Charlton Conservation Commission closes Boucher Road wetland hearing, grants stormwater waivers

CHARLTON -- February 12, 2025, Charlton Conservation Commission closes Boucher Road subdivision wetland hearing and issues three compliance certificates. The commission voted unanimously Wednesday to grant two waivers from its stormwater regulations and issue an order of conditions for driveway crossings serving Lots 1 and 2 on Boucher Road, a subdivision project that has now consumed the full 5,000-square-foot wetland alteration cap established by a restrictive covenant recorded on all subdivision deeds. Engineer Mika Laszla of Topra Land Survey argued that slopes exceeding 15 percent, groundwater at two feet, and on-site septic systems make infiltration infeasible, saying the handbook's treatment-train requirements are "almost impossible to meet without going to extraordinary measures" for a two-home project. The commission added a condition requiring one witnessed soil test near the detention basins once construction begins. Certificates of compliance were also issued unanimously for 162 Stanzasdale Road, 47 Brindle Hill Road, and 23 Brindle Hill Road, the last of which carried a condition requiring removal of frozen erosion controls once soils thaw.