North Attleborough Conservation Commission closes Wendy Drive fire-rebuild hearing, advances wetlands bylaw

NORTH ATTLEBORO -- July 21, 2026, North Attleborough Conservation Commission closes Wendy Drive fire-rebuild hearing and advances draft wetlands bylaw. The commission voted unanimously Tuesday to close the public hearing for a notice of intent filed by Joshua and Cherie Jensen for 60 Wendy Drive, SE243-1026, after engineer Larry Tilton of Tilton Associates presented a revised four-sheet construction plan showing total buffer zone impact of 9,250 square feet, of which 1,350 square feet is new permanent impact from an enlarged building footprint, and no bordering vegetated wetland disturbance. The board also unanimously issued a certificate of compliance for 657 High Street, SE243-0919, clearing a paperwork error that left an older order of conditions open while the property changed hands and a new filing superseded it. A separate continuance for 159 Paul Lizotte Drive, filed by Forge Building Corporation, was pushed to September 15, 2026, with one abstention, while the applicant decides whether to proceed or withdraw. The commission spent more than an hour on a draft local wetlands protection bylaw, agreeing to recharacterize the buffer zone as an area subject to jurisdiction rather than a resource area, strike an exemption provision that members said could allow new lawn creation up to 51 feet from wetlands, and move fee schedules to the easier-to-amend regulations document; the commission has two vacancies and Chair Kimberly Ciaramicoli appealed on-air for environmental attorneys watching to consider applying.