Billerica Conservation Commission Closes Several NOIs, Challenges WL French Forest Clearing Plan

BILLERICA — April 27, 2026 — Billerica Conservation Commission challenges WL French over 2018 perpetual-protection order while closing multiple routine wetlands filings. The commission on April 27 approved orders of conditions for the town's 2026 Roadway Management Project, a New England Power transmission line maintenance filing, and two continued residential ADU hearings, but sharply questioned a WL French proposal to clear approximately 5.3 acres of forested buffer land at 14 Sterling Road. Chair Bill Buhlens and member Joanne Giovanno both cited a 2018 order of conditions, recorded at the Registry of Deeds, requiring the forested area to remain protected in perpetuity. "I've never seen anybody come back and ask to do a project that basically tells us to negate conditions that the applicant agreed to," Buhlens said. Member Christine Aris added, "Our job as commissioners is not to help companies grow. It's to protect these wetlands." The hearing was continued to June 8, pending a third-party peer review by engineer Brian Dunn and a requested site visit. Rose Olszewski, president of the abutting Swanson Meadows 1 Condominium Association, told the commission the five-acre clearing could increase runoff into an unmapped drainage channel along the shared property line.