Littleton Conservation Commission Demands Peer Review on Beaver Brook Wetland Boundary

LITTLETON -- July 25, 2023, Littleton Conservation Commission advances seven unanimous votes, demands peer review for Beaver Brook development boundary. At the July 25 meeting, the commission ratified an enforcement order for 107 Matawanakee Trail, issued an order of conditions for a failed-septic repair at 17 Mattawanakee Trail, approved an amended order of conditions for mechanical vegetation harvesting on Lake Matawanakee (MassDEP 204-0872), and issued certificates of compliance for 23 Grimes Lane and a New England Power Company soil boring project. The commission unanimously recommended Edward Fultz to the Select Board for appointment as a new member. The evening's most contested item was a wetland resource area delineation for a proposed five-unit open-space development at 95 Taylor Street: member Chase Garbig said the applicant's use of Google Earth satellite imagery to establish the mean annual high water mark on Beaver Brook was insufficient under 310 CMR, citing prior Littleton ANRAD determinations at 76 Whitcomb Avenue (2019) and 30 Porter Road (2015) where the line was placed "well away from the central stream course." All commissioners backed a third-party peer review of the riverfront boundary before any site walk proceeds.