Belchertown panel continues trail hearing over wetland buffer questions
Conservation · Meeting of September 14, 2026
Belchertown conservation panel presses its own trail project over wetland buffer, ratifies two enforcement orders. The commission continued the town's Lake Wallace Woods Trail rebuild after a member said "I'm worried about the precedent" of the town granting itself buffer-zone leeway on a project consultant Aaron said still delivers "direct resource area improvement." Members unanimously issued a negative determination for Cliff Bowen's new Amherst Road home and certificates of compliance for a National Grid transmission line and a 30-year-old house at 54 Dressel Avenue, the latter conditioned on replacing invasive grass with native species. Don Frederick of Sherman and Frederick Land Surveying and Engineering won unanimous ratification of an enforcement order letting owners finish unfinished 2005-era stormwater work at 9 and 11 North Main Street.
A second enforcement order, covering erosion at Pine Valley Plantation, also passed unanimously. Two unresolved tree-clearing violations, at 162 Amherst Road and 399 George Hannum Street, remain under review pending stormwater applications.
In the full story:
- Who Was There
- Organizations And Documents Referenced
- The complete report — 3,263 words
Source: the Conservation meeting of September 14, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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