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Conservation board presses for clearer NRI triggers and better referral procedures to keep environmental review visible
Summary
Members discussed the Natural Resource Inventory (NRI) and open-space plan, urging clearer trigger criteria and a streamlined referral process so conservation advisory comments are consistently received before planning board votes.
Committee members spent a substantial portion of the meeting on the Natural Resource Inventory and the open-space plan, discussing how advisory boards should use the NRI and when projects should be routed for conservation review. Members said current practice is inconsistent and that projects sometimes reach the planning board before advisory comment can be returned.
Participants proposed a landing page or filtered NRI layers to make the most-used maps accessible to different boards and recommended codifying referral triggers (size thresholds, wetlands, or open-space index parcels). Several members warned that failing to follow statutory referral procedures could expose decisions to legal challenge.
