Conservation Commission Defers Wetland Bylaw Changes, Clears Three Project Modifications

NORTH ANDOVER -- February 11, 2026, North Andover Conservation Commission defers wetland bylaw changes and approves three project modifications. The commission voted unanimously at its February 11 meeting to grant condition modifications for a three-lot residential development at Stonecleave Road under LRC Builders, pushing a vernal-pool area dump cleanup deadline to late July and adjusting the project's construction sequence to allow tree removal before building permits issue. The board also amended an enforcement order at 488 Pleasant Street to add a May 31 planting deadline, a 75 percent survivorship requirement, two years of monitoring, and a three-year invasive vegetation management plan, boilerplate terms that had been inadvertently omitted. A National Grid utility project on Salem Street received approval to remove approximately three saplings located 85 to 90 feet from the nearest wetland, with the commission affirming the work remained within its Category L small-project designation. On bylaw amendments, the commission agreed with staff that the March 9 Town Meeting warrant deadline could not be met responsibly, opting to target the 2027 cycle and to pursue a faster-track regulatory hearing on a specific fence-definition issue that does not require Town Meeting approval.