Conservation Commission Defers South Main Street Storage Project Vote to January 22

FREETOWN — January 8, 2024 — Freetown Conservation Commission closes hearing on a seven-bay contractor facility near Pay's Cove but defers its vote. The commission voted unanimously Monday to shut the public hearing on a Notice of Intent for 90 South Main Street — a proposed two-building contractor bay complex on a flood-prone parcel abutting Pay's Cove — but put off issuing an order of conditions until the January 22 meeting after the chair said he had not yet reviewed supplemental responses filed with the state Department of Environmental Protection and the Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program. The applicant's engineer from Zenith Consulting Engineers argued the project complies with riverfront and stormwater standards and said Natural Heritage's conditional approval required only timing restrictions on erosion controls to protect a mapped diamondback terrapin habitat. Commissioner Charlie Sullivan pressed the engineer on tidal flooding, asking pointedly what would happen to the proposed septic system "when the field floods like that," and suggested the project wait for a planned town sewer connection. The board also voted unanimously to continue a separate hearing for 30 Island Road Extension to January 22 and to reissue a certificate of compliance for Thomas and Patricia Kennedy at 48 Heron Avenue.