The Durham Planning Board will meet on Wednesday, June 28, at 7 p.m. at the Durham Town Hall to discuss timber harvesting and forestry in Durham.

In February, the planning board adopted changes to the Wetland Conservation and Shoreland Protection Overlay sections of the Zoning Ordinance. Performance standards for timber harvesting were also added.

After these amendments were made, the zoning board received complaints from property owners and local foresters who felt the new ordinances were too strict.

“They’re concerned about their property,” said James Campbell, director of planning and community development. “They don’t have logging operations going on, but they like to manage their property.” Those with concerns and grievances have been invited to the meeting, along with representatives from the Wetlands Bureau, Shoreland Protection, Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, the Nature Conservancy, and the Durham Conservation Commission.

The amendments state that all timber harvesting must be “conducted in accordance with a management and harvesting plan prepared by a licensed forester and filed with the Zoning Administrator at least five business days prior to commencement of operations.” The only stipulation is that harvesting conducted within 100 feet of a property line or a road must be limited to a removal of “20 percent of the basal area in any five year period.”

For wetland areas, the Zoning Ordinance states that timber harvesting may take place in the upland buffer strip in a commercial or office-residential zone. “In no case,” states the ordinance, “shall any harvesting or clearing, except for the removal of dead or diseased trees, occur within the wetland or within 25 feet of the reference line of the wetland.” The rules are similar regarding forestry in a shoreland protection overlay, except the buffer zone is increased to 50 feet.

“We hope that the meeting will give the planning board both sides of the issue,” said Campbell. “Then they can decide if they want to make changes to the ordinances or keep them as they are.”

Campbell emphasizes that no changes have been proposed at this time, and this is just an informational hearing.