The Winthrop Conservation Commission approved two applications and continued two others at their monthly meeting last Wednesday night at Town Hall.
Andrew Duplin appeared before the commission seeking permission to tear down his family’s house at 119 Grovers Ave. and construct a two-story, single-family home on the lot in the same footprint.  The house would not exceed 35 feet in height. Commissioners were concerned about debris from the demolition blowing into the bay and asked that that the dumpster be covered when not in use.
The commissioners approved the request. Duplin now must get approval from the the Board of Appeals to build the home.
The commissioners also approved the request from the 3 Seal Harbor Condominium Association to make repairs to the existing stone revetment wall that has suffered damage from the sea. While the lower part of the wall that was built by the Army more than 60 years still is in good shape, the top part of the wall has suffered voids in the cement mortar holding the bricks in place.
A repair order originally was issued in 2018 to repair the wall, but the condo association is seeking to continue the new work under that order. The work is estimated to take two to four weeks and will be able to be completed entirely from the land. The request was approved unanimously.
The only caveat from the commissioners was that the work should be classified as “maintenance,†as these problems undoubtedly will happen again.
In another matter, the owners of 56 Fairview St. have been trying for more than two years to build a residence on the 9,328 square foot lot that overlooks Belle Isle Marsh. However, all of those previous proposals required zoning variances that were not granted.
Under the latest plan, which does not require a variance, the owners are seeking to tear down the current, 950 square-foot home and replace it with a duplex of 2,095 square feet.
The house will be built with a foundation on gravel to aid with drainage and will have six openings to allow a flood tide or storm surge to pass through. In addition, the two driveways will be made of brick that will allow for absorption of the water. The roof gutters will drain into a French drain, thereby reducing runoff.
One neighbor at the hearing was concerned about water sloping to her property, but the commissioners were confident that there would be less water run-off than what presently exists. It was also mentioned that some vegetation would be removed.
The request was continued to allow the commissioners to make a site visit, with the location of the new structure being staked out on the lot, before approval is given.
The owners at 5 Johnson Ave. are seeking to replace a wooden seawall with a concrete seawall in conformity with what the neighboring lot has. However, the notices of the hearing for the proposed work were deemed not to have been mailed out in a timely manner to the neighbors. The commissioners voted to continue the application until their next meeting, by which time the neighbors will have received appropriate notice.