Conservation Committee Meeting News and Notes

The Conservation Commission met Tuesday night and tackled several agenda items. Here is a break down of the commission's deliberations and decisions: 

• Members of MassDOT and the Cambridge Water Department appealed for an overhaul of the Lexington rest area on Rte. 128 between exits 29B and 30. Catch basins from the area send runoff into the Hobbs Brook Reservoir, a source of drinking water for the city of Cambridge. Two of the basins discharge directly into the water. The committee made a motion to continue the hearing after it found the proposed plan to be incomplete. Re-grading, catch basin repair, sediment removal, and new storm water pollution prevention plans were discussed. A new parking layout for the rest stop is also being considered to reduce the amount of traffic the stop will receive.

• Cubist Pharmaceuticals' request for landscaping and redesign of its parking garage on Hayden Street brought comments from Fire Chief Bill Middlemiss regarding emergency vehicle access, and questions about a planting plan from the committee. Members decided to continue the open hearing and reconvene once the commission receives an updated plan, including how landscapers will replant after construction is completed.

• A Cook Road resident's hearing to replace a pool with a garage was continued when concerns were raised over the new structure's height and whether it would intrude on surrounding trees. The commission also had permeability questions about a walkway.

• Inadequate storm water volume tests and runoff concerns caused the committee to continue the public hearing of a Stedman Road project.

• The committee approved a Sherburne Road project for a garage expansion after the residents presented a plan in compliance of wetland buffer zones.