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Conservation commission presses for stronger groundwater overlay, planning subcommittee sets fast timetable
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Summary
Milford Conservation Commission members urged clearer, stronger overlay zoning to protect groundwater and agreed to a planning subcommittee process led by staff; a technical memo comparing the town draft to the state model will guide revisions ahead of voter consideration.
The Milford Conservation Commission on Feb. 12 pressed for clearer protections in a proposed groundwater protection overlay and agreed to use a technical memo to speed revisions aimed at sending a workable measure to voters.
Community Development Director Kyle Fennell, introduced at the start of the meeting, said he has reviewed the town’s draft against the state model and will produce a concise memo that highlights where Milford’s ordinance falls short. "We're going to kind of reframe the conversation, in an effort to pick up the pace," Fennell said, urging staff to identify the ordinance gaps and compare them to commonly accepted best practices.
The commission emphasized local stakes. The Chair warned that Milford’s history with contaminated sites makes groundwater language especially important and said, "The position of the town should be to protect our groundwater." Commissioners discussed key failures in the current draft: a map that does not clearly differentiate high‑risk zones (wellhead/zone 2), exemptions and conditional uses that may undermine protection, and the recent compromise that converted gas stations from prohibited to conditional uses.
Members asked staff to focus on practical, check‑box provisions that can be resolved quickly and to isolate high‑priority performance standards for negotiation. Fennell recommended completing substantive edits within four to five months so the planning board can take a recommendation to the ballot in 2026 or 2027; the planning subcommittee will meet Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 7:30 a.m. to begin the next phase.
Commissioners also noted that state agencies are updating guidance: a member reported that the Department of Environmental Services is revising best management practices and urged that any local ordinance reference DES standards "as amended" so the town’s language remains current without requiring frequent ordinance updates.
The commission left open whether a more protective local approach would be framed as a ‘‘floor’’ or a ‘‘ceiling’’ relative to the state model; several members said they prefer building on the state model so Milford can adopt higher, locality‑appropriate standards. The group agreed that staff and the subcommittee should return a focused memo and draft language for commission review before broader planning board consideration.
Next steps: staff will circulate the technical memo and the revised draft; the planning subcommittee will meet Feb. 24 at 7:30 a.m. in this location, and the planning board has a master plan public hearing scheduled March 3. No formal vote on ordinance language was taken at the Feb. 12 meeting.
