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Brentwood board issues cease-and-desist after neighbors say buffer was cleared at Crowley Falls property
Summary
After neighbors presented videos alleging tree cutting and heavy-equipment use that removed a protective buffer, the Brentwood Select Board voted 4–1 to issue a cease-and-desist and order remediation while staff pursues documentation and potential fines.
The Brentwood Select Board voted 4–1 to issue a cease-and-desist order tied to an alleged violation of the town's natural-buffer rules around a property on Crowley Falls Road after neighbors presented video evidence and town staff reported heavy equipment on site.
Select Board member leading enforcement discussion said staff had visited the property, "the natural buffer has been recompromised," and reported seeing "a lot of heavy equipment" and materials that suggested commercial activity. Town staff recommended a stop-work/cease-and-desist pathway and outlined that a formal order would list fines and remediation steps if the property owner failed to comply.
Neighbor Lynn Austin told the board she had video from Saturday and Sunday showing daily cutting and said, "I do have video of Saturday and Sunday of all the cutting that has been going on." Austin said the buffer between properties appeared to be gone and asked the board to act.
The property owner, Dustin Clark, told the board he "didn't cut anything into the buffer zone" deliberately and said his father had been clearing storm-downed trees; he said he had instructed family not to work after receiving a notice. Clark said he had shown the flagging marking the surveyed property line and told the board, "we have no intentions on cutting trees... other than what had fallen in storms."
Board members debated whether activity on the parcel constituted commercial use; staff said the presence of excavators, plow fronts and dump trucks on site could indicate commercial storage or use. After discussion the board voted 4 in favor and 1 opposed to issue a cease-and-desist/order to remedy, directing staff to send a written stop-work notice and to require an engineered site survey, soil-science documentation where wetlands are suspected, and replanting as necessary to restore the buffer.
Next steps include formalizing the cease-and-desist letter, setting compliance deadlines and assessing fines if the board's order is not followed. The board noted that if the owner fails to work with staff, escalation to a formal legal cease-and-desist would follow.
