Developers, planners warn proposed 75-foot wetlands buffer could halt projects; Select Board weighs asking Planning Board to delay

Chad Brand, a representative of Fieldstone Land Consultants, told the Select Board on Dec. 30 that a proposed wetlands ordinance headed to the Planning Board would impose a 75-foot “no-disturb” buffer across most wetlands and “has no balance,” a change he said could prevent planned commercial and industrial development in town.

Brand said the draft ordinance, as written, applies the buffer to all wetlands with a single, broad standard and offers no conditional-use or special-exception process to allow engineered access or mitigations. “I think it’s missing some key components that are that are really gonna have a negative impact on development in this community,” he said.

The concern, Brand and several board members said, is practical: in areas such as Safford Drive and other commercial corridors, the proposed buffer could eliminate buildable envelopes or require property owners to seek variances. Brand showed maps of several project sites, saying the change could effectively “wipe out” some previously planned or approved developments by cutting off access or parking areas.

Why it matters: the Planning Board has the ordinance on its agenda for a public meeting tomorrow, and adoption would change how wetlands are regulated townwide. Board members and Brand urged town officials and the Planning…