Permitting Information

The Commission is a volunteer board composed of Town residents. All Conservation meetings are open to the public. Some common proceedings before the Conservation Commission are:

Request for Determination of Applicability

This request leads to a determination as to whether the Commission has jurisdiction and, if so, whether the resource be affected. The determination will specify one of the following:

• The Commission has jurisdiction and will require a Notice of Intent
• The Commission will not require a Notice of Intent, but will impose Conditions
• The Commission does not have jurisdiction

Notice of Intent

This document requires a public hearing, with notification of abutters within 300 feet of the

property. It usually requires the preparation of plans by a registered professional engineer.

Once the public hearing is completed, the Commission will either:

• Issue Order of Conditions for the proposed work
• Deny the project for inability to adequately protect the resource

An Order of Conditions functions as an environmental lien on the property deed and is valid for a period of 3 years which may be extended at 1 year intervals. The Orders of Conditions must be filed at Registry of Deeds. At the completion of project, a Certificate of Compliance is needed to remove the environmental lien from the deed.

Enforcement Orders

A Certificate of Compliance (COC) is a legal document which confirms that an Order of Conditions has been satisfied or that no work has occurred. Applicants must request a COC once the work is completed. Enforcement Orders are legal documents issued by the Commssion when activities have impacted a resource area and the offending party is not working under an active permit or the activities are beyond the scope of an active permit. Enforcement Orders are filed with the Registry of Deeds and serve as an environmental lien on the property deed. Fines also may be issued in conjunction with the Orders.