Groton Conservation Commission Approves Three Orders of Conditions, Splits 4-3 on Valeria Drive

GROTON -- July 12, 2022, Groton Conservation Commission split 4-3 on orders of conditions for 50 Valeria Drive while approving two other orders unanimously at its July 12 virtual meeting. Chair Eileen McHugh and the seven-member commission voted 5-1-1 on orders of conditions for 6 Island Road, Commissioner Bruce Easton voting nay and Commissioner Allie Hamilton abstaining, citing personal ties to the applicants, and unanimously approved orders for the New England Power Company transmission line running from Gay Road north to the Dunstable town line after consultant Allison Millman of BSC Group presented a July 6 Natural Heritage determination finding no take of state-listed species. The evening's longest discussion covered a conceptual brewery proposal at 116 Boston Road, where Commissioner Olin Lathrop warned that if Katie Brook cannot be demonstrated to be intermittent rather than perennial, "I don't think there's anything you can do here," while members debated whether permeable pavers in the 50-foot no-touch buffer zone would constitute a structure under the Groton Wetlands Protection Bylaw. The commission also approved $7,494.11 in invoices including a $4,500 appraisal fee and adjourned to executive session to discuss a real estate transaction.