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Planning staff compiles open-space monitoring records; board plans outreach and graded notices
Summary
Planning staff consolidated Lucas environmental monitoring reports into a single index and the board discussed using a two-tier outreach letter (educational then compliance) and involving Open Space Preservation Commission and homeowners to improve stewardship.
Planning staff told the board Monday they have compiled open-space monitoring reports from Lucas Environmental (2018'121 to date) into a single spreadsheet index and will post the consolidated file for board review.
The index lists monitoring years, properties, recommendations and follow-up actions, staff said. The board discussed how to use the index: as an internal reference when reviewing permits, as the basis for outreach to abutters and as the source document for compliance letters. The proposed outreach would be two-tiered: an educational "you have open space" letter to raise awareness and a stronger enforcement letter for properties found in violation.
Board members urged the outreach to be collaborative and educational for most recipients; several said a softer awareness letter could reduce alarm and prevent disputes. Members also asked staff to share the draft letters with the Open Space Preservation Commission and with abutters before sending enforcement notices. Lisa Braschio volunteered to polish the template letter.
Staff noted that conservation commissions sometimes use stronger language in enforcement letters, citing an example from Westborough. The board said it would coordinate wording and enforcement thresholds with Conservation and legal counsel, and it asked staff to make the compiled index available in the shared folder for planning, conservation and open-space volunteers.
