Commission approves order of conditions for Valley Road Eagle Scout boardwalk

The Southborough Conservation Commission voted to issue an Order of Conditions for a wooden boardwalk and associated trail at 0 Valley Road, a project identified in the hearing notice as an Eagle Scout application by Corey Lou.

The chair read the project notice under the Wetlands Protection Act (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 131, § 40) and staff summarized prior discussion about parking and jurisdictional limits. Staff reported the project obtained a DEP file number and that the proposed boardwalk does not require a separate 401 water quality certification. "The order of conditions will be officially assembled and put together and, and recorded," the chair said, adding that there is a 10-day appeal period during which work may begin at the applicant's risk.

Commissioners discussed wood type and costs; staff and one commissioner noted that modern copper-oxide pressure-treated lumber lacks the arsenic concerns of older treatments and that small increases in copper in immediate contact with lumber are still lower than copper levels in many natural soils. Commissioners voiced a preference to balance durability and cost; cedar was noted as substantially more expensive. Staff confirmed the special conditions drafted for the project memorialize previously discussed mitigation and standard findings of fact.

A motion to close the public hearing and to issue the Order of Conditions — containing the commission's standard general conditions and the staff-drafted special conditions — was made, seconded and approved with one abstention recorded. The chair reminded the applicant that beginning work during the appeal period is at the applicant's risk.

The commission directed staff to finalize and record the Order of Conditions and to provide the applicant a copy; staff indicated the materials would be distributed promptly.