159 Tory Street Golf Course Cart Bridge

At a glance

Based on auto-generated captions; street names and numbers may be misheard.

What: a notice of intent (captioned 159 Tory Street, at the Thorny Lea golf course) to replace a deteriorating earthen berm and paved cart path between two ponds with an elevated timber bridge on 12-inch pilings, a project of roughly half a million dollars.
Where it stands: the commission closed the hearing and issued an order of conditions on October 21.
Why it matters: the work crosses open water, bank and a 25-foot no-touch zone (about 160 square feet of unavoidable impact), but removes impervious cover and adds open water habitat.

The commission's peer reviewer (Weston and Sampson, as captioned) found its comments addressed. It agreed the project fits the limited-project provision for footbridges and that stormwater standards are met.
Mitigation includes a turtle nesting area of 12 to 18 inches of clean sand in a contained depression near the 18th fairway.
Special conditions: extra filter bags for dewatering; turbidity monitoring of bypass discharge, stopping if visible; field verification of water depths before sheet piling, with sheet piling preferred over sandbags; a signed illicit discharge statement before construction; a finding that bordering vegetated wetlands exist but their boundaries are not confirmed; a detail sheet or narrative for the turtle habitat before work; signage around the turtle habitat; and weekly visits by the commission's agent during active construction (the commission chose this over a paid environmental monitor, which would add cost). A pre-construction meeting will decide whether a turbidity curtain is needed.
Work is expected to start in November and take a few weeks. No one from the public attended.

2026-10-21 - Conservation Commission - Order of conditions issued by roll call after the peer review summary.