Conservation Commission

The Conservation Commission reviewed several permit matters and administrative items. Stantec’s stormwater peer review for the 31 Newton Rd NOI raised substantial design issues and the applicant requested a continuance. The Commission issued Certificates of Compliance for NOI 002-1260 (193 Lionsmouth Rd) after staff confirmed protective fencing and buffer plantings had been installed, and for NOI 002-341 (62 Lake Attitash Rd) after staff inspection found the site stable and no visible violations; the Lake Attitash COC was requested due to an OOC appearing on a title exam as the estate prepares to sell. The Commission ratified an Emergency Certification permitting cutting and pruning at 118 Pleasant Valley Rd for hazard mitigation and appointed Robert (Bob) Manseau as the Conservation Commission’s representative to the Community Preservation Committee.

Substantive project discussions included a proposed new single-family home at 58 Pleasant Valley Rd (NOI 002-1340), where the applicant presented bank restoration, native planting mitigation, and Japanese knotweed removal; the Commission requested a more specific knotweed removal plan and scheduled a site visit. For the ANRAD at 118 Pleasant Valley Rd (002-1341) staff and commissioners noted unpermitted paving and gravel fill placed into bordering vegetated wetland and flagged the need to address those issues when an NOI is filed; abutters expressed concerns about chemical knotweed treatment and potential water impacts to neighboring properties.