Commission orders letter over illegal road widening

Conservation Commission · Meeting of May 12, 2026

GROTON — The Groton Conservation Commission voted to send a cease-and-desist letter over an unpermitted road widening inside a wetland buffer. Resident Tammy Rutledge said a neighbor at 138 Hemlock Park Drive widened a shared gravel driveway from about 16 feet to nearly 22 feet without a permit, prompting a unanimous vote directing Conservation Administrator Charlotte Steeves to notify all abutters that "any work that's contemplated in the buffer zone needs to come before us." Separately, the board closed an enforcement case at 101 Longley Road filed by Christopher Curtis, adopting orders of conditions requiring native replanting and buffer markers. Commissioners also opened an inquiry into the clear-cutting of roughly 100 trees on town conservation land off West Main Street, reportedly by new owner John Bittencourt, and agreed to seek survey proposals that member Olin Lathrop estimated could cost "over $10,000."

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Source: the Conservation Commission meeting of May 12, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.