals acknowledged that in order for construction to begin, the project eventually will require a Notice of Intent that will bring the project within the jurisdiction of the ConsComm.
Shue noted that several members of the commission walked the property prior to the meeting in order to determine the exact location of the wetlands area as delineated by flagging that had been placed on the property. After commissioners voiced their support for the project because it will clean up what is now an eyesore of debris, they voted unanimously to approve the boundary lines as presented.
The commission took up a request for Certificate of Compliance by the owner of 656 Ocean Ave. Shue reported that the Conservation Agent and several commissioners walked the property and agreed that the work has been completed satisfactorily. The commission then voted unanimously to approve the Certificate of Compliance.
The commission also went through the formality of issuing five other Certificates of Compliance, four from Suffolk Downs Redevelopment and a fifth from the owner of 548-580 Revere Beach Blvd., even though no work has been undertaken pursuant to the original Notice of Intent. As regards the Suffolk Downs matters, there has been a change in the floodplain which has removed the project from the local commission’s jurisdiction (the state DEP now will be the reviewing authority). As for the other, the owner never began his proposed project, leaving the ConsComm with nothing to review.
In their final business of the evening, the commissioners unanimously re-elected Shue as chairperson and Rudolph as vice-chair for the coming year.
