Townsend Commission Continues Brookline Road Septic Hearing Over Unpermitted Pond

TOWNSEND -- March 25, 2026, Townsend Conservation Commission continues a Brookline Road septic hearing after DEP flags an unpermitted pond. The four-member board voted 4-0 to push the hearing for Kevin Smith's proposed off-grid cabin septic system at 0 Brookline Road to April 8 after the state Department of Environmental Protection declined to issue a file number, citing questions about a pond built on the property during the COVID-19 pandemic without a wetlands filing. Applicant's engineer Jack Maloney told abutters from a neighboring six-unit condo building, who raised concerns about their shared well, that the septic site is roughly 1,400 feet away, "well beyond the threshold." The board also voted 4-0 to issue a standard order of conditions for a residential project at 198 North End Road and approved a certificate of compliance for 75 Pierce Road contingent on removal of a remaining silt fence. Commission member James Deroyan reported Townsend's first-year Community Preservation Act collections total approximately $167,000, with a projected $24,000 state match, for an estimated $191,000 that cannot be spent until fiscal 2027.