Commission approves restoration, planting and fencing conditions for Stonewall Drive buffer disturbance

The Northampton Conservation Commission on June 26 granted an order of conditions for grading and landscaping work on 42 Stonewall Drive that followed an enforcement order. The commission required restoration plantings, limits on lawn maintenance within the buffer, permanent markers at the 100-foot buffer, and a monitoring period before issuing a certificate of compliance.

GZA environmental scientist Susanna Souza and GCA wetland scientist Joe Rogers presented the notice of intent and explained the work responded to an enforcement order issued in November 2024. They described three parcels at 42 Stonewall Drive, mapped wetlands C and D, and showed existing and proposed plans: restoration seedings, native shrub and tree plantings, reinstallation and modification of an old fence line, and silt fence placement as erosion control. The plan includes a conservation/wildlife seed mix, native plant species and a restoration-planting table submitted with the notice of intent.

Commissioners focused on the standard that work within 100 feet of wetlands should be avoided unless reasonable alternatives do not exist. Commissioners and the applicant discussed moving or reorienting the fence so the closest corner would be at least 10 feet from the wetland, establishing native plantings outside the fence, and using large boulders to mark the 100-foot boundary. The property owner, Mark (respondent), agreed to pull the fence back and to replace split-rail and stockade sections in kind; he also confirmed there would be no herbicide or fertilizer applications in the buffer area (owner and neighbors stated mowing only).

Neighbors raised concerns about tree removal and noise from prior unpermitted work. The applicant's team proposed installing about 75 trees and shrubs in total (approximately 25 trees in the immediate area) and committing to a planting maintenance program. The commission conditioned the order of conditions on: (1) demarcating a minimum 10-foot buffer to the south wetland D with a split-rail fence; (2) restoring the area outside that fence to a natural state with the submitted native seed mix and plant list; (3) prohibiting chemical lawn treatments and exogenous fertilizers within the buffer; (4) demarcating the 100-foot buffer on the west (wetland C) with large boulders spaced no more than 10 feet apart; and (5) requiring a three-year survival/maintenance assessment of plantings to be verified by staff before issuance of a certificate of compliance.

The commission closed the hearing and approved the order of conditions by roll call vote.