Falmouth conservation commission continues enforcement hearings, issues multiple orders of conditions

The Falmouth Conservation Commission on May 20 continued multiple hearings and approved several orders of conditions covering docks, bulkhead work, beach management and water-quality installations.

Enforcement and continuances: staff reported a productive site visit with homeowner James Sahagian at 21 Davis Neck Road, where unauthorized vegetation removal had occurred in Zone A adjacent to a salt marsh. Alyssa (staff) said the mitigation plan will disperse plantings across the property, add tree material where trees had been removed, and target fall planting (staff suggested an October 15 or October 31 deadline). Sahagian told the commission he had only just received a rough mitigation plan without dimensions and asked for a further follow-up meeting; the commission agreed to continue the matter until June 3 to finalize planting details.

The enforcement hearing for 58 Westwood Road, which is under appeal, was continued to Oct. 28, 2026 while counsel and litigation proceed. A separate matter for 41 Davis Neck Road was continued to June 24 pending a revised NOI from the applicant's consultant.

Orders of conditions and mitigation requirements: the commission issued an order for work at 175 Edgewater Drive East and for a square dock at 113 Tea Ticket Path, where staff required a shellfish mitigation plan equivalent to funding or seeding 10,000 seed quahogs (staff noted seeds are typically purchased from ARC in Dennis). The commission also issued orders for Town water-quality installations (EBO and wood-chip systems) with a requirement that the Water Quality Management Committee provide monitoring reports; commissioners asked the committee to restore any restoration plantings damaged during installation. One commissioner suggested installing instantaneous sensors in a well to provide more-frequent readings, but staff noted funding and emphasized the project’s goal of tracking long-term trends rather than continuous data.

Beach management and pier projects: the commission will issue a consolidated beach-management order that places seasonal restrictions and requires additional submittals for dune enhancement; black vinyl fencing to protect piping plover nests will remain in place until chicks fledge. For a Falmouth Pier project (bulkhead removal and new slips), staff said the harbormaster recommended a boat-length limit (roughly 52–57 feet) to avoid obstructing the federal channel; the commission issued the order of conditions as discussed.

What’s next: continued hearings were scheduled (including June 3 for the Sahagian enforcement matter and June dates for other continuances). For several issued orders, staff will return with final conditions or monitoring reports as required by the orders.