Public Hearing Notice: Upper Unions St Solar Project - Sep 11

Franklin Planning Board 

Public Hearing Notice

In accordance with the Town of Franklin Zoning By-Laws, the Franklin Planning Board will hold a public hearing at the Town Hall (and can also be attended remotely) on Monday, September 11, 2023 at 7:00 PM in the Town Council Chambers of the Franklin Municipal Building, 355 East Central Street, for a Scenic Road application for the tearing down or destruction of stone walls off of Upper Union Street, prepared by VS Union Solar Smart, LLC, Dana Point CA.

The proposed road improvements will include the removal of 30 feet of a stone wall and the construction of an access drive to a ground mounted solar facility for vehicles and interconnection purposes.

Please note: This will be your only written notice of this public hearing. Should the Planning Board vote to continue this Public Hearing, the date and time will be posted on the Planning Board’s website under Agendas.

Please contact the Department of Planning & Community Development at (508) 520-4907 if you require further information or if you need to make arrangements to provide translation services for the hearing impaired, or for persons with language barriers.

Copies of the plan and supporting documentation may be reviewed in the Department of Planning & Community Development during regular office hours.

Greg Rondeau, Chairman

Shared from - >  https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/agendas/public_hearing_notice_-upper_union_street_solar-scenic_road_0.pdf

Possible resemblance to the stone walls in question (these are on Dacey Field)

The Guardian: "Back to the stone age: the sustainable building material we’ve all been waiting for…"

"It’s strong, plentiful and fireproof, as well as beautiful, yet stone has long been supplanted in the building industry by energy-consuming steel, concrete and brick. A trio of advocates for this age-old material say it’s time for a rethink

Imagine a building material that is beautiful, strong, plentiful, durable and fireproof, whose use requires low levels of energy and low emissions of greenhouse gases. It is one of the most ancient known to humanity, the stuff of dolmens and temples and cathedrals and Cotswolds cottages, but also one whose sustainability makes it well-suited to the future. Such a material, according to a growing body of opinion in the world of construction, is among us. It’s called stone.

Last week I sat in the roof garden of a hefty pile of masonry in central London, talking to three advocates of this magnificent substance: engineer Steve Webb, Pierre Bidaud of the Rutland-based Stonemasonry Company and architect Amin Taha. My initial request, driven by a journalistic preference for highlighting individuals, had been to meet Taha alone, but he pointed out that their work is a collaboration of different disciplines. The building on top of which we met is their joint creation: the six-storey, five-year-old Clerkenwell block where Taha has his office and his home."

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2023/aug/06/back-to-the-stone-age-the-sustainable-building-material-weve-all-been-waiting-for-amin-taha-groupwork-webb-yates-the-stonemasonry-company

Everyday luxury: affordable housing near Palma, Mallorca, built by Balearic social housing institute Ibavi, constructed from load‑bearing stone quarried locally. Photograph: José Hevia

Second Sunday Speaker Series: Leigh Schoberth, "Stone Walls of New England" - May 8

Join us at the Franklin Historical Museum Sunday, May 8 as Historic New England's Leigh Schoberth presents Stone Walls of New England.

Stone walls are an iconic landscape feature of New England. They once served a functional purpose, but today they are threads through time, defining the region's historical identity. Leigh Schoberth, Senior Preservation Services Manager at Historic New England, will trace the history of stone wall building through a preservation lens. Join us to learn how to identify types of stone walls and their unique characteristics to consider when taking on repairs.

The lecture will cover the big picture history of stone walls in the region, as well as review Protections (laws) and preservation efforts and maintenance basics for homeowners. There will be time for questions as well.

Doors open at 1:00, admission is always free. The Second Sunday Speaker Series is sponsored by the Friends of the Franklin Historical Museum. 

The museum is located at 80 West Central Street, is wheelchair accessible and entry is always free.

You can also visit the Historical Museum on the web at   http://franklinhistoricalmuseum.org/   

or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/FHM02038

Franklin Historical Museum, 80 West Central St 

FM #164 "Exploring Stone Walls" - Robert M Thorson

FM #164

This internet radio show or podcast is number 164 in the series for Franklin Matters.

This recording shares the Robert M. Thorson “Exploring Stonewalls” talk at the Franklin Historical Museum held on June 9, 2019. The presentation copy he used is linked to here so you can follow along.

Robert holding the piece of 'rock' actually melted steel that he talks about at the end of the presentation

Mary Olsson provides the introduction and closing to the talk at the Historical Museum.

Without further ado, here is the audio recording (approx. 1 hour 20 minutes).

Audio file -> https://player.captivate.fm/episode/d8f929c1-d2dc-42b8-a222-559643cbcc1a

 

"Exploring Stone Walls" by Robert M Thorson from Franklin Matters

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This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but I can't do it alone. I can always use your help.

How can you help?

In particular, if you have an interest in real estate, zoning, or construction, I would like someone to help us by following the Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals, and or the Conservation Commission meetings. I’ll provide the guidance on note taking and sharing. You need to bring an inquisitive, open mind, and willingness to learn and share.

Overall:

• If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors.
• If you don't like this, please let me know.

Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements.

Thank you for listening.

For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/

If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com

The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana" c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.

I hope you enjoy!

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You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes = search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"

subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters on iTunes

Stories in Stone Walls - Apr 28

Brought to you by Stony Brook Wildlife in conjunction with the Franklin Cultural Council

Join us for a free walk at the Franklin DelCarte Recreation and Conservation Area, Saturday, April 28, starting at 11:30 a.m. Led by Doug Williams, a conservation biologist and the Director of Stony Brook, we will start with an interactive presentation focused on how and why the stone walls rose to importance in the New England landscapes. We will then walk to have a “hands on” encounter with stone walls at DelCarte itself.

Please meet at the Pleasant St. park entrance by the playground. Call Stony Brook at 508-528-3140 with any questions.

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Franklin Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

Stories in Stone Walls - Apr 28

"We just want people to know that everything's open for business"

"Though the busy season at the Franklin State Forest has passed, state officials are reminding area residents that the property remains open during the winter. 

The state Department of Conservation and Recreation put out a notice this month to promote the winter recreational use of the 843-acre forest. Park Supervisor William "Tom" Ashton said that there are many ways that locals make use of the land, even after snow has fallen. 

"During the wintertime, there are activities like snowshoeing and hiking," he said, adding that cross-country skiing and fat tire snow biking are other options. "We want to let people know that, 'Hey, we're still here - we have a beautiful park with a lot of wonderful scenery.'" 

The notice highlights the forest's pine trees as being especially scenic when they are blanketed in new snow."

Continue reading the article online
http://franklin.wickedlocal.com/news/20170116/franklin-state-forest-remains-open

• The park hiking map

http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/dcr/parks/trails/franklin.pdf

My wife and I took a walk on a recent Sunday. We started from the SNETT and then took a side trail into the State Forest to pick up the old logging trail in the forest that ended up at the water tower. It was a good walk.

winter forest land

look up once in a while, quite a view

old logging road

remnants of trees come in odd shapes

and yes, in New England forests you will find stone walls

stone tree in snow

stone tree in snow, originally uploaded by shersteve.

It is good to walk your route in reverse.

As many times as I have passed this tree, I was always coming the other way and never noticed the fine stone work where a limb once was.

Go the other way for a change.

Enjoy!