Cohasset Conservation Commission continues Gulf River Phragmites herbicide permit debate

COHASSET — September 11, 2025 — Cohasset Conservation Commission continues two contested wetland permits while approving four others at its September 11 meeting. The six-member commission, chaired by Chris McIntyre, voted 6-0 to continue NOI 25-21 — a proposal by five property-owning families to remove invasive Phragmites australis across roughly 35,000 square feet along the Gulf River using foliar herbicide — after commissioners Will Ashton and Tom Bell expressed opposition to the herbicide approach and Chair McIntyre said approving large-scale spraying without a native revegetation plan would be "a big jump" beyond prior precedent; the hearing returns September 23. A separate hearing on a new stone wall at 84 Gammons Road was continued to October 9, with the commission requiring a site visit, signed-and-sealed cross-section drawings from engineer Brendan Sullivan, and formal delineation of the coastal bank before deliberating further. The commission unanimously approved an after-the-fact order of conditions and variance for a river-rock auto court at 81 Border Street, a 5-0 amended order of conditions and variance for utility installation beneath the approved driveway at 32 Lothrop Lane for owners Charles and Ginevra Higginson, and 6-0 partial certificates of compliance clearing the newly subdivided 66 Black Horse Lane parcel from two existing orders of conditions tied to work at 74 Black Horse Lane.