Hubbardston Planning Board Says Pond Expansion Falls Outside Its Jurisdiction

HUBBARDSTON -- February 19, 2026, Hubbardston Planning Board finds no jurisdiction over proposed pond expansion near Gardner aquifer zone. The three-member quorum, Chair Kristofer Munroe, Alan Carpenter, and Francois Steiger, voted unanimously February 19 to send an administrative letter to the state Department of Environmental Protection confirming the board has no permitting authority over a proposed doubling of a training pond on property owned by Farline LLC, whose principal Dr. Joey Edsil uses the site for dog training. Town Planner Alec determined the project is a modification of a pre-existing by-right use, not a new or changed land use, placing it outside both the flood plain and aquifer protection district articles. Board member Steiger raised concerns about short paper fiber and wood ash deposited during a 2009 site remediation, citing PFAS-related controversies elsewhere in the region; applicant Thomas J. Christopher of Christopher Environmental Associates defended the work, and the board agreed those concerns belong before the Conservation Commission. The board also voted unanimously to recommend a slate of committee delegates to the Select Board, including Munroe for the town administrator search committee and Mark Kresge for the Montachusett Joint Transportation Committee.