Orleans Conservation Commission Unanimously Approves Monument Road Coastal Dwelling Rebuild

ORLEANS -- April 21, 2026, Orleans Conservation Commission approves new coastal dwelling at 169 Monument Road, denies compliance certificate at 21 Megs Lane. The seven-member commission voted unanimously on all items at its April 21 meeting, with Associate Member Dave Lyttle joining the board for voting. Chair Drusilla Henson and members praised a revised mitigation package from applicants John and Meghan Lyons, represented by Ryder and Wilcox and Blue Flax Design, which added 957 square feet of new native plantings, two trench drains, and reduced the parking turnaround by 99 square feet on a Coastal Bank site within the Pleasant Bay Area of Critical Environmental Concern. Conservation Agent John Jannell recommended denial of a certificate of compliance at 21 Megs Lane for Michael and Suzanne Afergan, citing unfinished mitigation elements on the Blue Flax Design plan; Jannell said the work could be complete "as early as the end of summer." The commission also approved cedar tree removal at 27 Ruggles Road on the condition that two replacement cedars be planted on the water side of the property, a compromise proposed by Associate Member Lyttle after applicant Kristin Kinsella said the tree "is taking the brunt of whatever winds come through" and sits within the fall zone of her house.