Westborough Eyes New Wetland Regs
A developer could technically build, with permission, directly up to the bank of a river or body of water under the town of Westborough's current regulations for wetland areas.
Town conservation commission members are trying to change that.
Westborough is following what 194 other communities in the state have already done, which is to establish rules and regulations governing wetland areas that go above and beyond the state's Wetlands Protection Act.
Under the new proposed regulations, which the Westborough conservation commission could formally adopt as early as next month, there would be setbacks near wetland areas, which could be waived by the conservation commission if the development is proved to not negatively impact the area. The size of the setback will vary based on the type of property - 50 feet for residential and 75 feet for commercial.
"The state provides minimum statewide standards for every community regarding wetlands, but each community may want to add protections that are specific to their own communities," said Kathleen Connolly, a lawyer with Murtha Cullina law firm in Boston and secretary of the Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissions.
Regulation Creation
In the fall of 2008, Westborough's Town Meeting passed a bylaw allowing the town's conservation commission to create new wetlands provisions. The bylaw, which established general rules, was approved by the state Attorney General's office and now conservation commission members are hashing out the details of the new regulations.
One of the proposed changes is to create the setbacks around the wetlands.
Proposed regulations would create setbacks around any wetland areas. That means developers would have to receive a waiver to build in these areas, changing the burden of proof. Before, developers would simply need to receive a permit to build in the area.
Another new regulation requires developers, mostly of large projects, to study the impact the development would have on off-site storm water areas.
Andrew Koenigsberg has been on the Westborough conservation commission for four years and said he's seen one too many projects that have negatively impacted nearby wetland areas, resulting in flooding for businesses and residents.
He said other town development groups, such as the planning board, for example, can require developers to study and examine the impact a project will have on traffic patterns a mile or two miles away from the development. With the newly proposed wetland regulations, the conservation commission will be able to ask developers to consider how a project will impact storm water runoff and watersheds in the surrounding areas.
Koenigsberg said the conservation commission is not attempting to hamper development or be punitive.
"We're trying to protect the interests of the town as a whole, protect the residents and businesses, and the watershed," he said.
On Tuesday night the conservation commission met to discuss the newest wetland regulations, which are posted on the town web site. Koenigsberg said a couple dozen residents and business representatives appeared, but only a handful of residents raised concerns about how the regulations would impact them.
The conservation commission will continue its public hearing on the matter on Dec. 8, at which time they could vote to adopt the new regulations.
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