Key Notes from the Conservation Commission (ConCom) meeting, September 12, 2023, Hybrid

National Grid will plant 40 trees around Town and would like instructions as to where in Town to plant them. Patrick White suggested a 40-tree apple orchard. ConCom supported the idea at 20 apple trees with other trees planted along the river as well as the few already planted.

The letter written by the ConCom consultant to the Railroad company pressing with dates by which steps toward removing the creosote-laden railway ties must be removed was not mailed. The Vise Chair Lisa Bozzuto will follow up.

On Wheatleigh Drive a resident clear cut the front lawn, planted grass, and installed a chain link fence. Each of those things are in violation of Town bylaws. According to the Town Stormwater Bylaw, an area exceeding 10,000 sq. ft. cannot be clear cut without a permit, and chain link fences are not permitted.

PB Member Marie Raftery attended the ConCom meeting and said it was decided that at the next PB meeting, zoning bylaw changes would be discussed. Raftery invited ConCom to consider what zoning bylaw changes it might recommend and submit them to PB.

Editor's note: For two years under the Chairmanship of Bill Vogt, with an $80,000 budget for consultants, the PB discussed zoning. There were no zoning changes. Before that, under the Chairmanship of Kate Fetcher a committee of members from Planning Board, ConCom, ZBA, and more studied our local zoning bylaws with the assistance of a paid consultant. Raftery's suggestion to ConCom seemed both beyond the scope of what was actually decided at the Sept 5 PB meeting (Video of the 22-minute PB meeting available at CTSB.org) and what was necessary after years of study.

Photo: Blue Moon Images/Dana Goedewaagen