Hollis planning board keeps timber-harvesting allowance in resource-protection zone, forwards zoning changes to select board

The Town of Hollis Planning Board voted Feb. 25 to forward a package of proposed zoning ordinance changes to the select board and decided to keep "timber harvesting" listed as a permitted use in the North Hollis resource protection zone for now.

The move to send the draft ordinance language to the select board followed a public hearing on the changes; no members of the public attended in person and no Zoom participants indicated they wished to speak. The board then reviewed correspondence, committee updates and a series of comments from a reviewer named Mary before taking the procedural vote to transmit the proposals for the select board’s consideration for placement on the June warrant.

A central substantive discussion focused on whether the resource protection/conservation district should allow timber harvesting. Butch Ganet, a planning board member, pressed the question and said the board should be deliberate about whether commercial timber activities belong in that district. "I'm 100% honestly okay with putting a C for timber harvesting. Uh it's a P in every other zone," Ganet said, referring to making timber harvesting a conditional use (C) rather than leaving it permitted (P).

Tom Wowski, another member who spoke in favor of allowing managed cutting, argued the draft language distinguishes commercial timber harvesting from routine forest management: "I think it ought to be allowed," he said, noting that selective cutting for stand health and creating building lots is not the same as commercial operations.

Board members reviewed the draft ordinance definition read during the meeting that frames timber harvesting as the cutting or removal of timber "for the primary purpose of selling or processing forest products," and noted the draft also references the construction and maintenance of roads used primarily for such harvesting. They contrasted that definition with "forest management," which the board said covers stand improvement, pruning and other noncommercial maintenance activities.

The planning board also referenced recent state guidance requiring municipal forestry definitions align with the state’s definitions (the board cited section 8868), and agreed to retain the current permitted status for timber harvesting in the resource protection zone while updating definitions and, if needed, consulting the town attorney later. The chair said the board would revisit definitions in follow-up workshops and memorialize intent in the ordinance language.

In other business the board reviewed correspondence from the Saco River Corridor Commission, which reported three permits approved at its Jan. 28 meeting (two after‑the‑fact) including an application by Moderation Hall LLC for a septic system sited no closer than 347 feet from the Saco River at 10 Moderation Street. The board also discussed the upcoming conservation partners meeting on March 19, a grant application to help pay for ordinance updates, and the town report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025.

The meeting concluded with a formal vote to forward the planning board’s proposed zoning ordinance changes to the select board; the board then adjourned the public meeting and moved into a workshop to address detailed comments (including lodging definitions) from Mary and other reviewers. The workshop will continue the ordinance-drafting work and the town will notify the public as the select board considers whether to place items on the June warrant.