Littleton Conservation Commission Moves to Draft First Tree Protection Policy

LITTLETON -- March 21, 2023, Littleton Conservation Commission advances tree protection discussion and invasive plant grant. With all public hearings postponed, the March 21 commission meeting centered on an unregulated tree-clearing problem that members said has become rampant across development sites in town. Member Kyle Maxfield raised a roughly 10-acre wooded parcel at 95 Taylor Street, listed for sale as a multi-lot subdivision with a demolition permit already in hand, as a concrete example of the gap. Member Brian Crowley described repeated site visits where developers removed every tree with no oversight: "We have nothing to stop anybody. It's ridiculous." The commission agreed to formally post tree policy as a discussion item for its April 4 in-person meeting, with town consultant Matt Cahill identified as a key technical resource. Separately, the commission confirmed a Sismo Small Grant award for invasive phragmites management at the Cloverdale conservation land, with Land Stewardship Inc. contracted for the work and a July 1 completion target.