Planning board advances wetlands conservation amendments proposing 75-foot upland buffer; public hearing set

Sherry, a member of the Conservation Commission who presented the Moosewood Ecological study, outlined proposed zoning amendments to the town’s Wetlands Conservation District that would add a 75-foot naturally vegetated upland buffer and expand the district’s development setbacks and permitted/prohibited uses.

“Moosewood Ecological noted that the functions of many of our wetlands in town are compromised due to the loss of a naturally vegetated buffer,” Sherry said, explaining the study’s finding that the current overlay allows buffer alteration and therefore doesn’t meet its stated purposes.

Why it matters: The amendments would change what builders and private property owners can do in upland areas adjacent to freshwater wetlands. They are written to affect new development and to exempt certain waterbodies already regulated under the Shoreland Protection District (lakes, ponds, designated rivers) and man-made features…