Bellingham Conservation Commission orders NOI for golf course wetland violation

BELLINGHAM -- January 8, 2025, Bellingham Conservation Commission voted to require a formal Notice of Intent for a wetland buffer violation at the NECC golf course on Pain Street, where grounds crew accidentally cleared roughly 9,000 square feet of vegetation near a tee box, including four oak trees of 12 inches or more in diameter within the 50- to 100-foot buffer zone. Consultant Brian Madden, appearing via Zoom, said a restoration and replication plan will be submitted before the February 12 meeting, and the commission indicated it will require at least two-to-one tree replication where feasible. In two contested 5-2 and 4-3 votes, the commission also determined that streams on the Blackstone Street and Prospect Street development parcels are intermittent rather than perennial, reducing applicable wetland setbacks from 200 feet to 100 feet; a resident testified he had walked the Prospect Street property for 13 years and "never ever ever" seen the area dry before this year. The commission separately continued a Notice of Intent for Silver Lake Dam seepage repairs to January 22 pending a state DEP file number, with engineers warning the toe drain must be installed before the reservoir's April water-level rise.