Town of Dublin, NH - Conservation Commission Minutes March 12, 2008

Dublin Conservation Commission

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Attending: Jack Lewis (chair), Karen Bunch, Suzan Macy, Ned Whitney, Sue Yarger, Selectman Sterling Abram and Jerry Branch

The minutes of the meeting of Wednesday, February 20, 2008 were reviewed and approved.

Permit and Advisory Signoffs: The Commission reviewed and revised the draft procedures and report format for Commission signoffs. The Commission then unanimously approved the revised procedures. A copy of the procedures and report format is attached to these minutes.

Property Monitoring: The commission reviewed the listing of properties for which the Conservation Commission has monitoring or management responsibility. There are 18 properties where the Commission has responsibility for monitoring to ensure that easements are being adhered to. 15 of these properties are ones that the town acquired with funding from the state through the Land Conservation Investment Program (LCIP) in the early 1990s. The LCIP’s successor, the NH Office of Energy and Planning (OEP), holds a backup easement. The other 3 are privately owned properties where conservation easements have been granted to the town and backup easements have been granted to either the OEP or the Forest Society. In each of the 18 cases the backup holder expects an annual report on the condition of each property.

There are also 5 properties which the town owns which have some claim to conservation status. All 23 properties are listed on the attached report Dublin Properties Needing DCC Monitoring.

The Commission members agreed that monitoring was an important part of their responsibilities and set April 19 as LCIP property monitoring day for the Commission members. The specific time and departure location will be set at the Commission’s next meeting, in early April.

Coordination with Dublin School: The Commission heard that a number of Dublin School students would like to participate in specific maintenance or cleanup activities during the school year, especially activities near the school. The school is also interested in longer term efforts such as use planning and/or establishing benchmarks and monitoring change over the years in an area such as the town’s property on Lower Jaffrey Road or the Beech Hill property. However the school would prefer to wait for the arrival of its new headmaster before committing to a long term program.

Knotweed Control: The Commission reviewed the information gathered by Sue Yarger about the control of Japanese knotweed infestations, and decided to take a number of steps to deal with this invasive:

1. Pick a test area (e.g. near the post office, one of the Church Street infestations, Upper Jaffrey Road near Route 101

2. Experiment with the use of Roundup in the spring (though this is not a standard part of knotweed control)

3. Recheck the list of Japanese Knotweed infestations put together in September 2004 for currency and completeness (The listing is attached to the minutes.)

4. Publicize knotweed management recommendations, including placing an article in the Advocate in August, when serious control efforts would normally start

5. Investigate the cost of the black ground cover needed to cover treated infestations to prevent resurgence, with the aim of determining whether it makes sense to subsidize the cost of the plastic for landowners who want to deal with infestations on their properties.

6. Actually cut, treat and cover one or more infestations, and publicize the activity with explanatory signs at each location

Open Space: Jack Lewis mentioned that the draft Open Space plan was in good shape and that another Public Information Meeting had been scheduled for April 5 at the Library.

Dublin Lake: Karen Bunch reported that the application for a Lake Host program grant for 2008 had been filed, and that the program should cost the town little more than the cost of membership in the NH Lakes Association.

Bridge Replacement: Sterling Abram reported that the Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) approved the project to replace the Old Marlborough Road bridge. The approval came through on March 12.

Meeting Schedule: The Commission decided to continue to meet at 7 PM on the second Wednesday evening of each month. The next meeting scheduled for April 9, 2008.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:43 PM.

Permit and Advisory Investigation and Signoff Procedures

1) It is appropriate to rely on the Code Enforcement Officer to refer to the Commission permit situations where there might be a need for Conservation Commission review. The Code Enforcement Officer will refer to the Commission any case which is at all likely to have natural resources or environmental implications.

2) The Commission will have at least one and preferably two Commission members or alternates review, through a site visit, each referred local permit request, each case where a variance is being requested of the Zoning Board of Adjustment, and each NH Department of Environmental Services permit which requires Conservation Commission signoff for expedited approval.

3) Each site visit will result in a written report substantially in the form of the attached form. Each completed review report will become a part of the Commission’s records.

4) If none of the on site reviewers find a reason for concern about the action being contemplated by the permit request, one of the reviewing Commission members will sign off on the permit. That sign-off will be reported to and recorded at the next regular meeting of the Commission.

