Cahaly v. Falmouth Conservation Commission

24 Mass. L. Rptr. 356
CourtMassachusetts Superior Court
DecidedOctober 2, 2007
DocketNo. 0629
StatusPublished

This text of 24 Mass. L. Rptr. 356 (Cahaly v. Falmouth Conservation Commission) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Massachusetts Superior Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cahaly v. Falmouth Conservation Commission, 24 Mass. L. Rptr. 356 (Mass. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

Connon, Richard F., J.

INTRODUCTION

This matter is before the court on plaintiffs appeal of the defendant’s denial of an order of conditions. Plaintiff, Ronald Cahaly (“Cahaly”), brought this action against the defendant, Falmouth Conservation Commission (“Commission”) and appeals the Commissions’ denial. The plaintiff, in his Notice of Intent, was seeking to construct an in-ground swimming pool and patio. The plaintiff in this action seeks certiori review under G.L.c. 249, §4 and declaratory judgment pursuant to G.L.c. 231A, §§1 and 2.

BACKGROUND

The present action came about as a result of the defendant Commission’s denial of plaintiffs Notice of Intent on November 14, 2005. Said Notice of Intent had been filed on April 22, 2005. The plaintiff proposed constructing an in-ground swimming pool and patio at his property located at 64 Bridge Street, Falmouth, Massachusetts. The project site is located to the rear of 64 Bridge Street, which had recently been constructed under a previous Order of Conditions dated February 11, 2003.

In a Notice of Intent filed on November 15, 2002, the plaintiff sought permission to demolish and remove an existing single-family residence and construct a single-family residence at 64 Bridge Street, Falmouth. The project included the installation of a swimming pool and a new Title V septic system. This Notice of Intent involved work in a buffer zone of approximately 5,000 square feet and a resource area (land subject to coastal storm flowage) by some 8,000 square feet. At the hearing on the plaintiffs Notice of Intent on January 15, 2003, there was much discussion of the location of the pool and patio in the buffer zone. At this meeting the plaintiff agreed to eliminate the pool and patio from the project. The plaintiff subsequently received approval for the remaining portion of the project as outlined in the Notice of Intent dated November 15, 2002.

On August 19, 2003, the plaintiff filed a second Notice of Intent regarding the installation of a pool at the rear of 64 Bridge Street, Falmouth. The project impacted the buffer zone by approximately 3,000 square feet, of which all but 100 square feet had been disturbed previously by earlier site occupation. The impact on the resource area was approximately 3,500 square feet. The project narrative submitted by the [357]*357plaintiff proposed restoring approximately 1,825 square feet of a previously disturbed buffer zone. The identified resource areas included: land under the ocean (Green Pond), salt marsh, coastal bank, and land subject to coastal storm flowage. According to the Massachusetts Natural Heritage Atlas, Estimated Habitat of Rare Wetland Wildlife, Certified Vernal Pools and High Priority Sites of Rare Species (2000-2001), there were no protected species or rare communities at the project location. All of the proposed work was to be conducted in previously disturbed areas of the buffer zone, was confined to previously developed areas of the site, and met the performance standards listed in the Falmouth Wetlands Regulations (FWR 10.18(6)(b)), which permit work to redevelop a previously developed resource area buffer. The plaintiffs planned restoration of 1,825 square feet of previously disturbed buffer zone area was 40 percent greater than the restoration required under FWR 10.18(6)(b)(5). The plaintiff also could have removed invasive plants from the area, applied loam, seeded and planted native hibiscus and woody vegetation.

On September 17,2003, the Conservation Commission conducted a hearing on plaintiffs Notice of Intent. Plaintiffs Attorney Wood suggested that the August 2003 regulations governed the project. The Commission apparently disagreed with this interpretation; on August 8, 2003, the Commission voted to deny the project without prejudice for failure to meet the performance standards of the Falmouth Wetlands Protection Act. In its written findings the Commission stated:

1. This proposed project is for redevelopment within a previously developed resource area buffer under theFWR10.18(6)(a), as revised on August 15,2003.
2. The Falmouth Conservation Commission held a public hearing on the initial iteration of this project on April 15, 2003. The plan of reference by Falmouth Engineering was dated January 6, 2003. This plan included the house under construction and a proposed swimming pool and stone patio. After hearing the Commission’s objections to the pool and patio, the proponent’s representative deleted them from the Notice of Intent filing. These objections were: (1) proposed pool’s location wholly within the velocity zone, (2) insufficient distance from the limit of work to the salt marsh, (3) insufficient distance from the limit of work to the top of the coastal bank, (4) insufficient distance from the proposed pool to the salt marsh, (5) proposed stone patio’s encroachment onto bordering vegetated wetland, and (6) no exploration of practical alternatives.
3. Falmouth Engineering’s revision plan of reference dated August 6, 2003 contained the following insufficiencies: (1) distance from the proposed stone patio to the limit was zero feet; (2) distance from the proposed pool to limit of work was five feet; (3) distance from proposed stone patio to top of coastal bank was 40 feet; (4) distance from the proposed pool to the salt marsh was 55 feet: (5) distance from the proposed pool to the top of coastal bank was 45 feet; and (6) distance from the proposed pool to the salt marsh was 60 feet.
4. FWR 10.18(6)(b)(1) states that the Conservation Commission may allow work to redevelop a previously developed resource area buffer, provided that the proposed work shall result in an improvement over existing conditions of the capacity of the resource area buffer to protect the resource area values identified in Chapter 235 of the Code of Falmouth. This proposed project would not have resulted in an improvement over existing conditions of the capacity of the resource area buffer to protect the resource area values identified in Chapter 235 of the Code of Falmouth.
5. FWR 10.18(6) (b)(c) states that the Commission may allow work to redevelop a previously developed resource area buffer, provided that the proposed work shall be located outside the resource area buffer or towards the resource area buffer boundary and away from the resource area. This proposed project was not outside the resource area buffer or towards the resource area buffer boundary and away from the resource area.
6. FWR 10.18(7)(a) and (b) refer to new development on a parcel created on or before August 15, 1998.
7. The distance from the proposed stone patio to the salt marsh was approximately 55 feet.
8. The distance from the proposed pool to the salt marsh was 60 feet.

Because the project did not meet one or more of the performance standards of the FWR, the Commission denied it without prejudice. As presented in the Notice of Intent, after the Commission’s decision the plaintiff requested and received from the Department of Environmental Protection a Superseding Order of Conditions, filed under the Wetlands Protection Act, G.L.c. 131, §40. In issuing the Superseding Order of Conditions, the Department of Environmental Protection was satisfied that the enclosed Order established a limit of work and required that the work be delineated by means of an erosion control barrier prior to the start of construction.

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Bluebook (online)
24 Mass. L. Rptr. 356, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cahaly-v-falmouth-conservation-commission-masssuperct-2007.