Bellingham Conservation Commission ratifies enforcement order over Blackstone Street vernal pool excavation

BELLINGHAM -- October 8, 2025, Bellingham Conservation Commission ratifies enforcement order against Blackstone Street developer over unauthorized culvert excavation near a certified vernal pool. The commission voted unanimously Wednesday to ratify a modified enforcement order against applicant Bruce Petrosi of Wall Street Development, who had excavated the inlet of a buried culvert beneath Blackstone Street without advance notice to the commission's conservation agent. Petrosi argued the work was conducted in the road right-of-way outside any resource area and was needed to locate the culvert as the commission's peer reviewer had requested, but commission member Pam read aloud from an email in which Petrosi told the state Natural Heritage program that Wall Street would "allow flow to resume through the culvert this winter 2025 and spring 2026" and that vernal pool certification would then be re-evaluated, a statement she called inconsistent with his claim to want to preserve the pool. The commission modified the order to require restoration within 30 days of approval of a restoration plan rather than by a fixed November 19 date, directed the applicant to install erosion controls immediately, and continued the hearing to October 22, when the applicant's engineers are expected to present hydrological modeling.