Whitman Conservation Commission Approves Compliance Certificate, Eyes Wetlands Bylaw

WHITMAN -- May 20, 2025, Whitman Conservation Commission moves toward a local wetlands bylaw and flags three open-space sites for potential trail development. At the May 20 meeting, members approved a certificate of compliance for Lot 5 Marie Ann Drive, DEP file 340-0478, with an informal condition requiring the property owner to add stone to a rear drainage depression before receiving the document. The commission also approved two payroll periods and a pair of pond-monitoring invoices covering Harding Pond and Hobart Pond. A member introduced a draft framework for a local wetlands protection bylaw drawn from the Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissions model, citing Abington's 2023 bylaw and Bellingham's graduated fine structure as reference points; any bylaw would require town meeting approval, making the timeline at least a year out. Site-walk reports on Peat Hole, Flaherty Trail, and the informal Town Forest near the Blanchard rotary fed into the ongoing Open Space and Recreation Plan update, with members recommending that formally designating the Town Forest, currently not an official Massachusetts designation, be included in the plan due to grant-funding potential; Old Colony Planning is seeking commission feedback on plan goals by June 6.