Conservation Commission Waives RDA Requirement for Breezy Acres Pool Removal

DOUGLAS -- November 3, 2025, Douglas Conservation Commission drops RDA requirement for Breezy Acres pool demolition in 4-1 vote. The commission agreed Monday to a "gentleman's agreement" with Keith and Lauren Forgett, co-owners of Breezy Acres Picnic Grounds at 520 Northwest Main Street, allowing the family to remove a shallow concrete plunge pool located roughly 18 feet from a pond bank without filing a Request for Determination of Applicability. The commission's consulting team had already told the board that the state DEP confirmed an RDA was not technically required, since the impervious pool is being replaced with pervious native soil and crushed stone within the same footprint; DEP also told the Forgetts directly that the commission would need to show the work alters the bank to legally compel a filing. Member Josiah Birch cast the lone dissenting vote, and the consulting agent cautioned that the informal agreement "has no legal standing", leaving an enforcement order as the commission's only remedy if petroleum or sediment reaches the water. The commission also unanimously approved an order of conditions for Joseph Leonardo's residential project at 269 Southeast Main Street and lifted enforcement orders on two Southwest Main Street construction lots.