Auburn Conservation Commission Rejects Soil Testing Rollback for Cemetery Project

AUBURN — April 22, 2026 — Auburn Conservation Commission votes to keep strict soil testing at cemetery site, softens on well monitoring. Meeting with a four-member quorum Wednesday, the commission voted 4 to 0 to amend an Order of Conditions for the proposed cemetery at 0 Cemetery Road, reducing a groundwater monitoring requirement from four to two years post-construction in line with the project's Phase Four Remedial Implementation Plan, which calls for quarterly sampling of six monitoring wells and two private wells. However, the board flatly rejected a request from applicant Todd Kirton's engineering firm Tighe & Bond to eliminate a special condition requiring one soil sample per truckload of imported fill — with Member Mark Kish calling it "a hard no." In a separate matter, the board voted 4 to 0 to send a letter to property owner Dick Chandler, inviting him to appear at the May 13 meeting to discuss an unauthorized pile of sticks he had landscapers place in Kettle Brook at the intersection of 1 Brook Road, 9 Brook Road, and 35 Rockland Road, which Chandler said was intended to protect turtle nesting habitat. Land Use Coordinator Nat Bickford reported the structure was not causing significant backup, but the commission noted it remains within its jurisdiction regardless of intent.