Lakeville commission approves enforcement order after large fill found at 52 Cliff Pond Road

The Lakeville Conservation Commission approved an enforcement order on June 10 requiring the landowner of 52 Cliff Pond Road to delineate wetlands and submit a restoration plan by July 8 after commissioners found a large area in the rear of the property covered with fill material within the wetland buffer.

Mark Minton, the conservation agent for the Town of Lakeville, told the commission the back of the property "has been filled" with what he described as "truckloads" of material, and that the material appears to be wood chips covering trees and crossing a mapped wetland. He said he met with the landowner and a potential buyer and that the commission will require a delineation of resource areas and a restoration plan before allowing further work on the parcel.

The commission approved an enforcement order written by Minton that halts most activity on the parcel until the wetlands are delineated and a restoration plan is submitted. The order requires that any on-site work be supervised by the conservation agent or a conservation commissioner and that the owner or buyer present a plan that the commission can implement through a Notice of Intent (NOI) once the plan is ready. Minton told the panel the commission is not asking for an NOI immediately so the matter does not enter a lengthy appeal process; he said enforcement orders follow a different path and can lead to DEP fines or court actions.

Minton also said the commission will notify the Massachusetts Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program and that he consulted colleagues about outcomes in similar cases. He referenced a case in Middleborough where the state Department of Environmental Protection assessed a fine in the order of $17,000. "DEP can fine," he said, describing the agency as the enforcement route the commission expects if the situation is not resolved.

Conservation Commission member Cathy Ferrer moved to approve the enforcement order on 52 Cliff Pond Road; the motion was approved on a voice vote with commissioners responding "Aye." The motion does not specify a roll-call tally in the meeting record.

The commission also addressed a slate of routine procedural items and several hearings that applicants requested be continued to the commission's next meeting on June 24, 2025 at 6:30 p.m. at the Lakeville Police Station. The commission approved minutes from its March 25, 2025 meeting during the same session and later voted to adjourn.

Votes at a glance: the commission voted by voice to continue multiple hearings to the June 24, 2025 meeting, including the Notice of Intent for 19 Captains Way (applicant: W R Logan Excavating, construction of a single-family house and associated work), a Notice of Intent for 0 Loon Pond Road (applicant: Aaron Paquin, single-family home and septic within buffer and within a Natural Heritage area), 160 Bedford Street (peer review outstanding), Off Myrick Street (field flagging required after peer review), 74 Lakeside Avenue, 3 Mona Street, and other listed agenda continuances; the minutes of March 25, 2025 were approved; and the enforcement order for 52 Cliff Pond Road was approved. Individual roll-call votes were not recorded in the transcript; each procedural motion was moved from the floor and carried on a voice vote.

What happens next: the enforcement order sets an internal deadline of July 8 for the property owner to present a restoration plan and wetland delineation. The commission said it will follow up immediately if the owner does not appear with a plan and indicated the DEP or the courts would be the next enforcement venue if local remedies do not resolve the matter.

(Meeting location: Lakeville Police Station, 323 Bedford Street. The commission said the enforcement order will be signed by members at the meeting and that Natural Heritage notification will be filed.)