Acton proposal would bar clearing of 1-acre-plus forest until permit is issued

Jim Snyder Grant, a member of the Acton Select Board, urged Town of Acton voters to approve Article 33, a proposed Tree Clearing Delay Bylaw that would generally prohibit clearing of one or more acres of forest unless and until a development permit is issued, he said in a presentation ahead of Town Meeting.

The bylaw would not ban clearing outright, Grant said. "It does not outright prohibit the clearing. It just requires a project to be permitted first, rather than clearing first without approval," he said, adding the measure is intended to prevent developers from removing trees before securing subdivision or site-plan approvals.

The bylaw targets larger development or redevelopment projects, with an explicit one-acre threshold and multiple exceptions, Grant said. Exemptions listed in his presentation include work on public land, agricultural activity, removal of diseased or hazardous trees, and activity on land enrolled under Chapter 61. He said the town would not create a new permit for the bylaw and that implementation authority would be designated by the town manager.

Any fines for noncompliance would be deposited into Acton—s existing tree fund, Grant said. "Any money collected by fines will be deposited into the tree fund, used for tree assessments, surveys, buying, planting, and maintaining trees within the town," he said.

Grant said town staff consulted with the Select Board, the Conservation Commission, the Open Space Committee and the Design Review Board while drafting the article and that staff reviewed similar bylaws elsewhere in the region and state. He also said the Select Board added the measure to its 2023 annual goals and that Town Meeting had passed a related resolution in 2022 calling for limits on land and tree clearing.

Grant cited at least two incidents in recent years in which developers cleared whole parcels while still seeking development permits; he said those actions were legal under existing rules but prompted the draft bylaw. As additional context, he noted other local and state protections already apply: Acton—s Groundwater Protection Zoning Districts and other zoning rules impose limits on clearing in some places, the town—s earth-removal bylaw restricts removal of soil and related materials without a permit, a land-disturbance permit applies when projects disturb or develop 5,000 square feet or more, and the Wetlands Protection Act restricts clearing within 50 feet of wetlands and regulates cutting in the buffer zone beyond that.

On replacement and mitigation, Grant described how the bylaw would account for tree size when setting penalties or mitigation requirements, saying larger, older trees store more carbon and are more valuable to replace than small saplings. "The cross section of a tree grows by the square of the diameter," he said, and offered a numerical example to illustrate that a 12-inch tree has 16 times the cross-sectional area of a 3-inch tree.

Grant said the bylaw is intended for new development and redevelopment and is not meant to affect small projects such as minor additions, septic upgrades or residential solar installations. He also said further public engagement will be needed to assess equity across zoning districts, staffing needs, and cost impacts for residents.

The Select Board recommends support for Article 33. Grant said the article is expected to be voted on the second night of Town Meeting, Tuesday, May 6; he provided sb@actonma.gov for questions.