Myrtle Square resident Patti Amaral said she awoke Oct. 25 to the sound of a wood chipper coming from the Emerald Forest.
Amaral, who has long worked to keep the property clean and fenced off, texted the new owner of three retail condominiums on Whistlestop Way adjacent to the woods and wetland owned in common as part of the commercial property.
She was told a crew was clearing the overgrowth, but what she saw rattled her.
A landscaping crew had taken down the chain-link fence and cleared a wide swath of vegetation, including the invasive phragmites or common reed, and several trees about 20-30 feet from the road to the tree line.
The clearing, which exposed lots of trash thrown in the brush and reeds, went around the southwestern portion of the perimeter from a wooden stockade fence to Maplewood Avenue.
Crews had also cleared the corner on Maplewood Avenue and Whistlestop Way where the sign for the property is located. Amaral, who estimates the wooded area and wetlands to be about 3 acres, figures about half the wetland was destroyed.
The clearing has drawn the interest of the city’s Conservation Commission which has it on its agenda for a meeting Wednesday under the heading of “Violations” as “unpermitted clearing of vegetation in Bordering Vegetated Wetland and Buffer Zone.” A Zoom link to the 5:30 p.m. meeting can be found on the event calendar on the city’s website, gloucester-ma.gov.
“The vegetation removal along Whistlestop Way was an unpermitted activity within an area under the jurisdiction of the Conservation Commission,” Charles “Chuck” Schade, the city’s conservation agent, wrote in an email. “The commissioners are aware of the situation.”
The wooded area is held in common by the owners of the five commercial condominiums in three buildings on Whistlestop Way, according to city records and the 2006 master deed for the Myrtle Square Condominium. The entire property is about 6.74 acres.
In late September, Gloucester-based Braga Ventures Three LLC sold Units A-1, A-2 and A-3 in Building A to Second Whistlestop Way LLC of Rowley for $3 million. The manager of Second Whistlestop Way LLC is Anthony Simboli, according to the Secretary of State’s corporations division.
Simboli wrote in a text message: “We really want to continue the cleanup along the roadside. We have already removed some trash from the area, that is our goal.” He said a tire, a propane tank and areas hidden behind the weeds where it looked like people had bedded down were found.
When Amaral learned about the extent of the clearing Oct. 25, she said she tried to call officials at the City Hall Annex on Pond Road to no avail. She wanted to know if the property owner had received permission from the Conservation Commission.
That Friday afternoon, when she drove up and finally saw the extent of the clearing, she was beside herself.
“It’s heartbreaking,” said Amaral, noting the only two green spaces in the downtown are the Emerald Forest and Burnham’s Field.
“The Emerald Forest is the only inner-city wooded wetlands located near Whistlestop Way.” This and an adjacent area was once known as the “Great Harbor Swamp,” she said in an email.
The land acts like a “giant leaching field,” receiving runoff from the upland area near School House Road.
“Maplewood Avenue,” Amaral said, “was once called the ‘Floating Road’ as trees had to be laid in the roadway for carts to pass. Due to the buildup of the area, the water flows underground or through daylight streaming.
“When the water levels rose in the swamp,” she said, “a small river would form and traverse toward the waterfront. The ground soil here in this location is estimated to be 25-feet deep with peat.”
In 2000, the area was designated a wetland during a development proposal for the site, and the wetlands can be seen on a map by Winchester Engineering Associates, Amaral said.
“This wetland cannot be replicated in any part of our inner city, it needs to be protected,” she said.
Conditions placed on the wetland by the Conservation Commission have not been enforced over the years.
“Sadly, this wetland has not been protected,” Amaral said. “I am hoping for protection for this wetland, for it to be delineated as it hasn’t been for quite some time.”
Ethan Forman may be contacted at 978-675-2714, or at eforman@northofboston.com.