HomeMy WebLinkAboutLong Ellis Comment Letter to Comcom 4.2.2024Letter To: The Barnstable County Conservation Commission
Subject: Proposed Vista Pruning and Landscaping at 299 Eel River Rd, Osterville, MA 02655
Dear Conservation Commission,
The Ellis family would like to express our concerns and request additional information about the Request for Determination of Applicability (“RDA”), dated March 15, 2024, with respect
to the proposed creation of a vista corridor, pruning,and landscapingwork within the fifty-foot and fifty to one hundred-foot buffer zones to wetland resources (the “Proposed Work”)
on that certain parcel of land located in Osterville, Barnstable County, Massachusetts, now known and numbered as 299 Eel River Road (the “Site”), submittedby Michael Schulz, as Trustee
of the 299 Eel River Realty Trust (the “Applicant”), as detailed on plan dated March 12, 2024, drawn by Sullivan Engineering & Consulting, Inc., entitled “Site Plan Proposed Vista Corridor
& Buffer Improvements at 299 Eel River Road Barnstable (Osterville) Mass.,” (the “Plan”).
The Proposed Workincludes the removal of trees, brushes, and other ground cover and treatment of invasive species with chemicals within the fifty-foot buffer zone to the coastal beach,
coastal banks, land under ocean, and land subject to storm flowage wetland resource areas located at the Site, which we believe would alter the said wetlands and also impact the privacy,
aesthetics, view, and property values of abutting properties.
Taking down trees and bushes and/or pruningbranches within the fifty-footbuffer zone to the wetlands will only serve to degrade the current environmental equilibrium of the Eel Riverarea
and its ability to fight erosion and stand up to storm flowage. The existing trees, bushes, and other ground coverthat the Applicant proposes to remove stabilize the soil and act as
a wind buffer for other trees and bushes in the area.We are especially concerned that removing the trees, shrubs, and ground coverwill destabilize the sand and the dune. This is a delicate
environmental area that needs protection from erosion, not unnecessary incremental exposure to the elements.
We are also concerned about the chemicals in the product RODEO, which the Applicantintends to use to kill off the poison ivy at the Site. These chemicals could negatively affectthe wetlands,endanger
the oyster beds located between our two piers, and pollute the Bay.
Additionally, we would like to knowthe size and location of the tree that will replace the olive tree that the Applicant has asked to remove.
FOR ALL OF THE ABOVE REASONS, we requestthat the Conservation Commission determine that a Notice of Intent (NOI)filing shall be required for the Proposed Work with a more thorough site
plan that delineates the locations of the wetland resources on the Site and includes details as tothetiming of the Proposed Work; equipment,machinery, and chemicals that the Applicant
intends to use; locations of specific tree limbs, bushes, undergrowth, and trees within the fifty-foot buffer zone that the Applicant proposes to remove; and locations and sizes of the
proposed plantings. We would also like additional information on the product RODEO.
The RDA filing does not provide us with enough detail to understand the impact of the work that our neighbors are proposing, whichwe believe couldalter the wetlands and negatively affectthis
highly protected area near the oyster beds, fish and wildlife refuges of West Bay, which are already designated as exceedingly fragile areas with high amounts of sulfides, erosion and
waste.
Thank you,
The Ellis Family
271 Eel River Rd
Osterville, MA 02655