Votes at a glance: Worcester Conservation Commission actions on Sept. 29, 2025

WORCESTER — At its Sept. 29 meeting the Worcester Conservation Commission recorded a sequence of formal actions ranging from routine procedural postponements to issuance of orders of conditions and enforcement‑order actions.

Postponements and continuances
- The commission approved postponement/continuance requests to continue five agenda items to Oct. 20 and extend constructive grant deadlines to Nov. 11: item 3 (331 Randolph Road), item 4 (Lots 9–12 Chester Street), item 6 (624 Lakeside Avenue; Garland Street R.O.W.; Lakeside Avenue R.O.W.), item 10 (1030 Quinsigamond Avenue), and item 11 (1118 Kiara Drive). Vote: unanimous (ayes recorded by Commissioners Canton, Kirschner, and Fertoni).

Negative determinations
- RDA (Request for Determination of Applicability), 7 Pitt Street: commission voted a negative determination (no conditions specified in transcript). Vote: unanimous.
- RDA, utility maintenance at 309 Bridal Path (Massachusetts Electric Company): commission issued a negative determination (Category 2) after staff confirmed the work would occur in previously disturbed area; staff said no concerns. Vote: unanimous.
- RDA, 7 Pitt Street (porch foundation work): commission issued a negative determination and staff said a determination form will be issued within a week.

Orders of conditions issued
- NOI, 0 McCabe Way & 1393 Grafton Street: commission issued an order of conditions for after‑the‑fact approval of an expanded contractor yard and for installation of a sediment forebay and related stormwater measures. Vote: unanimous (Canton, Kirschner, Fertone recorded as aye). Condition highlights: revised plans showing ground cover; stormwater system maintenance; engineer certification of stormwater infrastructure; immediate O&M actions to be completed within 90 days and certified by a professional engineer; ongoing maintenance and wetland permitting conditions.
- NOI, 1A Corinne Street: commission issued orders of conditions for a single‑family residential development within the 100‑foot stormwater protection zone. Staff recommended and the commission adopted conditions for wood removal, dewatering, and cement truck washing; applicant to provide rain barrel(s) and native plantings as shown on revised plans. Vote: unanimous.

Certificates of compliance
- 29 East Mountain Street: commission issued a certificate of compliance for an expired/unfinished order of conditions after staff confirmed the site revegetated and erosion controls had been removed. Vote: unanimous.
- Aurora Street: commission issued a complete certificate of compliance after staff confirmed permanent markers installed and the site stabilized. Vote: unanimous.

Enforcement orders lifted
- 215 Lake Avenue (EO issued 2022): staff recommended, and the commission voted to lift the enforcement order; certificate of compliance request will return at a subsequent meeting. Vote: unanimous.
- 265 Lake Avenue: commission lifted the enforcement order; site monitoring to continue under the active order of conditions. Vote: unanimous.
- 620 Grove Street: commission lifted the enforcement order after staff confirmed the 15‑foot buffer was restored, pool structure removed, and native plantings installed. Vote: unanimous.

New enforcement order ratified
- 9 & 13 Elton Street: staff presented a newly issued enforcement order addressing unpermitted riprap slope construction, disturbed erosion controls, sediment on the street, and debris in the downstream channel. The commission ratified the enforcement order, required immediate erosion‑control and cleanup actions, and requested a wetland scientist’s remediation plan and a revised order of conditions for any changes to the approved project. Vote: unanimous.

Procedural notes
- Several items were continued because the DEP file number or staff comments were pending. Staff indicated it will circulate comments or arrange site visits where recommended.

The commission’s recorded votes were overwhelmingly unanimous on the items listed above; where the transcript did not identify motion movers, votes were recorded by roll call (Commissioners Canton, Kirschner and Fertoni/Fratoni) and recorded as “aye.”