Proprietor's Lodge Dock Proposal Continued for Third TimeBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
12:17PM / Sunday, September 15, 2024 | |
 Proprietor's request for a customer dock has been continued a for a third time by the Conservation Commission. |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A seasonal dock proposal at the Proprietor's Lodge has seen some changes but the neighborhood is still not on board.
Thursday's Conservation Commission meeting included concerns about the viability of the project and a resident accusing the project engineer of putting the public in danger by deeming a concrete wall structurally sound.
"Because of the amount of revisions and changes on what is a schematic drawing, I'm actually concerned. My concern just continues to grow at how viable of a proposal this actually is," abutter Cassidy Carlotto said.
"There are a number of order of conditions that are going behind this and there are a number of pieces in the proposal that continue to change."
A notice of intent application was continued for the third time pending certificates of compliance and the need for updated plans. The restaurant, located at 22 Waubeek Road on Ponstoosuc Lake, would like to install a 12-slip seasonal dock for customers.
An NOI for the same project was denied by the commission in 2019 and the applicant appealed it with the state Department of Environmental Protection, which then issued a superseding order of conditions.
That order has now expired.
Abutters have voiced opposition to the project at all three meetings, citing safety concerns with the right of way used by swimmers.
James Scalise of SK Design explained that there were some "loose ends" to correct after the last meeting. He returned with a couple of changes to the plan after meeting with the state Department of Environmental Protection on-site.
This included an updated project blueprint, invasive plant management, and a request to maintain vegetation along the shoreline.
Scalise also voiced a couple of items the team didn't want to be "sticking points" and clarified that there would be no chain link fence and the dock would be public based on the size. It had been proposed as a private dock.
He was "very comfortable" with the condition of a decades-old concrete wall that would support the project but came back with a plan that uses a concrete block for support.
There was a realization that Chapter 91, the Massachusetts Public Waterfront Act, requires stairs to allow access and the team excavated some of the wall to find cobbles and rubble behind.
Resident Daniel Miraglia said, "The engineer put the public at risk from a safety and life standpoint by certifying as an engineer and stamping that the existing wall was structurally sound."
He would like to see the application indefinitely continued, also citing the city sewer line that lies beneath the concrete wall.
Scalise clarified that he does not have concerns about the wall being stable, he simply does not want to drill holes in old concrete for stairs because its strength cannot be certified in that case without testing it.
He displayed a picture of a 16-ton excavator parked on top of the area.
"Rather than do destructive testing to the wall, it just seems simpler to put a concrete block behind it," he said.
"But if anyone in this room thinks that this wall is unstable or is a threat to public safety when it can support a 32,000-pound excavator parked on it, it's ridiculous. So I've heard enough of this. There's no chance that that wall is unstable. It's been load tested."
Abutter Josh Wells also voiced concern about the applicant's request to maintain shoreline vegetation.
"There is, from my understanding, a current notice of enforcement on the trimming that happened earlier this year at the water line," he said.
"So I'd be worried about if the permission is given to trim the top of it, that it won't stop there."
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