Planning Board approves removal of three Doherty's trees in split 3-2 vote

LINCOLN -- April 28, 2026, Lincoln Planning Board approves removal of three trees at Doherty's Garage in divided votes. The board voted 4-1 on April 28 to treat the request as a minor change under Section 17.3 and then 3-2 to approve the removal of a 31-inch eastern white pine, a 26-inch white ash and a 29.5-inch tulip tree flagged by a SavaTree arborist's Feb. 19 risk assessment. Members Susan Hall Mygatt and Rob Ahlert opposed the conditioned approval; Hall Mygatt called the approved arborvitae screening "vile" and unsuccessfully urged a property-line fence. Conditions require annual arborist monitoring, temporary orange protective fencing around new plantings, and screening "in perpetuity or be replaced in kind." Highland Fleets representative Reid McIntyre said no replacement trees were proposed at the removal site because further excavation could damage the remaining stand.