Southwick Approves Vining Hill Culvert Replacement, Continues Tannery Road Hearing

SOUTHWICK -- May 4, 2026, Southwick Conservation Commission unanimously approves Vining Hill Road culvert replacement and advances multiple wetland matters at packed May 4 meeting. The commission approved a notice of intent to replace the existing 5-foot-by-5-foot concrete box culvert carrying Pearl Brook under Vining Hill Road with a 9-foot-by-7-foot structure, conditioned on an approved dewatering plan before work begins and Department of Public Works oversight as erosion control monitor; DPW Director John Darr called the grant-funded project long overdue, noting that "retaining walls have started to displace out there." A parallel culvert replacement at Tannery Road was continued to May 18 pending MassDEP comments. The commission also voted unanimously to approve a negative determination for a residential erosion-control project at 39 Lakeview Street, accepted a revised wetland delineation for 331 North Loomis Street, and directed two lakefront property owners, one on Pine Street and one on Mountain Road in Suffield, Connecticut, to file after-the-fact notices of intent following unpermitted shoreline work. Member Dennis Clark was unanimously nominated as the commission's representative to the newly reinstated Open Space and Recreation Plan Committee after the Select Board voted April 13 to reconstitute the body and a related state grant was confirmed approved on the day of the meeting.