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.