Hampden Conservation Commission Issues Enforcement Order Over Southbridge Estates Wetland Clearing

HAMPDEN -- June 17, 2026, Hampden Conservation Commission issues enforcement order in year-long Southbridge Estates wetland case. The commission voted unanimously at its June 17 meeting to formally order a Southbridge Estates property owner to install wetland boundary monuments by September 15, 2026, and complete a revegetation plan by May 31, 2027, following unauthorized clearing of a resource area protected under the subdivision's original order of conditions, which bars any disturbance to the wetland boundary in perpetuity. The commission also voted unanimously to amend the order's revegetation deadline from October 15 to May 31, 2027, on the advice of the project's environmental consultant, who cited frost risk for fall plantings. The property owner, attending the meeting, acknowledged his legal responsibility but said he disputes being the party who carried out the clearing; commission members told him any cost recovery from a third party is a separate civil matter. Separately, the commission issued a unanimous negative determination clearing a Summers Road applicant to build a 2,400-square-foot house and 1,200-square-foot garage outside regulated resource areas, and tabled a contested agricultural property inspection question at 530 Glendale Road until July 15, when a newly retained town attorney is expected to advise on the commission's inspection authority.