Tree advisory committee raises concerns about 43 Union Street plan, maps out airport planting and GIS updates

The Tree Advisory Committee discussed four substantive items at a recent meeting: an apparent driveway shown on plans for 43 Union Street, a proposal to replant roughly 20 trees in the airport parking lot, outstanding discrepancies between the committee’s Google tree map and the town GIS, and a request for a letter of support for a tree grant application.

Committee member Judy Deutsch raised the 43 Union Street issue, saying the plan submitted to the Zoning Board of Appeals showed a driveway that was not in the application or on the Historic District Commission approval. “When you have a plan that shows a driveway, I would just be really concerned that somehow that got approved without discussion,” Deutsch said. She asked whether any body had approved a curb cut or driveway for the property and noted a ZBA member had flagged the driveway during a February meeting.

The committee discussed avenues to challenge or block a curb cut if one appears on later plans. Charlie (committee member) said he would try to obtain the Historic District Commission approval plans to confirm whether a driveway was on the approved drawings. Committee members emphasized they would monitor the ZBA and other review steps to ensure the driveway issue does not “slide through” without the committee’s prior objections being considered.

Separately, Committee member Dave Shampoo proposed contacting the Airport Commission about filling empty tree planting sites in the airport parking area. “I’m thinking there’s probably about 20,” Shampoo said when describing how many vacant planting spots he estimated. He asked the committee to send an initial letter to the Airport Commission to request permission to stake proposed planting locations, to determine exact species and counts, and to ask whether the airport would contribute to installation if the original developer does not plant the trees.

Committee members discussed maintenance responsibilities. Town staff member Dale has taken primary responsibility for tree maintenance at the airport, but the committee said it would seek a clear plan for pruning and fertilization and confirm who would perform planting if the developer does not fulfill the obligation.

Members also reviewed the town’s tree inventory and mapping. Nathan Porter, the town GIS manager, was named in discussion about importing the Tree Advisory Committee’s Google map into the town GIS. Committee members said the Google map (hosted on the Tree Advisory Committee page) contains more detailed species-level information than the town GIS layer, which the committee said is presently labeled and used as a generic “street trees” layer. The group agreed to follow up to clarify whether the GIS label could be adjusted to indicate “town trees” and to schedule regular updates so the GIS does not show trees that have since been removed.

The committee agreed to provide a letter of support for a tree grant application submitted by Vince Murphy; a committee member said they would update and circulate the letter for sign-off before sending. Members also discussed outreach: one member offered to coordinate publicity through the Land and Water Council newsletter and through the committee’s web page to increase awareness of the Google map and how to use it when filing HDC applications.

The committee flagged several items for follow-up: confirm whether a driveway was actually approved for 43 Union Street and, if so, at which review step; send an introductory letter to the Airport Commission asking permission to stake planting locations and to discuss funding/installation; coordinate with the GIS manager to import and label the tree layer appropriately; and finalize and send the committee’s letter of support for the grant application.

Votes or formal roll-call tallies were not recorded in the transcript. Committee business closed with a motion to adjourn that proceeded by voice assent.