Hamilton Planning Board Approves National Grid Tree Removals on Two Scenic Roads

HAMILTON — January 15, 2022 — Hamilton Planning Board approves National Grid tree removals on Bridge Street and Sagamore Street. The board voted 5-0 at its January 15 meeting to authorize removals on two of the town's 13 designated scenic roads under Massachusetts General Law Chapter 40, Section 15C, covering 13 of the 68 trees National Grid has targeted across multiple Hamilton streets. Nash de Garma, National Grid's forestry supervisor and a Massachusetts-certified arborist, told the board the targeted electrical circuit "performs poorly" and consistently ranks near the bottom of all circuits the company tracks. Woodbury Street residents, including 32-year resident Dave Dashkin, challenged the removal of dozens of trees on their street — which is not a scenic road — questioning whether tree-related outages on Woodbury had ever actually occurred. De Garma agreed to conduct a second review of borderline cases near Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary dormitories, and National Grid offered an unspecified tree donation to the town. Planning Director Patrick Griffith noted the board has no authority over removals on non-scenic roads, and Chair Marty Crouch raised the possibility of revisiting the town's tree bylaw to require replanting.