Billerica Conservation Commission Continues Three Wetlands Hearings, Issues One Delineation Order

BILLERICA — March 23, 2026 — Billerica's Conservation Commission continued three wetland permit hearings to April 13 and pressed a solar developer over unresolved permit violations at its March 23 meeting. Commission member Diane DePasso moved toward outright denial of a residential construction proposal at 51 Sheldon Street, arguing the site plan was inaccurate, wetland data plots were missing, and the commission has consistently applied a 50-foot no-alteration zone to undeveloped wooded lots — a standard that would leave the applicant, Brian Barone, represented by Steven Dresser of Dresser-Williamson & Way, Inc., with little room to site a code-compliant house and septic system. The commission instead voted to continue to April 13 for additional soil data and delineation work. At 333 Boston Road, commission member Joanne Giovanno told solar developer NextGrid and its consultant All Points Technology that she would not advance a new 837-kilowatt solar project until the property owner repaired a deteriorated post-and-rail fence required by a prior permit and remediated an overflowing stormwater basin — "It's just looks like a swimming pool," she said — with that hearing continued to April 27. The commission granted a hardship accommodation to the family of 94-year-old homeowner Maybel Bunker at 6 Harris Street, allowing septic installation to begin before wetland plan revisions are finalized; the son of the owner told the board he had "enough money to pay for her care for another two months." The commission unanimously issued a positive Order of Resource Area Delineation for 171 Allen Road and voted to support two DPW grant applications for a town-wide culvert assessment.