Littleton Conservation Commission Schedules Site Walks, Continues Three Hearings at Packed May Meeting

LITTLETON -- May 13, 2025, Littleton Conservation Commission opens hearings on wetland crossing, battery storage at busy May 13 session. The commission, meeting with four of seven members present, opened public hearings on a shared-driveway wetland crossing for two proposed residential lots at 64 Beaverbrook Road, where engineer Greg Roy of Dillison Roy Civil Design Group proposed filling 622 square feet of bordering vegetated wetland with two 12-inch culverts, and a battery energy storage system for Littleton Electric Light and Water at 97-99 Mill Road along Route 495. Chair Chase Karbadgian told the Beaverbrook Road applicant the commission would "hold really firm on 50-foot no disturb" and pushed for compliance with Massachusetts stream crossing standards, calling the proposed two-to-one wetland replication ratio a starting point rather than an acceptable floor. On the battery storage project, Karbadgian pressed for secondary containment and fire suppression plans to protect Beaver Brook, saying, "Even if the fire department says we're happy with this, that doesn't necessarily mean we're going to be comfortable with the impacts of putting out that fire to resource areas." The commission also accepted a donation of 2.66 acres on Dover Drive from John McSweeney, approved six certificates of compliance, and was forced to continue the Lake Batawanake herbicide amendment hearing for two weeks after a member recusal eliminated quorum.