Bellingham Board of Health Rescinds South Main Street Leaf-Pile Fine, Orders Composting Rules Drafted

NORTH ANDOVER -- March 26, 2026, Bellingham Board of Health voids a leaf-pile fine and moves to draft its first composting regulation. The board voted unanimously at its December 16, 2025 meeting to rescind a fine issued to Ms. Marsh of 835 South Main Street after Health Agent Dylan Labonte confirmed her brush and leaf pile had been removed. Marsh told the board the pile was composed entirely of yard waste accumulated after tree removal and that complaints had been filed by neighbors engaged in what she described as a three-year harassment campaign. With no existing town standard defining a compost pile, its allowable contents, or required setbacks from property lines, the board directed Labonte to consult town counsel and bring draft regulatory language to the next meeting. The board also heard that Bellingham's revolving food-permit fund went undrawn through all of 2025, all permit revenue from the town's roughly 70 food establishments was deposited but no food-agent inspection fees were paid, and that Labonte plans to propose hiring a dedicated food agent at the January meeting.