The Needham Conservation Commission questioned the placement of replacement plantings after the removal of 21 pine trees at 160 Edgewater Drive and asked the property owner to propose additional mitigation before closing out the permit file.

Commission staff said they visited the site and reviewed as-built plans showing new trees and shrubs around the property. Deb (Conservation staff) said several proposed trees were installed in utility easements that cross the rear yard and that some locations the commission had expected to be restored were instead converted to lawn. “So it was a lot of trees to take down,” Deb said, adding that the plantings “look really nice” but that some are inside the easement lines.

Owner Steve told the commission he had redistributed the new trees to increase usable lawn and play area for his children while still planting the agreed number of trees. Commissioners pressed him on the risk that easement holders — the commission noted the easements are for utilities and said MWRA maintenance could require tree removal — could later require removal of plants inside the easement. “If they needed to access the area for maintenance or whatever, they might have to take some trees out,” a staff member said.

Commissioners discussed options to ensure long-term replacement if utility work forces tree removal. Deb recommended a recorded document attached to the deed that would commit the owner to replant or otherwise compensate if easement work removes trees. Several commissioners also suggested the owner relocate some trees to the 15-foot setback along the property line as a more permanent location outside the easement and easier for the homeowner to manage. Commissioner Clary said planting along that setback would “compensate for the trees that you didn't put where they were supposed to be.”

The commission did not vote to grant or deny the certificate of compliance at the Oct. 23 meeting. Staff asked the owner to submit a proposed mitigation plan showing suggested additional plantings (or shrub alternatives), and to provide the draft recorded agreement acknowledging the easement risk so the commission can review it before issuing a final closeout. The commission also asked the owner to move three decorative boulders so they better mark the restoration area.