Commission extends deadline for Disbrow Street violation, warns of fines if soil‑scientist report not provided

The Inland Wetlands Commission gave owners at 160 Disbrow Street an extension to provide a soil‑scientist delineation after the commission determined fill had been placed in the upland review area adjacent to a mapped brook.

Jason Talbot, a property representative, and other neighbors said they were uncertain about notification and raised concerns about broader neighborhood drainage issues. Commission staff said town engineering mapping depicts a brook at the site and that no permit was on record for the recent importing of fill or asphalt millings. Staff advised the property owners that a soils scientist must evaluate the site to determine whether a regulated wetland or associated regulated areas were affected.

After discussion, the commission voted to extend the deadline for submission of a soils-scientist delineation from the earlier date to March 5. The commission also required that the property owner report their status to staff by the commission's February 19 meeting; commissioners said they would consider fines beginning March 6 at $100 per day if a delineation had not been submitted and no agreed schedule for a field assessment was in place. The motion to extend carried by voice vote.

Commission staff and commissioners said they are continuing to investigate other nearby properties and patterns of drainage and fill, but emphasized that an owner who places fill in a regulated area without a permit is responsible for resolving the violation. Staff indicated typical costs for a soils-delineation report are modest (a few hundred dollars) and that a clear report will remove the requirement to obtain a commission permit if the report shows no regulated resource was disturbed.