Littleton Conservation Commission Closes Three Public Hearings in Single Night

LITTLETON — December 5, 2023 — Littleton Conservation Commission closes three public hearings and issues four certificates of compliance at busy December 5 meeting. The commission voted unanimously to approve an order of conditions for a National Grid horizontal directional drilling project on Mill Road (DEP 204-996), requiring secondary containment around the drill rig; to approve an abbreviated notice of intent for a deck and shed replacement at 5 Kaleva Road (DEP 204-984); and to close a months-long public hearing on the MassDOT Gloucester Street reconstruction (DEP 204-991), which proposes a new 10-foot shared-use path, full-depth pavement reclamation, and water main replacement, with a tree replacement plan calling for 88 new plantings against 43 removals. Member Ed Fultz noted his discomfort with the project before voting yes: "We're adding a significant amount of additional impervious surface and we're taking it a lot closer to the wetlands." The board also granted a three-year extension to Water and Wetland for Fort Pond curly-leaf pondweed management, heard a groundwater monitoring update showing salt concentrations rising above threshold levels in wells adjacent to the Amazon Monarch Drive facility, and began first-draft discussions of a tree protection policy set to return December 19.