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Adverse-possession claim and tree-removal dispute stalls Cascade Street permit; commission invites solicitor
Summary
The Pittsfield Conservation Commission continued a permit for a single-family home on Cascade Street after abutters and commissioners disputed the scope of mature-tree removals and an abutter asserted an adverse possession claim; the commission voted to invite the city solicitor to an executive session and continue the item to May 28, 2026.
At its May 7, 2026 meeting the Pittsfield Conservation Commission delayed action on a proposed single-family home on Cascade Street after a contentious exchange over tree removal and a property claim. The applicant, Guidewire, Inc., represented by Ryan Nelson of R Levesque, presented a planting plan intended to mitigate recent clearing; commissioners and neighbors disputed the scale of tree removal and whether replanting was adequate.
Commissioner Jonathan Lothrop said the commission should record that “they estimated about 100 trees were cut,” noting the applicant’s count differed. Nelson told the board the applicant’s survey found 32 removed and that the project proposes 64 replacement plantings (a 2:1 mitigation ratio). Nelson also said the driveway relocation and private sewer connection were part of the application and that, as owner of record, Guidewire was moving forward despite competing claims: “Anyone can make a claim,” Nelson said of an abutter’s adverse-possession assertion.
Abutters and interested neighbors raised several concerns. Ned Kirchner said the proposed planting plan was “totally inadequate” and questioned survivability; he also raised the risk of Spotted Lanternfly contamination from the nursery source cited in the plant list. Jerome Auerbach asserted an adverse possession claim over part of the site and warned that, if the claim succeeds, it could render the driveway and permit moot. John Haddad pressed the applicants on hydrology and stormwater concerns in an area prone to flooding.
Staff said fieldwork and the mitigation plan were on file but that legal questions about title and the Auerbach claim were civil matters outside the commission’s permitting authority. Commissioner Lothrop moved to invite the city solicitor to the next meeting for an executive session to discuss whether the open claim affects permit approval; the motion was seconded by Commissioner Storie and approved unanimously. The commission also voted to continue the Cascade Street single-family home item to the May 28, 2026 meeting for further review.
Next steps: the commission will hear solicitor guidance in executive session and revisit the permit and planting/monitoring assurances on May 28, 2026.