5) If one or more of the on site reviewers finds reason for concern, all Commission members will be notified of the concern by e-mail, and they will be given an opportunity to inspect the potentially affected area. The Commission will discuss the situation at their next regular meeting and vote on the action to be taken at that time. If circumstances are such that quicker action by the Commission is desired, the Chair of the Commission will attempt to set up a special meeting of the Commission to deal with the situation.

6) Any time something more than a permit signoff is required (e.g. a letter of support for or opposition to a specific variance request or enforcement action) the Commission will discuss the situation at a meeting and vote on the action to be taken.

Adopted: March 12, 2008

Dublin Conservation Commission

Report of Property/Project Review

Owner:__________________ Map/Lot:_______ Street Address:______________________

1. Reason for Commission Involvement (e.g. permit request, variance request, NHDES involvement, citizen complaint, conservation opportunity)

2. Description of property/project (location, size, what’s to be built/done, hoped for start date)

3. Listing of previous concerns/issues, if any.

4. Listing of features of special concern (e.g. wetlands, possible vernal pools, streams, forest clearings, shoreline involvement, presence of invasive plants, unpermitted activity)

5. Listing of contacts (people and agencies). Provide name, phone number, address, email address

6. Conclusions/ comments of the viewer

7. Date and results of vote, if any, by the Conservation Commission.

8. Those informed of the Commissions action including the date and method of communication.

Reviewer: ______________________ _______________________ Date: ________________

Printed Name Signature

Dublin Properties Needing DCC Monitoring

Properties needing monitoring: There are 18 properties which need monitoring:

There are 15 town owned properties that were part of the Land Conservation investment Program (LCIP)~of the early 1990's.~ The state holds~a backup executory contract and expects us to monitor these properties annually and to report our findings to them.

There is one~privately owned property where the town holds a conservation easement and the state holds a backup LCIP~executory contract. The state expects us to monitor this property annually and to report our findings to them. The property is

~- Map 4 Lot 37: 1.06 acres of land under Stanley Brook on Lower Jaffrey Road just south of Goldmine Road which is owned by Carl Bennett.

There are two privately owned properties where the town holds a conservation easement and the Forest Society holds a backup executory contract. The Forest Society expects us to monitor these properties annually and to report our findings to them. These properties are:

~- Map 9 Lot 2: 5 acres on the northeast side of the~corner of Lake Road where it meets Old Marlborough Road~which is~owned by Louisa Spencer; and

- Map 3 Lot 24B: 28 acres west and north of Page Road where it turns west~which is~owned by Harvey Edelkind.

Other conservation-related town owned properties:

In addition to the above properties, there are~5 town owned properties with some claim to conservation status but no requirement for monitoring by the Conservation Commission:

- Map 1 Lot 2 is the "Town Forest", 150 acres~on~the west side of~Old Troy Road in~the southwest corner of Dublin.~ The Forest Society holds an easement on this property and monitors it regularly.

~- Map 8~Lot 3 is the 8.35 acres of land behind Life Safety on Lower Jaffrey Road.~ The Monadnock Conservancy holds an easement on this property and monitors it regularly.

~- Map 4 lot 36 is 12.5 acres of wet backland near Goldmine Road and abutting Mud Pond.~ The owner of record is the Conservation Commission, and it is to be "held in its natural state forever".

~- Map 5 Lot 43 is the 41 acres of land on the east side of Howe Reservoir~including access~from Route 101.~ The property was given to the town to be managed by the Conservation Commission, potentially~for recreational purposes.

~- Map 17 Lot 11-A is the 15.7 acres of backland behind the Dublin Consolidated School.~ While it has no deeded restrictions, a vote at Town Meeting stated~that the land was to be used for recreation for the school and the Town.

The remaining conservation properties in town (currently 41 properties other than the 23 above) are either owned by a conservation organization or owned privately with a conservation easement held by an organization other than the town or the DCC.~ The great majority of the 41 are connected to Mount Monadnock and involve the Forest Society either as owner or easement holder.

Dublin Knotweed Locations

Northwest corner of intersection of 101 and 137 across from Carr’s store

Between General Store and Post Office

On Dublin Road on right just past Dublin School

Near Little Red House at Dublin School

Behind Vogel’s Garage

Behind Library Parking Lot

Church Street across from Ball Field

Area surrounding Ball Field

Church Street on right just beyond Ball Field

Upper Jaffrey Road near Route 101

Lake Road near JSCrocker property

Lake Road near Wright property

North side of Route 101 just west of MacVeagh Road