WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Conservation Commission on Thursday OK'd the removal of two pine trees on a Sand Springs Road property.

 

Although the commissioners questioned the reasons given for removing the trees, it was determined that cutting them down would not significantly impact the nearby Broad Brook.

 

Maxine Morin sought permission to remove the trees, which are within the outer riparian zone of the brook and, therefore, under the jurisdiction of the commission. According to her application, similar trees on the property recently came down in a windstorm, and it is feared that the tall pines could do the same and damage a single-family home at 136 Sand Springs Road.

 

"I personally see no reason for cutting them down," Con Comm Chair Lauren Stevens said. 

 

"It's hard to make a case that removing those trees would injure Broad Brook. On the other hand, I think personally they're overreacting to the situation."

 

Conservation Agent Andrew Groff said it was "hard to tell" if the trees in question could hit the house. He did note that the trees that came down in the storm came close to hitting the residence, and he thinks the trees in the application would at least hit power lines if they came down.

 

Phil McKnight indicated that he was uncomfortable allowing the removal of "two apparently healthy trees because the homeowner is afraid."

 

"All of the homes in town have trees near them that could come down," McKnight said. "It just happens that this is jurisdictional to us. Do we want to be cutting down healthy trees."

 

Stephanie Boyd said it would be awkward to deny the trees removal and later have them come down in a storm and damage the homes as feared.

 

"In terms of our jurisdiction, the question is: Does it impact the wetlands," Tim Carr said. "If, in Hank's view, those pines do not impact Broad Brook, to me, that's a done deal."

 

Longtime Commissioner Henry Art made a site visit to the property and advised his colleagues that, in fact, the trees do not appear to play a role in the life of the waterway. He characterized them as being at the edge of the jurisdictional area and on the other side of an historic, abandoned road.

 

"Cutting them down, in my judgment, is not going to have much of an impact whatsoever on the wetland functioning relative to the functioning of Broad Brook," Art said.

 

The commission voted 5-0 that the Wetlands Protection Act does not apply to the project in question but placed one order of condition on the project, that the trees -- which Art said are probably in excess of 100 feet tall -- are removed in a way that they do not fall into Broad Brook.

 

Stevens noted that the commission should be grateful that the landowner recognized the trees were under the Con Comm's jurisdiction and sought permission for the removal.

 

"In terms of timber, they're beautiful trees," Art said. "I hope that when they take them down they actually use the trees for timber rather than cutting them up and putting them in a landfill somewhere."

 

The bulk of Thursday's meeting was spent on the town's application to construct the 2.4-mile Mohawk Bicycle/Pedestrian Trail, but its first order of business was to discuss plans to manage vegetation under the solar array on the capped landfill near the Hoosac River.

 

Williams College Associate Vice President Matthew Sheehy told the Con Comm that the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection asked for the local panel to sign off before the state agency reviews plans to control woody vegetation at the site.

 

The college, which manages the site, is looking for permission to cut down woody vegetation and treat with the herbicide Garlon to prevent the plants from gaining a foothold and possibly puncturing the membrane that encapsulates the landfill.

 

"Part of the problem is that the [solar] panels are so low to the ground that you can't get underneath it to mow," Stevens said.

 

Groff said the ground maintenance is permissible if done further than 50 feet from the bordering vegetated wetlands, which the work in question would be. Art said the herbicide in question meets the state standard.

 

"I think it's entirely reasonable, the approach being taken," Art said.

 

Stevens said he would ask Groff to draft a letter for him to sign and send to Mass DEP.

 

In other business on Thursday, Groff explained why the town is not filling the pond at Margaret Lindley Park, which is under the custody of the Conservation Commission.

 

"My office and the Board of Health and DPW decided not to fill the pond at Margaret Lindley Park until we know more about the future of social distancing in Massachusetts during the [COVID-19] pandemic," Groff said. "It's such a small swimming area, we didn't think it would be appropriate at this time."

 

The town drains the pond at the popular swimming hole each fall in order to prevent ice damage to the dam and allow for dam repair, which is underway this spring, Groff said.

 

"The park is open for hiking," he said. "We're just not going to fill the pond."