Conservation Commission Continues Candlestick Road Pool Permit After Vernal Pool Confirmed

NORTH ANDOVER -- April 22, 2026, North Andover Conservation Commission confirms vernal pool at Candlestick Road, continues pool permit pending 1978 file closure. The commission voted unanimously at its April 22 meeting to continue the Notice of Intent for a proposed in-ground pool at 115 Candlestick Road after staff and the applicant's wetland consultant from Goddard Consulting confirmed the presence of fairy shrimp during an April site visit, automatically qualifying the on-site isolated wetland as a vernal pool and triggering 50-foot no-disturb and 75-foot no-build setbacks. The project, filed on behalf of homeowner Mr. Comfort, also cannot receive an order of conditions until a 1978 order, which permitted a drainage pipe at elevation 100 and was never formally closed, is resolved with a certificate of compliance. Commission member Sean pressed the applicant to allow a strip of existing lawn within the 50-foot no-disturb zone to revegetate naturally, a condition the project team accepted. The commission separately approved, 4-0 with one abstention, an amended order of conditions for a Presby-type septic upgrade at 1 Forest Street, with the abstention recorded because the member had not received the draft order before the vote was called.