Bird Peak work ongoing, despite concerns


 

SALISBURY — Concerns increased last week over work at Dario Ceppi’s property on Bird Peak, as neighbors noted a resumption of activity.

The Bird Peak Association asked the Planning and Zoning Commission to issue a cease-and-desist order for all activity at the site, known as Lot 16 of the Weltzian subdivision, at a special meeting of the commission Wednesday, Oct. 7.

Chairman Jon Higgins said Ceppi had voluntarily agreed to stop work at the site, pending the outcome of the special meeting, and that an independent engineer was hired to prepare a review and report of the work done thus far.

Marcello DeGiorgis of the Bird Peak Road Association asked the commission to require from Ceppi a complete plan for the site. He said the current work was remarkably similar to the activity the commission halted when it denied Ceppi a special permit for natural resource removal Feb. 24.

Ceppi began blasting the access road to his property off Indian Orchard Road in Lake-ville in September 2007, with the necessary town permits. The special permit was to remove the debris to another site, also owned by Ceppi.

Ceppi submitted a plan for remediation of the site in June, and Zoning Enforcement Officer Nancy Brusie has since visited the site regularly to check compliance.

But DeGiorgis said, "The present activities under no circumstances can be characterized as remedial work. They are totally similar, but even more impressive in scope to the activities carried out last year, which prompted the Feb. 24 decision."

Experts seemed to agree with the neighbors. Richard Calkins of Allied Engineering, hired by the commission to look at the site, reported at the Oct. 7 meeting that "blasting and excavation have made the slopes steeper and more unstable."

He also said "there is a cut along the south property line that looks remarkably similar to the driveway which was denied in February."

Overall, Calkins said, "The activity that has been taking place does not match" what was included in a remediation plan Ceppi submitted to the commission in June.

Dr. Erik Kiviat from Hudsonia Environmental Research and Education, who studied the site and wrote a report in January, said that his previous findings still stand, and added that four endangered species are likely to be present in the habitat that has been disturbed: the timber rattlesnake, the bog turtle, the spring salamander and the three-tooth cinqfoil plant.

Kiviat also said erosion and sediment buildup downstream from Lot 16 is of concern, and recommended an in-depth biological survey before any more work is done at the site.

Planning and Zoning Commission member Michael Kle-mens read a letter into the record, saying that in his professional opinion the Ceppi project threatens wetlands below, and that the "ecological footprint" of the activity affects the entire area, not just Lot 16.

He urged the commission to expand its scope and seek aid or advice from state environmental agencies that might be persuaded to claim jurisdiction.

In an e-mail Friday, Oct. 16, Klemens wrote he had sent a two-page letter to the state Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service asking for interpretation of jurisdiction and assistance to the commission. (The commission voted to authorize Klemens to write the letters on their behalf.)

Unfortunately for those concerned about the situation, the town’s regulations allow Ceppi to proceed, according to Higgins.

"The frustrating issue we have as a commission is there is no violation of the regulations for what he is doing, so there is no basis for issuing a cease and desist," said Higgins by e-mail, also on Oct. 16.

"This new activity is not the same project that was requested and denied in the special permit application. This new project does not require removal of any material off the site, nor is he selling the excavated material. He is displacing blasted material and excavated material to other locations on the same lot which we believe does not require a natural resource removal permit according to our regulations.

"My understanding is that once finished with the excavation ... he will grade to finish level with top soil and hydro seed this month."

In the meantime, the commission and legal counsel are considering if and how the commission can expand its authority to address the matter.

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