The Conservation Commission is an unpaid board appointed by the Selectmen and tasked by Commonwealth law with ruling on matters related to the Wetlands Protection Act. In addition, when not reviewing Notices of Intent for the Act, the Commission manages open space parcels for the Town.
A meeting schedule is posted on the bulletin board outside the Town Clerk's Office. Meetings are monthly at a minimum. Notices of hearings are published in the Belmont Citizen Herald newspaper. Normally, meetings are held on the first Tuesday of the month at 7:00 PM at the Chenery Middle School.
Wetlands: Property owners contemplating landscaping, demolition, construction or other activities within two hundred feet of perennial streams or within one hundred feet of wetlands must file a notice of intent with the Conservation Commission before starting work on the project. The Commission has prepared a booklet of information on filing wetlands applications. The booklet and forms may be obtained by calling or visiting the Office of Community Development in the Town Hall Annex.
Clay Pit Pond: The land around Clay Pit Pond is conservation land managed by the Conservation Commission. The Commission relies heavily on the Town Departments of Health, Streets and Schools to fulfill the maintenance responsibilities for this parcel.
Rock Meadow: Managing the 71 acres of open meadow on Mill Street remains one of the Commission's prime responsibilities. This area contains important wildlife habitat and is part of a very large urban greenway. In 2002, the Commission drafted and distributed a plan for the use and management of Rock Meadow. A final plan and early implementation of the recommendations will take place in 2003.
Alternating between the front and back areas yearly, the Commission mows the meadow to maintain the grass ground cover and to slow the march of invasive shrubs.
The Victory Gardens located near the main entrance to Rock Meadow continue to be a very popular activity for many local gardeners. Most of the garden plots at the Victory Gardens were worked this past year. Individuals interested in securing a garden plot should contact Bruce Westgate, Victory Garden Coordinator (489-2565) for registration information.
McLean Open Space: With one seated member on the McLean Land Management Committee, the Commission participates in the management of the land slated to become Town Open Space in the McLean Hospital Complex.
Annual Business Summary
The Commission conducted eight Notice of Intent (N.O.I.) hearings and ruled on three requests for determination (RDA). The normal result of the NOI’s is the issuance of Orders of Conditions pursuant to the Wetlands Protection Act. A list of the project locations and hearing dates are shown here (PDF).
Persons or others contemplating construction activities in or near wetlands or river ways are urged to consult with the Conservation Commission to ascertain what is permissible or forbidden before investing time or money in the project. Formal consultations require a Request For Determination of Applicability. Such Requests are filed on forms available at the Town of Belmont's Office of Community Development or on the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection website.
In 2002, the Commission paid tribute to its outgoing Chair at a small gathering, fittingly, in a verdant backyard at the edge of the Audubon open space on Somerset Road. Lloyd Allen provided stewardship to the Commission for many years. The Commission expresses its heartfelt gratitude for the service Lloyd has given and very best wishes to Lloyd and his wife, Gladys, in their new home in Mashpee.
Belmont residents and others should know that the Commission is willing to confer with homeowners and others contemplating work in sensitive areas without the need for such a filing, although a formal permitting process is required before work may actually begin.
Respectfully submitted,
Michael Flamang, Chair
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