Conservation commission reviews enforcement order at Southridge Estates, schedules site visit and discusses surveyor and neighbor outreach

The Town of Hampden Conservation Commission reviewed a recent enforcement order—issued with state involvement—related to cleared vegetation in a protected area at Southridge Estates and agreed to organize a site visit to determine property lines and the extent of disturbance.

A commission member explained the enforcement order was sent to Russ Morton as the property is registered in his name, though the member said Morton told the commission he had not performed the clearing himself. The member said the state provided photographs showing the site vegetated in February 2019 and cleared in a later image dated June 2, 2025.

The commission recounted language from the original orders of conditions (registered at the registry of deeds) that prohibited disturbance within the wetland boundary shown on the submitted site plan. The member quoted the orders’ remediation procedure: if erosion occurs, “all work shall stop and the conservation commission immediately notified by the environmental scientist,” and remediation must be approved before a notice to proceed is issued.

Commissioners said markers required by the original plan—the 25-foot offset stakes and identified pressure-treated posts—had disintegrated since the 1990s and that the commission now requires permanent markers for resource boundaries; that requirement was included in the enforcement order.

Russ Morton, who was present, described visits to the site and said property boundaries are unclear on the ground, that parts of the cleared area may fall on adjacent lots, and that the property is partly owned by a land trust he identified as Morton Land Trust. He offered to meet the commission at the site and said he would provide contact information for neighbors.

The commission agreed to attempt to contact adjacent property owners before the site visit and said it will use available rights of way to access the area if neighbors do not respond. Commissioners discussed engaging a surveyor if property-line disputes remain unresolved; a commission member said, “if there is a dispute as to property lines, we will get a surveyor.”

The meeting also covered the detention pond on the parcel; a commission member said the town highway department has not maintained the detention pond since it was constructed and that the pond has reverted toward natural conditions.

The commission scheduled a site visit for Thursday at 3:00 p.m. (meeting transcript phrasing: "Thursday the 20 sixth at 03:00 in the afternoon") and said it will notify police and local officials as a courtesy. The commission emphasized it will inspect the cleared area, confirm whether the disturbance is on Morton's property or adjacent lots, and follow the enforcement order’s remediation steps.

No remediation plan or specific fines were adopted at the meeting; the commission’s immediate actions were limited to a site inspection, neighbor outreach, and possible survey work to resolve boundaries.