Lexington Conservation Commission Approves Boardwalk, Wall Repair, and $11,130 in Trust Spending

LEXINGTON -- August 12, 2025, Lexington's Conservation Commission approved $11,130 in Kiesa Farm Trust expenditures and acted on a dozen permit matters during a marathon August 12 remote meeting. The four-member panel, Kevin Butel, Alex Dohan, Jason Natko, and Tom Whalen, unanimously approved $1,250 for seasonal field mowing and $9,880 to replace a deteriorating split-rail fence along Adam Street, drawing the trust's $14,443 spendable balance to near its limit. The commission also issued a negative determination allowing Kim Vandiver of 3 Peacock Farm Road to repair a 190-year-old dry-stone wall adjacent to a wetland, with conditions barring mechanical equipment from entering the delineated resource area. Arlington Life Scout Connell Sheehy received a negative determination with conditions to replace roughly 100 feet of rotting boardwalk in Arlington's Great Meadows, land that falls within Lexington's jurisdiction, as part of his Eagle Scout project. At 16 Foster Road, the commission issued both a negative determination permitting removal of five trees, conditioned on replanting five canopy trees, and a separate enforcement order requiring the owner to submit a restoration and pheno-marker plan by September 9 and complete all work by October's end after an approved patio was converted to a deck without prior commission approval.