Swansea Planning Board hears hours of public comment on wetlands amendments; splits on recommendations to warrant

The Swansea Planning Board held a public hearing Jan. 9 on a package of zoning amendments the Conservation Commission proposes to create a Wetlands Conservation District (WCD) and add a 75-foot naturally vegetated upland buffer around wetlands. The board and members of the public debated habitat protection, septic setbacks, development limits and how property owners would seek relief through variances or a conditional-use process.

The Conservation Commission presenter, Sherry, summarized the town’s ecological review and why the commission proposed changes. “We have 374 wetlands in Swansea,” Sherry said, and “wetlands number about 2,824 acres in Swansea.” She said the commission hired an ecological consultant in 2023 to evaluate town wetlands and found many sites lack naturally vegetated buffers that protect flood storage, groundwater recharge and wildlife habitat.

Why this matters: supporters said the changes are intended to preserve flood control and water quality, and to bring local rules into alignment with a recent wetlands evaluation and the town’s open-space plan. Opponents — including engineers, local business owners and several residents — warned the proposed text as written would impose steep limits on property use, create practical takings for some lots and block reasonable access or development in areas that the town previously invested to develop.

Engineer John Newman of Gilstone Consultants showed multiple commercial parcels in the Safford Drive industrial area and said the proposed buffer would remove large swaths of previously developable land. “This project would almost be…nonbuildable at this…