Commission orders cleanup after conservation land trespass

Conservation Commission · Meeting of September 22, 2026

Groton conservation panel orders yearslong restoration after a water-department contractor's trespass. DeFelice Corporation, hired by the Groton Water Department for town water-line work, used a lot near the Walker Cox Conservation Area as a staging site and encroached onto protected land; the Groton Conservation Commission voted 7-0 to accept a mitigation plan from engineer Jeffrey Brim calling for red oak, red maple, white pine and sweet fern, plus at least five years of invasive-species monitoring. Groton Conservation Trust trustee Michelle Ruby warned that heavy machinery had compacted the subsoil, saying "there needs to be some serious restoration" before planting.

Commissioners also voted 7-0 to decline the town's option on two $500,000 Chapter 61A lots on Long Hill Road, calling the pair "a cool million" with little conservation value, while reviewing a draft conservation restriction over an adjoining corner featuring a Frederick Law Olmsted-designed landscape. The board separately approved a driveway realignment at 162 Common Street conditioned on preserving a 50-foot tree buffer and cleared select tree removals at 28 Ridgewood Avenue.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 4,436 words

Source: the Conservation Commission meeting of September 22, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.