Billerica Conservation Panel Votes to Draft Warrant Transferring River Parcels

BILLERICA -- August 5, 2025, Billerica's Open Space and Recreation Planning Committee voted unanimously Tuesday to draft a town meeting warrant article transferring dozens of town-owned parcels along the Concord and Shawsheen rivers from Select Board custody to Conservation Commission protection. Town Planner Catherine Valgeria presented maps generated by a Tufts University graduate student assessment of roughly 800 town-owned properties, which identified 27 parcels scoring perfectly on conservation criteria including soil quality, wildlife proximity, and wetland connections; the committee expanded the list further to include abutting town-owned parcels not yet in conservation, prioritizing contiguous river corridor holdings near the town's drinking water supply. The committee agreed to circulate the draft list to DPW and utility departments before finalizing it, allowing any parcel needed for sewer or stormwater infrastructure to be removed. The panel also voted unanimously to resubmit its recently approved open space plan as a ten-year document rather than a seven-year one, a change the state said requires only a revised action plan submission. A separate unanimous vote directed LRTA representative Andrew Jennings to pursue discussions with the transit authority and DPW about adding a bus stop near Cook Street and Boston Road to improve access to Atkinson Field.