TIMELINE: E
Exhibit E-1 — Conflicting Mapping / Current MassMapper
Map E-1 — Current MassMapper GIS View
Map Source
Massachusetts MassMapper GIS
Location: Lot 2 / Lot 3 area, Pitcher Street, Montgomery, Massachusetts
Purpose
This map documents the MassMapper GIS depiction of Lot 2 and the adjoining Pitcher Street parcels, including mapped wetland areas, parcel boundaries, topographic information, and nearby drainage features.
Summary
The MassMapper view provides one official GIS representation of the Lot 2 / Lot 3 area.
The wetland depiction shown on this map should be compared with the earlier recorded wetland plan, the later Levesque Associates delineation, MassDEP wetland mapping, National Wetlands Inventory mapping, historical photographs, and documented site conditions.
Project Locus is including this map as a comparison tool. It is not being presented as a definitive field delineation or as proof of the current regulatory wetland boundary.
Key Point
The MassMapper depiction differs in size, shape, or placement from some of the other wetland maps affecting Lot 2 and Lot 3. That difference is one reason Project Locus is seeking a current, evidence-based determination of the actual resource boundaries.
TIMELINE: - E
Map E-2 — Levesque Associates Revised Wetland Mapping, 2018–2020
Map Source
R. Levesque Associates
Wetland mapping prepared during the 2018–2020 review period
Lot 2 / Lot 3, Pitcher Street, Montgomery, Massachusetts
Purpose
This map shows the later wetland delineation prepared by Levesque Associates for Lot 2 during the 2018–2020 regulatory review.
Summary
The Levesque mapping depicts a substantially larger wetland/resource area affecting Lot 2 than is shown on some earlier recorded plans, other government mapping sources, and historical site records.
Project Locus is including this map so it can be compared directly with the earlier recorded Lot 2 / Lot 3 wetland plan, MassMapper, MassDEP mapping, National Wetlands Inventory mapping, historical photographs, and documented drainage conditions.
The earlier recorded plan depicts a wetland/resource area extending into Lot 3. The later Levesque mapping appears to concentrate substantially greater wetland constraints on Lot 2.
Project Locus has not located a recorded copy of this later Levesque wetland plan at the Hampden County Registry of Deeds.
Key Point
The important question is not simply that the maps look different.
Project Locus is seeking the records that explain why the wetland configuration changed, what field data and hydrologic information supported the later delineation, how the previously recorded Lot 3 resource area was treated, and who reviewed or approved the revised configuration.
TIMELINE: - E
Map E-3 — USGS / National Wetlands Inventory Wetlands Mapper
Map Source
USGS / U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service — National Wetlands Inventory
Map Date / Screenshot Date: March 14, 2022
Location: Lot 2, Pitcher Street, Montgomery, Massachusetts
Purpose
This map shows the wetland depiction displayed in the National Wetlands Inventory for the Lot 2 area.
Summary
The mapped wetland shown here is relatively limited in size and location when compared with other wetland depictions presented in this section.
In this mapping view, the green wetland area does not appear to extend across the driveway and does not extend far into Lot 2. Its size and placement differ substantially from later consultant and state mapping that depict a broader wetland area across the property.
This exhibit is included to show that different mapping systems depict different wetland footprints for the same general area.
The differences should be reviewed alongside the recorded wetland plans, historical photographs, survey records, drainage history, and field observations.
Key Point
The National Wetlands Inventory map shows a much more limited wetland footprint than some later wetland depictions affecting Lot 2.
This supports the need to determine why official and consultant mapping sources show materially different wetland boundaries for the same property.
TIMELINE: - E
Map E-4 — MassDEP Wetland and Wetland Change Areas Map
Map Source
Massachusetts DEP — Wetland and Wetland Change Areas Map
Imagery Shown: 2019 USGS imagery
Location: Lot 2 / Lot 3, Pitcher Street, Montgomery, Massachusetts
Current Mapping and Unresolved Driveway Issue
Carl Hale has intentionally preserved the existing mapped condition while the wetland dispute remains unresolved. Hale has not accepted a revised driveway configuration or wetland interpretation that would imply agreement that the proposed driveway constitutes a wetland violation.
The existing online mapping is therefore included as an important comparison point showing how MassDEP depicted the wetland area at the time this screenshot was captured.
Summary
This map shows the wetland area labeled WS1 in the Massachusetts DEP Wetland and Wetland Change Areas online map viewer.
The mapped wetland appears to extend across portions of the Lot 2 / Lot 3 area near the roadway and driveway area.
This exhibit is included because the size, shape, and placement of the wetland shown here differ from other mapping sources presented in this section, including the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service National Wetlands Inventory map, current MassMapper GIS view, earlier survey plans, and later consultant mapping.
These differences should be reviewed alongside historical photographs, recorded wetland documents, survey records, drainage history, and field observations to determine whether the mapped wetland boundary reflects earlier site conditions, later altered drainage, or another mapping interpretation.
Key Point
The MassDEP map appears to show a larger or differently shaped wetland footprint than some other official mapping sources.
This supports the need for a careful comparison of all wetland maps, recorded plans, historical site conditions, and documented drainage changes before relying on any single map depiction.
TIMELINE: - E
Map E-5 — MassDEP Wetland Layer, Northern View of WS1
Map Source
Massachusetts DEP — Wetland and Wetland Change Areas Map
Imagery Shown: 2019 USGS imagery
Location: Lot 2 / Lot 3 area, Pitcher Street, Montgomery, Massachusetts
Summary
This map shows a northern view of the wetland area labeled WS1 in the Massachusetts DEP Wetland and Wetland Change Areas online map viewer.
The mapped wetland appears narrow and elongated as it extends northward near Pitcher Street.
This exhibit is included to compare the MassDEP wetland depiction with other mapping sources, including the National Wetlands Inventory, MassMapper, earlier survey plans, Levesque Associates mapping, and historical site photographs.
The size, shape, and location of the wetland shown here differ from other wetland depictions reviewed in this section. These differences should be compared with the documented site history, including grading, fill activity, drainage changes, and earlier wetland records.
Owner Observation
Carl Hale recalls that several Levesque Associates vehicles were present during field work in this area while the broader site was being mapped and reviewed.
Hale also recalls that the later mapping treated drainage in relation to Cooley Brook and other downstream features in a manner he believes does not match the actual direction of water movement he observed on the property.
Project Locus is seeking the underlying field notes, survey data, hydrologic observations, and drainage calculations so those recollections can be compared with the technical record.
Key Point
This MassDEP view provides another official depiction of WS1 that should be compared with earlier records, field observations, and later consultant mapping before relying on any single wetland-boundary depiction.