Appeals court reviews Littleton wetlands permits after disputed delineations and emergency-access arguments

A multi‑part dispute over wetlands permitting in Littleton reached the Massachusetts Appeals Court in two related appeals that concern (1) a local bylaw waiver and condition set by the Littleton Conservation Commission and (2) a Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) adjudicatory record that questioned wetland delineations on a parcel next to Fort Pond.

Appellants argued that the conservation commission erred by granting a waiver from a municipal "no‑disturb" buffer to allow widening of a cart path (proposed as a secondary driveway) rather than requiring use or upgrading of existing road access (Cottage Way or the main driveway from Shagbark). The appellants emphasized the commission’s waiver standard — which permits regulatory waivers "when, in the judgment of the commission, such action is in the public interest, necessary to avoid a taking, necessary to prevent a safety…