LEOMINSTER — On Tuesday, July 14, 2026, the Leominster Conservation Commission voted against approving the construction of a proposed single-family home that would require filling approximately 2,700 square feet of wetlands at 43 Stagecoach Road.
The notice of intent was filed by Eric Lind for the construction of a single-family home and associated site improvements. The proposal included creating a wetland replication area elsewhere on the same parcel to compensate for the affected wetlands.
Brian Marchetti, vice president of engineering at McCarty Companies, represented Lind at the meeting, and told the commission that placing the home near Stagecoach Road would cause less overall disruption than the rear alternative, which would require more wetland fill, tree clearing, and impervious surface.
According to Marchetti, the frontage proposal would require approximately 2,700 square feet of wetland fill, while a conceptual alternative placing the house at the rear of the property would affect slightly more than 3,200 square feet of wetlands.
“This is a more responsible design and much less invasive and impactful proposal to put a house on the lot versus the alternative,” Marchetti said.
Marchetti said the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals previously granted a dimensional variance allowing the home to be placed near the road, and the Department of Public Works also reviewed proposed modifications to an existing drainage easement.
Several commissioners nevertheless objected to allowing a house to be built partly within an existing wetland.
“Literally building a house in the wetland not only goes against the intent but the spirit of the Wetlands Protection Act,” Commission Vice-Chair Richard Gullick said.
Commissioner Nicholas Venti argued that the proposal was not among the exceptions permitted under state wetlands regulations.
“If the law explicitly forbids something and the regulations don’t provide clear guidance as to how there’s an exception, there isn’t an exception,” Venti said. “So, as I see it, this scenario as proposed is simply explicitly forbidden under the Wetlands Protection Act.”
Conservation Agent Jesse Averka told the commission that state regulations allow—but do not require—a local commission to permit up to 5,000 square feet of wetland filling with replication elsewhere on the same parcel, but it is up to the commission’s discretion.
Two abutters who spoke during the hearing said they would prefer the home to be built near Stagecoach Road rather than at the rear of the property if the commission approved either layout.
The Leominster Conservation Commission ultimately voted unanimously, 4-0, against approving the notice of intent to construct a single-family home at 43 Stagecoach Road.
