8/19/2004 CONSERVATION COMMISSION Minutes

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build on therm, we can tear thea up, we can rip out the vegetation, and it doesn't really matter. He thinks ifs pretty clear under Chapter 172 that it does matter. The coastal banks are important and our resource areas are worth defending. if we approve this project, future projects will come before us and say it"s just a coastal bank—it dbesn#t really matter. Refer-ring to the Sabatia report submitted March 1 , 20041, Ms. Turano-Flores said in no way are they are saying that coastal banks are not important in Mashpee, that the regulations should be done away with, and that they can nop it up irrespective of the regulations. They believe their proposal meets the performance standards for coastal banks, because in their opinion and she believes the opinion of the Commission's expert, although he is not here they will not impair the values presented by this coastal bank. To the extent that there is storm damage prevention and flood control, all construction vil be above the 100 year flood elevation. The most significant aspect the Commission is talking about here is the wildlife habitat, and in your own experts report of March 1 ev 20041 he states, "Due to the development of all the surrounding lots along i Suri mersea Road and the shoreline of Ockway Bay, and due to the small size of the subject parcel located at 86 Summersea Road, the vegetated upland portion of lot, including land I i subject to coastal storm flooding and coastal bank, are likely to have only minimal VWldlife habitat potential's He concludes "The developed nature of the surrounding lots and the small size of the subject parcel provide.for only minimal wildlife habitat potential. She said she has great respect for lir. Talbot and hearts him cite in Supreme court our guidelines for activities within a naturally vegetated buffer zone. She took this seriously as well as the talk about the two most important components of wildlife habitat being plant community structure, plant species composition, and the vertical layering of both. She asked Don Schall to come up vAth a plan where they are taking a lot with minimal VAIdlife habitat value, and even though they are asking to build a house, they are enhancing v ldlife habitat value on this tot. Michael Talbot said the only problem with that statement is that Ms. Tores-Flores said all work would be above that flood plain line. Obviously, the preponderance of the work is below the flood plain line. The footprint of the house shovers the construction line right up to the hay bale line, which,he still is not sure the contractor can do. He said that because the preponderance of the work is actually on the coastal bank itself(almost the whole house is on the coastal bank),, and Mashpee specifically protects coastal banks from that amount of alteration, % or 100 sq. t., whichever is less), this project goes way beyond what is pen nutable under chapter 172. That is has point. Michael Talbot said there is obviously a large area of what is now vegetated. The first plant community structure v ll be gone, and around the periphery will be some trees and new shrubs pert in,, but obviously the significant portion of that vegetation W11 be gone. Len asked if there is any mitigation that can be added. Michael said he thought there is a nice attempt at mr gation# he-s not suggesting that's it. ,jack said fire's satisfied with the wildlife habitat issue based on representation we have from expel, but he's not comfortable with the coastal bank issue. T1s. Turano-Flores said this is very important in that this is otherwise a buildable lot, it's of the right size: They need to know what else can be done to mitigate the coastal bank concem. The delineation of the crustal hank was for the Board of Health purposes. 6