Arlington Conservation Commission Approves Conditional Tree Removal for Solar Project at Lake Shore Drive

ARLINGTON -- July 9, 2026, Arlington Conservation Commission conditionally approves Norway maple removal at lakefront property for solar installation. The commission voted unanimously July 9 to allow homeowners Robert Gaywicki and Cecilia Franzelle of 18 Lake Shore Drive to remove two Norway maples within its buffer zone adjacent to Lower Mystic Lake, attaching a requirement that the couple plant six native specimens, four winterberry shrubs and two small native trees, with a three-year survivability guarantee. Commissioner Susan Chapnik, who inspected the property that day, noted that the invasive maples still provide wildlife habitat and that the commission's regulations in section 25 require a minimum of three replacement trees per removed tree for specimens in the 6-to-10-inch diameter range. The commission used its discretion to allow shrubs to count toward part of that obligation and to permit two of the four winterberries to be placed outside its jurisdictional area given crowding constraints. A separate hearing on a sunroom addition at 91 Sunnyside Avenue was continued to July 23 after Commissioner David Kaplan identified a potential shortfall in the required two-foot separation between a proposed rooftop infiltration unit and estimated seasonal high groundwater, a unit that forms the core of the project's stormwater mitigation package.