Leominster Conservation Commission Continues Stagecoach Road Home Amid Wetland Filling Dispute

LEOMINSTER — May 12, 2026 — Leominster Conservation Commission continues a disputed Stagecoach Road wetland-fill proposal and greenlights a Hamilton Street EV charging station. The commission voted 5-0 to continue the Notice of Intent filed by property owner Eric Lind, represented by Wesley Fliss of McCarty Engineering, which seeks to fill 2,725 square feet of wetland at 43 Stagecoach Road for a single-family home, offsetting the impact with 2,775 square feet of replication on two adjacent parcels. Commissioner Nick Venti said flatly that he is "inclined to vote against this the way it sits right now," citing Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act Section 10.53, which does not explicitly list residential construction as a permissible basis for wetland filling. Rear abutter Mr. Chapdelaine of 32 Scenic Drive described a 30-to-40-foot drainage ravine on the property and alleged a neighboring homeowner had listed his house for sale over flooding fears. The commission directed Conservation Agent Jesse Averka to pull all historical approvals for the adjacent lots and scheduled a site walk, contingent on the availability of independent Wetland Scientist Mary Ann DiPinto, before the matter returns May 26. In the same meeting, the board unanimously issued a Negative 2 Determination for six commercial EV charging stalls and a 23-by-23-foot concrete equipment pad at 162 Hamilton Street, finding the impact on the FEMA-mapped floodplain to be de minimis.