Conservation panel approves administrative amendment to allow 8x10 shed at Super Farm Lane
January 30, 2026 | Town of Southborough, Worcester County, Massachusetts
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The Southborough Conservation Commission on Jan. 29 agreed to issue an administrative amendment allowing an 8-by-10 wooden shed to be placed on concrete blocks at a property on Super Farm Lane (Map 81, Lot 22).
Commission staff member Melissa told the panel the applicant withdrew a larger backyard structure and now seeks only to place a small shed “on concrete blocks” within an area previously permitted for limited work. Melissa recommended an administrative approval rather than a formal amended Order of Conditions so the owner would not need to re-record the order.
Brian Waterman of WDA Design Group, representing the applicant, said the shed “would be on top of the limit of the grass pavers and halfway into the lawn away from the [wetland].” He added the work does not change the limit of work that was previously approved and noted the permit remains valid through March 2027.
Commissioners questioned whether the shed intrudes on the 20-foot no-touch buffer. Waterman and staff said the shed sits within an area previously approved for limited work tied to mitigation—removal of invasive Japanese knotweed and subsequent plantings—and that no new disturbance beyond that approved footprint is proposed. Melissa noted erosion-control barriers and photos of the completed restoration were provided to the commission.
After discussion, a motion to issue an administrative amendment for the shed as shown on the submitted plan passed on a roll call (Farrington: Yes; Upton: Yes; Barbara Glovsky: Yes; Smith: Yes; Dulick: Yes). The commission directed staff to document the change with a field-change sketch for the record and to include the shed on the final certificate of compliance when the project is closed out.
The action avoids a formal amended order and, according to commission staff, will not expand the previously approved disturbance. The commission did not receive public comments on this item during the hearing.
The commission moved on to other business following the vote.
Commission staff member Melissa told the panel the applicant withdrew a larger backyard structure and now seeks only to place a small shed “on concrete blocks” within an area previously permitted for limited work. Melissa recommended an administrative approval rather than a formal amended Order of Conditions so the owner would not need to re-record the order.
Brian Waterman of WDA Design Group, representing the applicant, said the shed “would be on top of the limit of the grass pavers and halfway into the lawn away from the [wetland].” He added the work does not change the limit of work that was previously approved and noted the permit remains valid through March 2027.
Commissioners questioned whether the shed intrudes on the 20-foot no-touch buffer. Waterman and staff said the shed sits within an area previously approved for limited work tied to mitigation—removal of invasive Japanese knotweed and subsequent plantings—and that no new disturbance beyond that approved footprint is proposed. Melissa noted erosion-control barriers and photos of the completed restoration were provided to the commission.
After discussion, a motion to issue an administrative amendment for the shed as shown on the submitted plan passed on a roll call (Farrington: Yes; Upton: Yes; Barbara Glovsky: Yes; Smith: Yes; Dulick: Yes). The commission directed staff to document the change with a field-change sketch for the record and to include the shed on the final certificate of compliance when the project is closed out.
The action avoids a formal amended order and, according to commission staff, will not expand the previously approved disturbance. The commission did not receive public comments on this item during the hearing.
The commission moved on to other business following the vote.
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