Orleans Conservation Commission approves Grieco pool, Roberge seawall work in unanimous votes

ORLEANS — April 7, 2026 — Orleans Conservation Commission continues lakeside teardown, approves pool and seawall work in packed April 7 session. The six-member commission, chaired by Drusilla Henson with Conservation Agent John Jannell, voted 6-0 on all formal actions at its April 7 meeting in the Nauset Room. The most contentious item — a proposal by John and Meghan Lyons to demolish a 1956 cottage at 169 Monument Road on Pilgrim Lake and replace it with a taller two-story dwelling shifted roughly 14 feet landward — was continued to April 21 after commissioners raised concerns about a 3,274-cubic-foot volume increase, a ridge height rising from 32.4 to 41.2 feet, stormwater controls on a steep driveway, and the project's position entirely within the Pleasant Bay Area of Critical Environmental Concern; Henson called approval "just very difficult" without heavier mitigation. The commission approved a pool, patio, and garden shed for Scott and Diane Grieco at 24 Camp Road subject to conditions requiring a minimum 25-foot no-mow wetland buffer with physical delineators, stormwater drains directed to dry wells, and pool drawdown to be trucked off site. Commissioners also approved a revised plan request for Michael and Tracy Roberge at 27 Cheney Road, authorizing an extension of in-water work limits to remove a 1961-era concrete seawall footing discovered under established salt marsh, conditioned on a Wilkinson Ecological Design monitoring protocol covering two full growing seasons of salt marsh recovery — work must be complete by April 24.