Dover Planning Board approves removal of four trees on scenic road at 146 Claybrook Road

The Dover Planning Board voted 4-0 on June 29 to grant a scenic-road determination allowing the removal of four trees at 146 Claybrook Road, while imposing conditions designed to ensure replacement plantings and agency review.

Town Planner Melissa SantucciRozzi told the board that an application under Dover Planning Board Regulations Chapter 245 and MGL Chapter 40, Section 15C was filed June 5 and that the application materials are posted on OpenGov. She said Trees 1, 2, 3 and 5 are tied to sight-line improvements or are dead and "supports the removal of Trees 1, 2, 3, and 5 because they are related to sight-line improvements and/or are dead." She also stated that she did not support removing the other four trees solely because they contact utility wires and recommended the applicant pursue pruning with the utility company and the Department of Public Works.

Vice Chair Val Lin, after visiting the site, agreed pruning was preferable for trees near utility wires and supported the Town Planner's recommendation. Tree Warden Kevin McCabe reported a site visit and recorded no objection to removing the sight-line trees.

Abutter Fiona Roman of 140 Claybrook Road told the board she supported the Planning Board's approach but raised concerns about compliance with prior conditions on the property, citing earlier approvals and a prior condition that, in her view, had not been implemented. Chair Lisbon advised Roman to contact the Building Department if she observed future violations.

Under the Determination approved by the board, only trees listed as numbers 1, 2, 3 and 5 in the application may be removed. The Decision requires that the applicant plant a total of five replacement trees (two from the 2020 determination and three required by this Decision), coordinate species and locations with the Town Planner, Tree Warden and Conservation Commission (given riverfront jurisdiction), consult the local utility about pruning for any power-line hazards, and obtain all required Conservation Commission permits before any removal may occur. The motion to grant the Determination passed by roll call vote, 4-0-0.

The Decision as recorded in the meeting materials lists the trees by number and includes size descriptors as transcribed in the staff report (for example, the list in the Determination describes Tree 1 as a 4-inch white pine; Tree 2 as a 2-inch birch; Tree 3 as a "2-foot oak (Dead/Fallen)"; and Tree 5 as a "3.5-foot trunk (Dead)"). Those size notations appear in the Determination as transcribed at the meeting and are carried here as reported; the board required coordination on replacement species and locations and inspection by the Town Planner once plantings are installed. The applicant committed to plant ordered replacement trees in the coming month and to provide photographs of the installation.

The Planning Board emphasized that matters strictly related to utility clearances lie with the utility and DPW, and that pruning may be an alternative to full tree removal for trees contacting wires. The Planning Board included the replacement and permitting conditions to ensure Conservation Commission input for riverfront areas and staff inspection of plantings.