Wetlands Protection Committee approves 28 Manor Ave. plan change in 5-0 vote

WELLESLEY -- May 7, 2026, Wellesley wetlands board approves 28 Manor Ave. plan change, presses three other projects to revise plans. The Wetlands Protection Committee voted 5-0 on May 7 to accept a revised foundation design from owner Sethi Dharmendra and contractor Ammar Alkhatatbih that swaps full-perimeter screw underpinning for conventional underpinning at the front and rear only, cutting excavation depth to one foot. At 44 Pine Ridge Road, Chair Ellie McLane and Interim Wetlands Administrator Linda Hansen flagged that an applicant had replaced required native plantings, a flowering dogwood and three highbush blueberries, with a weeping cherry, arborvitae, hydrangeas and boxwoods, calling the swap unacceptable. At 45 Windsor Road, staff said impervious cover in the riverfront area would jump from about 14 percent to 19 percent and that the 1-to-1 restoration calculation must rise to 2-to-1, requiring roughly 3,200 square feet of restoration. Abutter Nancy Westenberg urged protection of the neighborhood's "longest and most intact wildlife corridor."