Hull Conservation Commission Seeks Town Counsel Review Before Voting on Contested Western Avenue Driveway

HULL -- June 23, 2026, Hull Conservation Commission continues contested Western Avenue driveway case, seeking Town Counsel review. The commission voted 5-0 at its June 23 meeting to continue the notice of intent for a proposed permeable paver driveway at 48 Western Avenue to July 14, after two sets of abutters' attorneys argued the application is procedurally defective because property owners whose land underlies the proposed route never gave written consent, as required under 310 CMR 10.04. Attorney Adam Brodsky, representing applicant Gretchen Amadon, contested that characterization, citing a prior DEP superseding order and the Schindler case, a Town of Hull precedent, and argued a colorable claim to title is sufficient to file. Engineer Xander Orm of Merrill Engineers described a revised design that eliminates all paved surfaces in favor of a full ag-tech geocell and crushed stone system maintaining existing grades. Abutter Ann Ronan, a 49 Western Avenue resident for roughly 70 years, called the slope "the top priority" in Hull's recent public waterfront access survey, while Commissioner Lou Sorge noted that without the improvement, Amadon retains the legal right to drive on the unimproved grass bank. The commission also unanimously issued an order of conditions for 169 Beach Avenue, ratifying after-the-fact replacement of a water service line through a coastal dune, with a two-year annual monitoring program at a 75 percent plant survival threshold already underway.