Inland Wetlands Hears About Kayak and Canoe Launch

At Wednesday's Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Agency meeting, Chairman Joe Carta asked for a report on the plans for the kayak and canoe launch into the Coginchaug River on the north end peninsula. Bruce Driska read a memo from Matt Dodge, the city's Environmental Planner. Dodge wrote that the launch will be at the edge of the city's landfill property, between the southern fenceline and the railroad tracks.

Dodge said that the proposal is for a 550 foot stone-dust access path which will lead to an anchored gangway onto a floating dock. The proposed plans are under review at the State Department of Environmental Protection, to determine if it meets their engineering and environmental requirements.

Carta told the Commissioners that because the Coginchaug is a tidal river, the review would probably be done by the State but not by the Inland Wetlands Agency.

Discussion over a subdivision plan

John Rogalsky submitted a plan to subdivide a lot on Congdon Street West, in order to build a house. Because the proposed house would be within 100 feet of wetlands, the subdivision needs approval from the Inland Wetlands Agency. Rogalsky submitted a letter from David Lord, Certified Soil Scientist, in which Lord wrote that the wetlands serve primarily as a drainage path for excess water, and "The functioning would be unaffected by the proposed subdivision."

The Commissioners were quite sympathetic to Rogalsky's desire to build his "dream home", and spent considerable effort discussing alternatives to the placement of the house, which comes to within 65 feet of the wetlands. Commissioner Ron Borrelli said that while he wanted to protect wetlands, he felt that the garage should be moved to be more convenient to the house, since it would still be about 45 feet from the wetlands.

Carta indicated that he would want to hear directly from David Lord about the impact on wetlands if the house were to be built in its current proposed position as well as in a proposed position closer to wetlands. As Lord was unable to be at last night's meeting, the application was continued until the December 1 meeting.