Billerica Tree Panel Advances Draft Bylaw, Targets July for Planning Director Review

BILLERICA — June 10, 2026 — Billerica's LORAX Committee advanced its draft tree protection bylaw Wednesday, focusing on unresolved penalty amounts and a new pre-removal notification requirement for tree companies. Meeting June 10 with no public attendance, the committee identified a gap in the draft: the existing penalties section addresses only civil liability between neighbors — specifically tort claims for triple damages — but sets no municipal fine for a property owner who removes a protected tree on their own lot without mitigation. Members informally discussed fines ranging from $500 to $5,000 per tree, with roughly $1,000 emerging as a working floor; one member noted that the current $500 benchmark "is literally what the one was for — we're just not giving any deterrence." The committee also agreed to add a section placing documentation and advance-notification duties on tree-removal companies, require a drought-and-weather exemption to replanting timelines given Middlesex County's current Level 3 drought, and clarify that the draft's "reviewing agent" means whichever entity holds jurisdiction — the Tree Warden in most cases, the Conservation Commission for wetland sites. Members declined to vote on the draft Wednesday, instead directing one member to compile revisions and transmit them to the Planning Director before a tentative July 15 next meeting, with Town Counsel review and a Planning Board appearance still ahead before a fall Town Meeting submission.