By K.B. Sherman, Contributing Writer
Shrewsbury – The issue of tree clear-cutting was again a topic of discussion at the June 9 meeting of the Shrewsbury Board of Selectmen. A topic at the spring Town Meeting, this agenda item was to further discuss and take action on the issue. What to some is simply a clearing of trees for economic, aesthetic, or safety concerns, is, to others, a despoiling of the land and a decrease in property values. Massachusetts has no state laws regulating tree cutting on private property, although the state is the eighth-most forested in the U.S. Clear-cutting on state land is similarly a patchwork of case-by-case decisions. In each town in Massachusetts, the local government has been left to create its own laws and regulations.
To this issue, Selectman Maurice M. DePalo reported that he had been working with Selectman James F. Kane on generating a rule for Shrewsbury and had submitted it to the town Engineering Department for review. The proposal would limit clear-cutting on private land to 20,000 square feet without a permit per year. Violation of the rule would be subject to a fine, unspecified at this time. Methods of enforcement of the law are also undetermined at this time. Similarly, no restoration order would be part of the law. Once the Engineering Department comments upon the proposed law, it will be sent to the Planning Board for review.
Selectman Henry J. Fitzgerald questioned the limit of 20,000 square feet without a permit per year instead of, say, an acre, which is 40,000 square feet. DePalo replied that other towns use the 20,000 square foot limit to allow for yard or garden expansion and other minor construction projects. After the proposed law makes its rounds through the town, it will again be before the selectmen before presentation to Town Meeting for approval.
