Charlton Conservation Commission Continues 40-Unit Housing Project Over Wetland Buffer Concerns

CHARLTON — March 26, 2025 — Charlton's Conservation Commission continued a disputed 40-unit multifamily development and demanded emergency erosion controls at a lakeshore retaining wall project at its March 26 meeting. The commission pushed the notice of intent for DEP number 128-1958 at 35 North Main Street — a 40-unit development with proposed clearing to within four to five feet of the bordering vegetated wetland in several locations — to April 23, after Conservation Agent Rose Guertin read two rounds of peer review comments from outside reviewer Art Allen of Ecotech recommending the project be "scaled back or denied" given its elimination of vegetated wetland buffer. The applicant's engineer, from Expedite Engineering, disputed Allen's legal framing but acknowledged that stormwater discharge points would likely cause the wetland boundary to migrate outward after construction. The commission also continued an RDA for Premier Trailers' proposed site improvements at 130 Sturbridge Road to April 23, pending a Planning Board stormwater peer review by Graves Engineering. In a separate unscheduled action, the commission voted unanimously to require the owner of 173 Sunset Drive to immediately submit and implement an erosion control and stabilization plan after Guertin reported active turbidity entering the lake from an unstabilized retaining wall slope and forecast four days of rain.