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Hull Conservation Commission pauses Western Avenue driveway plan amid legal, neighborhood objections
Summary
The commission continued a contested notice-of-intent for a driveway and turnaround on Western Avenue to July 14, asking town counsel to review whether the filing is procedurally sufficient after abutters raised title/consent objections. The applicant revised the design to eliminate impervious paving and add revegetation, but neighbors said more review is needed.
The Hull Conservation Commission on June 23 voted to continue consideration of a proposed driveway and turnaround on Western Avenue until its July 14 meeting after neighbors and new counsel raised legal and procedural objections that commissioners wanted town council to review.
Attorney Adam Brodsky, representing applicant Gretchen Amidon, said the project team revised the access design to remove impervious paving and replace it with Agtec geocell wheel runs filled with crushed stone, and added a roughly 630-square-foot mitigation planting area. "We removed the paved surfaces entirely," engineer Zander Form told the commission, describing the geocell wheel runs and a crushed-stone turnaround the applicant now proposes.
Abutter Anne Ronan said the grassy slope has long served as a community open space and raised concerns about erosion and the scale of the turning area. "This has always been a grassy plot, a community resource," Ronan said, adding that the neighborhood had only just received some revised plan material and needed more time to review.
Daniel Hill, counsel for adjacent property owners Paul and Donna Goes, argued the notice of intent might be procedurally defective because certain landowners owning the private way had not given written consent. "This application is technically defective," Hill said, urging the commission not to close the hearing until the ownership-and-consent questions are resolved.
Brods ky disputed that characterization, pointing to easement rights and prior DEP and local case law that allow a party with a colorable claim of title and an easement to file an NOI without every abutter's signature. "We have a colorable claim to title. We're clearly entitled to file the notice of intent," Brodsky said.
Commissioners debated three options: decide on wetlands merits now (risking a procedural appeal), require additional peer review of the steep slope engineering, or ask town counsel to advise on filing sufficiency. Several members praised the revised, non-impervious design as an improvement for stormwater and erosion control, but others said the title/consent issue was outside the commission's technical expertise.
Chair Paul Paquin asked staff to forward the full record to town council immediately. The applicant's counsel agreed to a two-week continuance; the commission then voted unanimously to continue the hearing to July 14 for town-council review and to allow abutters additional time to evaluate the newer materials.
The continuance does not decide the merits of the project; it pauses the Conservation Commission's determination to allow legal review and further consideration. The applicant and abutters retain appeal rights to DEP after any final action.
