North Andover Conservation Commission Issues Airport Certificate, Advances Country Club Wetland Case

NORTH ANDOVER — January 28, 2026 — North Andover Conservation Commission closes a nine-year-old airport wetlands order and advances a contested country club vegetation plan. At its January 28 meeting, the commission voted 4-1 to issue a Certificate of Compliance for Lawrence Municipal Airport, closing out a 2016 order that had governed runway rehabilitation including a 9,224-square-foot wetland replication at a 2.6-to-1 ratio. The commission also approved two separate utility-pole filings for Massachusetts Electric Company along town rights-of-way, one with a pruning-only condition added by commissioners, and another covering three locations including a new pole within feet of Boston Brook in the riverfront area. The most extended discussion centered on North Andover Country Club's proposal to remove 31 trees and twice-yearly top shrub vegetation along fairways adjacent to Lake Cochichewick, the town's primary drinking water reservoir; the commission continued that case to February 25 and directed the club to retain an ISA or Massachusetts-certified arborist before returning, noting the Planning Board watershed special permit application had not yet been filed.