Thirteen Andover residents warned the Town they plan to file a lawsuit in Essex County Superior Court to block a plan to pave the Haggetts Pond Trail.
“Notice is hereby given that the Citizens Group intends to bring a civil action in Superior Court at least twenty-one days after this Notice to seek equitable and/or declaratory relief concerning the violations of law and impending harm to the environment described herein, if the Town does not meet its obligations,” Caroline E. Smith, the lawyer for the 13 residents, wrote in a Feb. 24 letter to the Andover Select Board.
For more than a year, the residents have been trying to block the Town’s plan to pave the mile-long trail that runs along Haggetts Pond. Andover officials maintain the paving will make the trail more accessible without causing significant environmental damage, and the Andover Conservation Commission has already approved the paving. The Friends of Haggetts Pond pushed for a special town meeting last year, but Andover’s legislative body ultimately rejected zoning changes that would have prevented the paving project.
Smith argued in her letter Andover would be in violation of Article 97 of the Amendments to the Massachusetts Constitution, a 1972 law aimed at preserving open space, if it moves ahead with the project. Smith said the Town would also be in violation of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental and Energy Affairs’ Land Disposition Policy, and the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act.
“The Project will result in significant tree loss. The Town agrees that 57 ‘significant’ trees will be removed during the Project,” Smith offered as one example of the environmental impact of paving the trail. “There are a significant number of large trees on the Bank of Haggetts Pond that are within feet and inches of the proposed trail and post-and-rail fence, respectively. Cutting the roots of these trees so close to the trunk of the trees will damage trees and may ultimately kill the trees. If the trees on the Bank of Haggetts Pond are damaged or killed, the Bank’s stabilization will ultimately deteriorate.”