For the 30th CPTC Annual Conference for Massachusetts citizen and professional planners, held at Holy Cross College in Worcester in spring 2025, firm founder Gregor McGregor prepared a new presentation covering the procedures, principles, and practical tips for projects, lawyers and consultants before local Conservation Commissions. It is now available on our firm website in Archives under Slide Shows.
CPTC is the Citizen Planner Training Collaborative headquartered at UMass Boston. www.masscptc.org. It provides ongoing training with webinar series, on demand workshops for towns, groups, and regional planning agencies, authoritative publications on MA land use practice and law, and videos of select training sessions taught by professionals, all capped by its large annual conference.
CPTC is part of a strong network including the MassPlanners (an online forum), the Mass Housing Partnership (strengthening local boards and commissions to support affordable housing), and local regulatory and planning boards that touch the housing development process.
Mr. McGregor’s presentation comprehensively covers the application and hearing process for proposing work and activities in and near wetlands (as they are broadly defined as Resource Areas) and the associated Buffer Zone. Commissions have jurisdiction over these projects and enforcement under the state Wetlands Protection Act and city and town Wetlands Protection Bylaws (in about 215 municipalities).
Below are some useful highlights and diagrams from the presentation. You may watch the entire presentation by clicking the following link... Full Presentation >>
A commonly asked question and a conundrum for many is whether and how a conservation commission can approve a project under the state Wetlands Protection Act, G.L. c. 131, § 40 (the “WPA” or “Act”), while at the same time disapprove the project under a local wetlands protection bylaw or ordinance.
In January 2023 MassDEP proposed a comprehensive suite of new regulations to deal with climate change in the form of storms, flooding, and sea level rise. These are expected to be promulgated during 2024. They will affect three related regulatory and policy programs. The opportunity for the public to comment is open through February. Where and how to send your comments are specified by MassDEP.
On May 25 the United States Supreme Court, ruling in the case of Sackett v. EPA, sharply limited the scope of protection for the nation’s waters under the federal Clean Water Act (CWA). The Court redefined the CWA’s coverage of “waters of the United States” which had been hotly contested since the Court’s previous decision on point and EPA’s regulatory expansion of what adjacent wetlands are included.
Live Webcast
Date: February 7, 2023
Time: 9:30 AM
Learn about the substantive laws that govern your client's applications, such as the: Wetlands Protection Act and municipal bylaws; Home Rule principles and preemption; Open Meeting Law rules (for live, remote, and hybrid); and related federal and state permits and licenses.
The Appeals Court in 2016 had taught the lesson well, but many boards, attorneys and clients apparently missed that class, so the Supreme Judicial Court has instructed us again, this time in a masterclass.
Local wetlands bylaw (or ordinance) jurisdiction over projects in and near resource areas depends on Conservation Commission compliance with the 21-day deadlines for commencing public hearings and issuing decisions on Notices of Intent (NOI). Indeed, you may safely regard those timing provisions in the state Wetlands Protection Act (the Act) as binding on the Commission, with failure to meet them potentially fatal to any decision the Commission may render.
On December 23, 2019, the City of Boston joined the almost two-thirds of the Commonwealth’s 351 municipalities in having more stringent requirements for work in and near wetlands, waterbodies, and floodplains. Unlike many of those other municipalities, the explicit purpose of Boston’s wetlands ordinance is to address climate change, through adaptation and building resiliency.
A conservation commission may want to enforce the Wetlands Protection Act (hereinafter, the “Act”) and its wetland bylaw or ordinance (hereinafter, “bylaw”) against a project that was built a while ago without commission approval. The impetus might be a tip from a resident or new observation by a commissioner or agent. A recent decision of the Massachusetts Appeals Court provides important guidance and useful reminders.
The Appeals Court in Parkview Electronics Trust, LLC v. Conservation Commission of Winchester, 88 Mass. App. Ct. 833 (2016), reinforced the well-established principle that a local conservation commission can have regulatory authority under a wetlands bylaw or ordinance (hereinafter “bylaw”) that is independent from, and in addition to, its authority under the state Wetlands Protection Act (“Act”).
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