Ayer Planning Board Reviews New Tree Protection Bylaw
Planning Board · Meeting of September 8, 2026
Ayer Planning Board previews a tree preservation bylaw setting a $100-per-inch mitigation fee. Conservation Agent Heather Hampson said the bylaw, drafted with Town Planner Danny Ruiz, would apply only to site plan review, stormwater and OSRD projects, exempting dead, diseased and invasive trees like Norway maple along with large-scale solar and Chapter 40B housing. Resident Christine Goulet argued mature Norway maples still deserve mitigation despite their invasive status, while Beth Stedmaier urged a future canopy-cover standard.
The fund would finance the town's unfunded 2021 street tree replanting plan. The board separately voted 4-0 to recommend Select Board and town meeting acceptance of the Wright Road extension as a public way, conditioned on a Department of Public Works punch list, and voted 4-0 to recommend new "Aquifer Protection District" and "impervious surface" zoning definitions. The bylaw heads to the Select Board October 6 and town meeting October 26.
In the full story:
- Who Was There
- Organizations And Documents Referenced
- The complete report — 3,319 words
Source: the Planning Board meeting of September 8, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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