SAUGUS — The Conservation Commission voted not to issue an order of conditions regarding further development of the Berthold Street subdivision due to neighbors’ concerns of encroaching Japanese knotweed that originated in nearby wetlands.
John Dick, a wetland scientist with American Residential Construction, said that the company, which plans to construct houses on four lots on Berthold Street, has been working to eradicate the knotweed that has taken hold in the area.
“We got out to the site, and tore out all of the knotweed along the road… I went down today to look at the site, and the knotweed is re-sprouting, but it is immature, it is not flowering yet, and I am going to recommend that we go down there and do another eradication,” Dick said. “It is a death by attrition thing. You can’t make knotweed go away, and you can’t spray poison on it because it kills everything else in the environment too, so it’s going to be a long hard fight.”
Commission member William Leuci said that prior to getting an order of conditions together, he would like to see the road built out and the nearby wall fixed and re-erected.
Dick said that it is common for approval to be granted with work still to be done.
“When a lot is built, let’s say you’ve got 27 lots in a subdivision, it isn’t reasonable to have to come to the Conservation Commission and say, ‘Could we have a partial certificate of compliance of this lot?’” Dick said. “So, the rational way to do it is to get an individual order for each lot, so that when the house is built, you get a certificate of compliance and close that order out.”
Rosanne Maher, who lives near Berthold Street, said that the Japanese knotweed that has been growing in the wetlands and is now encroaching in surrounding areas is “horrible.” She said that she and her husband, Bob Maher, had been trying to stop the infestation with tarps.
“It just comes right through,” Rosanne Maher said. “It takes 10 to 12 years to try to kill it.”
Rosanne Maher expressed concern that Lot 4 of the development, which they abut, would not properly be maintained, and that without maintenance, the knotweed would run amok.
“It could affect the sale of anybody’s house… people are not stupid to Japanese knotweed and what it does. It goes through pipes, it goes through foundations. So, what do we do about it? It’s an invasive species that’s destroying properties,” Rosanne Maher said.
Dick said that Lot 4 is covered by a state Department of Environmental Protection enforcement action, which mandates that the wetland area be maintained.
“We have to come back to you for a certificate of compliance for the road, we have to come back to you for a certificate of compliance for Lots 1 and 3, and we have to go back to DEP for a comprehensive enforcement action on the whole subdivision. I can tell you right now, none of that is going to get eliminate Japanese knotweed,” Dick said. “You got a plantation of it across the street on the other side of Fiske (Avenue).”
Bob Maher said that the knotweed problem is “out of control” and suggested that the developers have a professional company come in to eradicate it from the wetlands.
He added that the knotweed is on his property, and that he “shouldn’t have to pay the price that they can use the square footage of wetlands to build their property.”
The commission voted unanimously to revert the decision to issue an order of conditions for the property back to the state, citing concerns held by neighboring properties of the development.
