Dover Conservation Commission Schedules Site Visit for Disputed Driveway Safety Project

DOVER — November 6, 2024 — Dover Conservation Commission sets November 15 site visit for contested Sullivan Lane driveway project as attorney and applicant present dueling designs. At the November 6 meeting, attorney Luke Lair of McGregor, Luair and Stevens, representing four neighboring families, introduced an alternative design by engineer Rick Grady that he said would address the blind-crest sight-distance problem on the one-car shared road with significantly less grading and no removal of three healthy trees — a large pine, a 20-inch ash, and a 20-inch oak — all located within a 50-foot wetland buffer. Applicant Joyce Hastings of GLM Engineering countered that approximately 175 square feet of regrading is necessary for safety and agreed to stake and flag the site before the inspection. The commission also voted unanimously to extend the Hamlin's Crossing enforcement order planting deadline to the end of the spring 2025 growing season, and peer review consultant Paul McManus reported that all plantings, irrigation, and a five-year monitoring contract are now in place at the 12-14 Miller Hill Road restoration site — where more than 100 stump sprouts have emerged in addition to purchased plant stock.