Ordinance Committee advances wetlands ordinance, approves BEES expansion
City Council - Ordinance Committee · Meeting of April 6, 2026
EASTHAMPTON — The Ordinance Committee advanced a local wetlands protection ordinance and approved BEES Committee expansion at its April meeting. Conservation Agent Eva Gerstle presented the ordinance, which would protect isolated vegetated wetlands larger than 400 square feet, increase replication requirements to 2:1, and establish a 100-foot buffer zone with a 50-foot no-disturbance core, allowing Conservation Commission fines of $300 per day for non-compliance. Councilors Tamara Smith and Koni Denham voted unanimously to advance the BEES Committee expansion from seven to 11 members to the full city council with recommendation.
The committee scheduled a joint Planning Board hearing for April 21 on the Affordable and Fair Housing Partnership's zoning recommendations.
In the full story:
- The complete report — 298 words
Source: the City Council - Ordinance Committee meeting of April 6, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
Keep reading with a 30-day free trial
Subscribe to Easthampton News to keep reading this post and get 30 days of free access to the full post archives.
Starting a trial requires a payment method. After 30 free days your subscription begins at the price shown at checkout and renews automatically until you cancel. You can cancel anytime from your account. Subscription terms
A subscription gets you:
- Subscriber-only posts and full archive
- Post comments and join the community
- 24x7 access to local news