Hanson Commission Approves Jacob Lane Garden, Advances First Wetland Bylaws

HANSON -- July 7, 2026, Hanson Conservation Commission clears Jacob Lane garden plan and advances first wetland bylaw framework. The commission voted unanimously Tuesday to issue a Negative Determination No. 3 for a parcel at Lot 8A Jacob Lane, allowing the Julie E. Catchy Evocables Trust to plant vegetables, keep bees, and maintain lawn access to four pre-existing water wells within the wetland buffer zone, finding the work would not alter areas subject to jurisdiction under the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act. The board also approved $3,396 in pond management invoices, $1,424.60 for Harding Pond and $1,972 for Hobart Pond, covering treatment visits around June 16. The bulk of the two-hour session was spent on a member-developed risk assessment designed to determine which proposed use restrictions belong in Hanson's first-ever wetland bylaws, which have failed to pass at prior town meetings; members agreed that grading, septic, and trash-receptacle restrictions need not appear in the bylaws and will be handled through orders of conditions, while swimming pools within the 100-foot buffer zone requiring a building permit will require Conservation Commission approval under new bylaw language. The commission is now targeting a January town meeting for bylaw adoption.