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Lakeville debate over citizen-sponsored wetlands bylaw ends with article tabled indefinitely

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Summary

A citizen petition to adopt a new Wetlands Protection Bylaw (Article 6) prompted extended public comment and opposition from town officials and the finance committee; a motion to table the article indefinitely passed by the required two-thirds vote.

Moderator Norman Orel opened debate on Article 6, a citizen petition to adopt a new Town of Lakeville Wetlands Protection Bylaw that would add locally enforceable protections beyond the state Wetlands Protection Act (M.G.L. c.131, §40) and 310 CMR 10. The petition text proposed a 25-foot wetland protection zone adjoining wetland resources, new protections for isolated land subject to flooding, definitions and protections for vernal pools, a 100-foot buffer for some resources, and an enforcement regime that included progressive fines ($100/$200/$300) and restoration orders.

Petitioner Martha Schroeder moved adoption ‘‘that the town adopt the wetlands protection bylaw as it is written in article 6 in the warrant.’’ Schroeder said the bylaw was intended to give local protection for wildlife…

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