Bellingham Conservation Commission Continues Four Hearings, Orders Driveway Restaking at North Street

BELLINGHAM -- April 23, 2025, Bellingham Conservation Commission continued four active wetland hearings and flagged buffer violations at two separate properties at its April 23 meeting. The board voted unanimously to push both Blackstone Street single-family home applications, filed by Petrosi Wall Street Development, to May 14, pending updated plans, after a neighboring resident told the commission that surveyors had entered her property without notice to flag wetland boundaries. A commercial redevelopment hearing at 123 Main Street (DC Pavone Enterprises) was also continued to May 14 on a 6-1 vote, and the MBTA's vegetative management plan for its commuter rail right-of-way was pushed to June 11 while the commission awaits DEP guidance. On enforcement, members directed administrator Hannah to issue a cease-and-desist letter to the owner of 175 North Street, where tree clearing appears to have extended the approved driveway width from roughly 20 feet to approximately 35 feet, with erosion controls missing on the uphill side; the owner must restake the driveway before a formal reinspection. A separate potential violation at 12 Monique, involving an enlarged shed and a new chicken coop apparently within the 25-foot no-disturb zone, is headed for a staff site visit, and commission members said they plan to press the building department to route outdoor permit applications through the Conservation Commission before approval.