Dartmouth Conservation Commission Bans After-Dark Access to All Conservation Properties

DARTMOUTH -- June 23, 2026, Dartmouth Conservation Commission votes to restrict all conservation land to daylight hours after weekend knife-and-gun incident. The commission voted unanimously Tuesday to establish a policy limiting public access to all town conservation properties from sunrise to sunset, requiring prior written authorization for any exceptions. Director of Environmental Affairs Jennifer Miller said Police Chief Levesque contacted her Monday to report that a confrontation at a conservation parcel between an unhoused couple and other visitors escalated over the weekend to the point where both a knife and a firearm were drawn, with no injuries. Miller told the commission officers had no enforceable authority to remove people from the properties after dark without a formal policy in place. The board also unanimously continued four public hearings on commercial development projects, including an after-the-fact wetland filing for a State Road car wash already running at an estimated 75 to 80 percent lot coverage in an aquifer protection district, and approved staff wetland delineations at 788 Smith Neck Road for a proposed septic replacement.