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City project expands staging area in Centerville; commission allows tree removals with replanting commitment
Summary
The commission granted a Negative 3 Determination for a staging‑area expansion at 61 1st Street Boulevard for the Centerville Sewer Separation Project, allowing removal of most of 39 trees (with some exceptions) and obtaining a commitment to plant at least 12 replacement trees elsewhere in Centerville within 12 months.
The Lowell Conservation Commission approved a Negative 3 Determination for enlargement of a staging area at 61 1st Street Boulevard to support the Centerville Sewer Separation Project. Gordon Vershorn, engineering manager for the Lowell Regional Wastewater Utility, described the scale of the ongoing sewer‑separation work and said the staging expansion would allow crews and storage to be consolidated at the former dog‑park site.
"So we're looking to expand the available area by removing, 39 trees," Vershorn said, noting the planning board requested four specific trees be omitted from the removal plan and that the project team agreed. Vershorn said many of the trees slated for removal are invasive species (Norway maple and Tree of Heaven) and that two noninvasive trees were assessed as in poor or critical condition by an arborist. The project team committed to plant a minimum of 12 trees on municipal property in Centerville within 12 months after the staging use ends.
Commissioners recognized the project's scale and the neighborhood inconvenience caused by the larger sewer project but accepted the planning board's mitigation and the applicant's replanting commitment before granting the Negative 3 Determination.
