Donations Needed
for legal and Engineering Consultants
"Millers River Watershed Counci (FOTL)"
c/o Joyce O'Hara
2381 Old Keene Road Athol, Ma. 01331
treasurer@friendsoftullylake.orgMinutes of First Meeting, Friends of Tully Lake, 2 October 2003
1. Leigh Youngblood (Mt. Grace Land Trust) gave a brief introduction to the proposed development by Mr. Gregg Duquette, affecting approximately 250 acres at the south end of Tully Lake in Athol. A preliminary plan for subdivision was approved by the Athol Planning Board in April. Land was reappraised, with an appraisal 3 to 4 times the value of the original appraisal. The Mt. Grace Land Trust offered $500,000 for the property, meeting fair market value. Their offer was rejected by the landowner.
The intent is to expand an existing gravel operation at the southern end of Tully Lake (northwestern edge of the Duquette parcel) from an extraction of 50,000 yards of gravel at a rate of 7 trucks per day to an extraction of approximately 1 million yards of gravel. Such an operation would require that a new road be built simply to transport the gravel to Chestnut Hill Road. Such a road would be 1.8 miles long and cost $1 million or more. Porter Transportation is apparently the company overseeing the gravel operation (a small, local, family-owned business), with advice on the development design from Barry Engineering. Apparently, Mr. Duquette was denied a permit for the 50,000-yard extraction, and he sued the town of Athol. Orange District Court ordered the town to issue the permit, with conditions. The intent is that the expanded gravel operation finance the building of the homes proposed in the subdivision; it is needed to provide the capital necessary for building. A new special permit will be required for the expanded operation.
Leigh Youngblood remarked that any opposition to the proposed development needs to be a citizen-led action. Mt. Grace can provide information but, in the interests of maintaining a constructive negotiating position with this and other landowners, does not intend to spearhead a campaign to defeat the subdivision.
2. Michael Pill, an Attorney from Shutesbury specializing in environmental law, gave a presentation on the best approaches for dealing with the development proposal. The Subdivision Control Law (consisting of town regulations promulgated by the Athol Planning Board) is the main means by which the proposed subdivision can be challenged. These laws were written in Athol during the 1970's, and as such, may have to be updated.
Among the most obvious issues is the very steep grade of road needed according to the current design. The proposed "road" is called a "connector street" currently, and may not be subject to as stringent regulations as full-scale roads. However, the traffic of large trucks down a very steep grade becomes a public safety issue. Likewise, a road would make several stream crossings. According to one abutter with a wetland on their land, there is already evidence that existing hydrology of wetlands and streams may have been altered by quarrying activity. It is clear that a professional engineer needs to assess the feasibility of the Duquette plan. Mr. Pill recommended James Avery Smith (4 Bayberry Lane, Amherst, MA (413) 256-8675, retired Town Engineer, Amherst) to review the preliminary plan. Mr. Pill also recommended that John Dietrich, a traffic engineer, could be consulted.
It is also possible for Athol residents to challenge the rapid approval of the preliminary application. If a civil appeal is granted, a de novo presentation of a plan would be required. The challenge could be sent to the Land Court in Boston, which can take 1-2 years to process.
The existing Zoning Bylaws need to be examined carefully. The existing Zoning map, filed in 1983, and updated in the 2002 Master Plan, should be obtained and reviewed to see if the preliminary plan is compliant with zoning.
According to another abutter, this is not the first time that subdivisions have been proposed for this parcel; another application (by a previous landowner) was denied by the Town of Athol in 1993.
3. Aaron Ellison (Mt. Grace land protection committee member and member, Royalston Conservation Commission) opened the floor to introduce everyone attending the meeting, discuss Mr. Pill's presentation, the possibilities for retaining his services, and next strategic steps. Twenty-nine attendees introduced themselves and their reasons for being interested in the issue. Among the concerns raised were: 1) practicalities of building new roads; 2) impacts of expanding existing quarry on traffic, noise, groundwater quality, water quality in Tully Lake, aesthetics, wildlife, and plant species; and 3) problems of "random suburbanization" and sprawl, which have affected many neighboring towns in the region. At all times it was stressed that Athol citizens need to consider the ramifications of this and future developments for themselves and to move proactively to guide intelligent development for the town.
The following actions were taken by the people attending the meeting:
The attendees adopted the name of "Friends of Tully Lake" (which has now become the domain name of the group's first web site, designed by Dave Small: http://www.friendsoftullylake.org
An appeal to the Athol Conservation Commission will be made by an abutter (or 10 citizens of Athol) to challenge a recent negative determination of applicability with respect to the gravel operation and the nearby wetland. This is feasible if it can be done during the brief time window (10 business days) since the negative determination ("with conditions") of the quarry activities was issued.
The Trustees of Reservations, which leases Tully Campground (with a commanding view of the land in question), has written a letter to the Planning Board Director, Phil Delorey (dated May 20, 2003), urging withdrawal of the original approval.
A graduate of Antioch University (Keene, New Hampshire) proposed that graduate students could be tapped to conduct a study of the impacts of the subdivision, and will contact faculty there to organize such a study.
A subcommittee of 3 people has been formed to formulate publicity for the group in the form of email announcements, a web site (see above), and letters for fundraising.
Several abutters offered to go door-to-door to canvass neighbors and inform them of the proposed development.
Fundraising has begun, and several hundred dollars were collected at the meeting.
Attendees of the meeting are making contacts to raise more funds.
Attendees are considering whether the Attorney presenting at the meeting should be retained. He has offered services at 40% of his usual retainer. There was unanimous support for retaining an attorney's services. The discussion of whether to retain Mr. Pill or another attorney was deferred to the next meeting.
The next meeting of "Friends of Tully Lake" will be on Sunday, October 19th at 4pm at the home of John and Joyce O'Hara, 2381 Old Keene Road, Athol. Please bring creative snacks to share for a pot-luck.