Ayer Conservation Commission Amends Creative Materials Order, Drops Deed Restriction Requirement

AYER — April 9, 2026 — Ayer Conservation Commission unanimously amended a 2025 order of conditions for Creative Materials at 12 Willow Road, replacing a deed restriction with physical buffer signage and a recorded Registry of Deeds plan. Attorney Libby Bowker of Anderson Kreiger appeared for the applicant, telling the five-member board the change — swapping Special Condition 58 for two new conditions — had been cleared with DEP and was "a very minor amendment." Conservation Agent Heather Hampson added language requiring her review of the recorded plan before it goes to the registry. The board also continued two public hearings to April 23: the Sawyer May LLC roadway extension on Orion Park Drive, where a Goddard Consulting wildlife assessment was submitted to Massachusetts Wildlife the day of the meeting, and a New England Power Company transmission-line maintenance filing (DEP File 100-0501), which passed 4-0 with Vice Chair Mark Phillips abstaining after no company representative appeared. Chair Jessica Gugino flagged two upcoming Town Meeting warrant articles tied to conservation — one on aquatic weed treatment and one authorizing a deed restriction and conservation restriction on senior center land to protect Blanding's turtle habitat.