Bellingham Conservation Commission Splits on Blackstone Street Road Waiver, Advances Seven Home Filings

BELLINGHAM — June 10, 2026 — Bellingham Conservation Commission denied a key wetland buffer waiver for a Blackstone Street road improvement project and revoked an enforcement order against a local restaurant at its June 10 meeting. The commission voted 3-2 to deny Waiver Request 2 filed by Wall Street Development, which would have allowed a stormwater basin to be placed within the 25-foot no-disturb zone adjacent to bordering vegetated wetland; attorney Lou Petrozi indicated engineers would revise the basin design before the matter returns June 24. Three other waivers for the same project — covering alternatives analysis, vernal pool buffer alignment, and tree identification — were approved. The commission also revoked an enforcement order against the Flying Bridge restaurant at 455 Hartford Avenue after owner Michael Fabriano and representative Bruce Karen demonstrated that flour-and-water rinse water, not cooking oil, had caused mold buildup on a riverbank, and that all tub rinsing had been moved indoors. Separately, the commission opened and continued seven new single-family home Notice of Intent applications for Lots 77 through 83 in the Toll Northeast V Corporation Red Mill subdivision, and voted unanimously to issue two Certificates of Compliance for 225 Farm Street correcting a longstanding recording error.