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Halifax Conservation Commission approves tree removal at Elm Street, extends permit and orders lakeshore protections
Summary
At its June 9 meeting the Halifax Conservation Commission approved a negative determination allowing tree removal at 399 Elm Street, granted a two‑year extension for 20 Home Street’s order of conditions, and adopted special orders for 59 Paradise Lane to remove old docks and protect shoreline vegetation.
The Halifax Conservation Commission on June 9 approved a negative determination allowing tree removal at 399 Elm Street, voted to extend an amended order of conditions for 20 Home Street by two years and adopted special orders for 59 Paradise Lane to remove old docks and limit clearing of shoreline vegetation.
Chair John Guillode presided over the meeting and led the formal votes. After hearing from the applicant, the commission approved a negative determination for 399 Elm Street with a single order of conditions requiring staff to inspect the property after the trees are removed. “You can cut the trees,” Chair John Guillode said after the vote.
Agent Dan Levest reported on several enforcement and permitting matters. The commission agreed to send a compliance letter to the owner of 98 Home Street after staff found multiple business‑owned dumpsters stored on a lakefront lot with visible rust and drainage holes; Levest said the dumpsters sit on a slope that “feeds directly into the pond,” raising stormwater and wetlands buffer concerns.
On permit timing, the commission voted to extend the amended order of conditions for 20 Home Street, originally issued Sept. 19, 2023, by two years so that the permit will now expire in 2028. The board also voted to add special orders of conditions for 59 Paradise Lane that require removal of old docks and preserve shoreline vegetation unless the owner seeks an amended order to clear additional shoreline growth.
For a certificate of compliance request at 539 Plymouth Street (a nursery), commissioners asked staff to recheck the special conditions language about banned materials such as biosolids and dyed mulch and deferred signing until the next meeting if necessary. The meeting closed after approval of the May 26 minutes and a motion to adjourn.
Next steps: applicants for continued matters were scheduled for the June 23 meeting; staff will send a removal letter for the 98 Home Street dumpsters and will inspect 399 Elm Street after tree removal to confirm compliance.
