The Planning Board is considering a local ordinance to protect wetlands, which currently are unprotected.
The idea for the proposed ordinance, which would prohibit filling wetlands without approval by the town, was generally supported by board members at the Aug. 13 meeting.
A public hearing on that and three other proposed ordinances has been scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 10, before the regular Planning Board meeting.
Wetlands now have no local protection other than ordinances related to shoreland protection zones, according to Laura Eaton, a member of the town Conservation Commission.
“I’m so excited this is being taken up,” Eaton said.
Almost a quarter of the property in South Berwick is in the Mt. Agamenticus region that stretches northeast from York Pond in Eliot through the Tatnic Hills area in Wells. It is one of the greatest concentrations of plant and animal species in the state, including many rare species, according to the Maine Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Conservation.
Most of the unprotected wetlands are in the rural districts of town, and widespread support for conservation is evident in the town’s 2024 Comprehensive Plan, according to DeCarlo Brown, town planner and economic development director .
If the ordinance is adopted, landowners will be required to apply for permits to develop property with wetlands.
Board member Tony Palazzetti wondered how landowners will know if their property is a wetland.
“We have a definition about what can be classified as a wetland, but now we have a landowner who has no idea that some portion of his property meets those thresholds,” Palazzetti said, asking “Is there anything that helps them identify that in advance?”
Applicants will be referred to informational materials that guide them to identify wetlands on their land during the application process, according to Brown.
Filling, dredging, construction, logging, farming and vegetation removal are among the activities the regulations would address to protect soils, water and wildlife habitat.
Eight uses of wetlands are permitted, according to the proposed ordinance. These include access for utilities, driveways, docks and restoration of wetlands, as long as impacts on wetlands are minimized by conditions specified in the permit. In addition, cutting trees for personal use, such as lumber or firewood, does not require a permit.
The board discussed whether to add regulations protecting vernal pools to the draft ordinance.
“The reason for a buffer around vernal pools is that the animals that breed in the pools spend most of their lives within that area,” Eaton said.
The Mt. Agamenticus region has the highest concentration of vernal pools in New England, according to the Mt. Agamenticus Conservation Program.
The board considered adding language to protect vernal pools but decided it was complicated enough to be better as a stand alone ordinance, and chose to address the issue at a later date.
Board Chair Hershey Hirschkop suggested board members review the wetland protection draft ordinance before another discussion at the Aug. 27 meeting.
Other ordinances to be addressed in the Sept. 10 public hearing would allow food trucks in town, update parking requirements, and revise the requirements for permits in certain changes of use.
