ZBA tables 19 Vista Way tree‑removal request for New Hampshire Fish and Game review

Clint Lecresch, the applicant for 19 Vista Way, asked the Nashua Zoning Board of Adjustment on July 28 for a special exception to work inside a 40‑foot critical wetland buffer to remove about 21 trees he said posed a danger to his house. Lecresch said he hired a licensed arborist, that his homeowners association approved the removal in January, and that a subsequent Conservation Commission review prompted a second opinion that characterized the risk as low.

Sherry Dutzey, chair of the Nashua Conservation Commission, told the board the commission had paid arborist Lee Gilman to perform a level‑2 assessment and that Gilman found 19 standing trees and two already down on the ground; the Conservation Commission recommended pruning and targeted removal of dead material rather than wholesale clearing. "They do not take down healthy trees," Dutzey said when describing New Hampshire Fish and Game guidance and offered that Fish and Game could provide a free site assessment.

Board members repeatedly cited the Conservation Commission's unanimous unfavorable recommendation and the second arborist's finding of low risk, but also acknowledged the applicant's safety concerns. Several members said they could support removing individual trees shown to be diseased or that demonstrably could reach the house, but were reluctant to authorize clearing the full 21‑tree request without an independent assessment.

By motion, and after discussion about scheduling and notice requirements, the board voted to table the application to a date certain — Sept. 22 — and asked staff to request an assessment from New Hampshire Fish and Game on the health of the trees and any relevant guidance the agency provides. The board indicated it would allow public testimony when the case returns.