Posted on 03/13/2006 8:39:11 AM PST by GreenFreeper
Disturb a frog's vernal pool habitat: Pay $300.
Alter a marsh, meadow, bog, bank, or pond of any size: See you in court.
The potential fine and enforcement actions are some of the teeth in a proposed wetlands protection bylaw that would give the Belmont Conservation Commission greater authority over what happens in or around wetlands.
The proposal, which voters will decide at Town Meeting on April 24, would reinforce a state law that more than half of the communities in Massachusetts have found lacking in some way.
Belmont would join at least 180 others with a new wetlands bylaw, including Arlington, Andover, Dracut, Lexington, Methuen, North Andover, Reading, and Winchester. Such bylaws, which are outside traditional zoning bylaws, change the regulatory landscape in a state that is increasingly squeezed by residential and commercial growth. It's also a state that is increasingly conscious of its natural resources.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
FReepmail me to be added or removed to the ECO-PING list!
I wonder what the chances are this passes?
"This is not meant to obstruct," said Bishop. Developers say otherwise. And they say these local rules are driving housing costs out of sight. "They're typically a tool to thwart construction or development of any kind," said Ben Osgood, a builder and developer from North Andover. ''The applicant is held hostage in these cases."
Of course, it's meant to obstruct!
None. OTOH, the chances that it will be merely imposed are excellent.
Yup, they'll weed out the small developer building custom homes in favor of the corporation buiding Sustainable Communities that can foot both the cost of the paperwork and the payoff to the local pols.
For non-Bostonians,Belmont is one of the richest towns in America.It's where the senior faculty and administrators of Harvard and MIT tend to live.
Signs, they need to post lots of signs in these places to notify people of the rules, especially so kids don't wipe out endangered species or destroy the environment while playing. The signs will have to be really big too - else, how would they be sure they had the information in enough different languages that kids that don't speak English don't wreak environmental havoc due to ignorance. /sarc
Can't improve on that, so will just repeat it.
LOL! Seems our exports have hit the right coast. How ya been?
We had a great Lincoln Day Dinner this weekend, I was able to book Ed Meese as featured speaker. Not bad for our little backwater county.
An alligator in every pond.
Mrs VS
Cool! I remember my speaking trip up there with great fondness.
You have a standing invite anytime you wish to return.
It was most enjoyable to watch the greenies in the crowd shut up before they even got their mouths open. :-)
I hope I evoked some thought and brought a little hope.
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