Douglas Stormwater Bylaw Committee advances draft regulations, defers abutter notification question

DOUGLAS -- October 28, 2025, Douglas committee advances stormwater regulations draft, flags abutter notification and fee questions for follow-up. The Stormwater Bylaw Committee met October 28 to work through a redlined draft of the implementing regulations for a stormwater bylaw approved at town meeting, with Town Planner John Charron presenting both a tracked-changes copy and a clean amended version. Members approved the September 30 meeting minutes unanimously but held the October 14 minutes after two abstentions left an insufficient voting quorum. The committee agreed to require two hard copies and one PDF for permit applications rather than three hard copies, remove a requirement that applicants prove their project is outside Natural Heritage priority habitat, and retain only the applicant-rights paragraphs of MGL Chapter 44, Section 53G rather than reproduce the full statute. A proposed 300-foot abutter notification radius was flagged for town counsel review, as was the question of whether fee schedule amendments require a public hearing. The November 11 meeting was canceled for Veterans Day, with the committee's next session set for November 18.