Burlington Conservation Commission Continues Two Wetland Cases to April Hearings

BURLINGTON — March 26, 2026 — Burlington Conservation Commission punts two wetland permit cases to April amid debate over riverfront redevelopment standards. The commission voted 6-0 on both matters at its March 26 meeting: continuing the 11 Sears Street demolition-and-rebuild application by John Muller to April 9, pending revised plans on basement floor elevation, tree replacement, and a no-disturb buffer along the wetland edge; and continuing the hotly contested 7 A Street application by American Maplewood Properties, LLC to April 23. The A Street case centers on whether the Vine Brook riverfront site — used commercially through the mid-1990s but partially revegetated since — qualifies as "previously degraded" under Section 10.58(5) of the state Wetlands Protection Act, a designation that would ease restoration requirements for owner Tim McDonald's concrete-form storage operation. Conservation Administrator Eileen Coleman and DEP have maintained the site's vegetation implies topsoil and therefore new-development standards apply. Chair Larry Cohen proposed treating part of the site as redevelopment and part as new development, with the dividing line to be negotiated — a framework Attorney Richard "Chip" Nylen said his client could work within.