HomeMy WebLinkAbout06112012 Coastal Management Plan Work Group MinutesMINUTES: Coastal Management Plan (CMP) Work Group, June 11, 2012
PRESENT: Sarah Oktay, Bob DeCosta, Carl Borchert, Jamie Feeley, and Emily MacKinnon
ALSO PRESENT: Dave Fronzuto, Jeff Carlson, Kara Buzanoski
Public: Whitey Willauer, D Anne Atherton, and Bert Ryder.
Meeting called to order at 5:11pm
APPROVAL OF AGENDA: The agenda was approved with a motion by Carl and a second by Jamie.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The minutes from May 29, 2012 were approved, with the addition of the
disclosure form that Jamie Feeley filed with the town clerk, with a motion by Jamie and a second by Bob.
Emily will send around the updated minutes containing a copy of the disclosure.
ACTION ITEMS/OLD BUSINESS: The Committee reviewed plans for a public panel to take place on
Monday, June 25. The panel will consist of several coastal management professionals and will serve as
an educational opportunity for the Committee members and the public. Sitting on the panel will be two
individuals from MA Coastal Zone Management (CZM), who will discuss some general principles of
coastal processes and the CZM Storm Smart program, Jeff Carlson will sit on the panel in order to
represent the state and local Wetland Protection Regulations and the Conservation Commission’s role in
the permitting of coastal projects.
The panel discussion will be held at 4 Fairgrounds Road in the community room downstairs. The BOS will
announce the event at their upcoming meetings and Dave will try to advertise it on Whitey’s TV
program.
A public hearing will be scheduled for July 30 from 5-7pm to inform the community about the process
that the CMP work group has decided on for developing the Coastal Management Plan. The Committee
will be able to take information from the public and hopefully answer any questions or address
concerns. In preparation for the hearing Dave will prepare handouts with the Sector map and CZM
shoreline change overlay.
Bob suggested that it may be helpful to have a NILB representative available at that hearing as the
public may have questions regarding NILB land.
Jeff encouraged the Committee to spend some time reviewing the local Wetland Regulations to become
more familiar with the sections pertaining to coastal resources.
D. Anne asked if the Town or Con Com has been collecting any data on the impacts of coastal
engineering structures on points of public access? Jeff believes that the only coastal erosion structure
currently on Town owned land is the one on Sconset bluff, but there may be some adjacent to public
access points.
Sarah noted that the Harbor Plan Implementation Committee has been trying to track which properties
are not in compliance with their Chapter 91 access requirements.
The Committee discussed the usefulness of identifying all of the properties with pre-1978 structures on
them and Jeff noted that this is a big part of the CZM Storm Smart program and will help plan for future
management of coastal areas.
The Committee discussed the possibility of having Worcester Polytechnic Institute students do some
research on public access, pre-1978 houses, coastal engineering structure locations, etc. They could also
be very useful at monitoring Chapter 91 compliance. Kara has been in touch with their professor and will
suggest this as one of their projects for the fall.
Bob suggested that having aerial photographs taken of the Nantucket coastline at low and high tide
would also be very helpful at assessing different areas while developing the Plan. Dave added that
Google Maps now has aerials updated to March of 2012.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
D. Anne inquired about the Town’s responsibility for maintaining coastal infrastructure in the face of
continued erosion…what are the legal responsibilities of the Town to manage and protect the sewer
beds, airport, utilities, etc… Kara stated that much of the Town’s legal responsibility comes down to
health and safety. They are required to maintain water and sewer lines. Access must be provided, but
alternative means of access can be found if current access is compromised.
D. Anne followed up by asking what the FAA’s plans are for the airport as it becomes threatened by
erosion. Dave suggested that when the Committee begins discussing the Sector containing the airport
that the new airport manager be invited to attend a meeting and asked to find out what the FAA’s plan
is so that the community can begin to think and plan ahead.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:19pm with a motion by Bob and a second by Emily.
The next meeting (Panel Discussion) is scheduled for Monday, June 25th from 5-7pm at the
4 Fairgrounds Road Community Room.
Respectfully Submitted,
Emily MacKinnon