Charlton Commission Orders Industrial Site Stabilization or Faces Daily $300 Fines

CHARLTON -- March 25, 2026, Charlton Conservation Commission gives industrial property owner 14 days to stabilize six cleared acres or pay $300-per-day fines. The commission voted unanimously at its March 25 meeting to issue a formal enforcement order against the owner of 253 Worcester Road, identified in discussion as Mr. Prouty, after Conservation and Stormwater Director Rose Conway reported that more than six acres of land cleared without a permit remained entirely unstabilized, with spring rains already driving fresh runoff into adjacent wetlands. The commission also authorized hiring an outside erosion-control consultant, selected by the commission and paid by the property owner through a dedicated town account, to monitor the site, following the same model used on a commercial project at 241 Sturbridge Road for approximately four years. Conway told the board the fine authority comes from Chapter 175 of the town's bylaws and that a soil specialist confirmed temporary stabilization is achievable within the 14-business-day window even without topsoil. In separate action, the commission extended an order of conditions for a subdivision at City Depot Road for three years, contingent on Conway verifying that erosion controls ordered under a cease-and-desist have been installed, and closed public hearings for a paver patio at 189 Nugget Drive on Little Nugget Lake and a foundation-and-retaining-wall reconstruction at 48 Stevens Park Road on Glen Echo Lake.