Planning Board votes to remove proposed wetland buffers from conservation-district draft

At a meeting at Wickham Hall, the Swansea Planning Board voted to remove buffer language from the draft Wetlands Conservation District ordinance after a lengthy discussion about property impacts, ecology and process. The motion to remove buffers, made by Planning Board member Brandon Selb and seconded by Planning Board member Michael York, passed on a roll-call vote of four in favor and three opposed.

The vote matters because the draft ordinance had proposed a 75-foot naturally vegetated buffer around some wetlands and vernal pools; proponents said the buffer was a science-based compromise and a minimum to protect breeding habitat, while opponents said it would amount to a taking of private property and could prevent expected uses such as building or parking. "The science recommends a minimum 100-foot buffer. We're going easy with a 75-foot buffer," said Jay, a member of the Conservation Commission who participated in the discussion.

Board members debated both technical and practical effects. Planning Board member Richard Lane…