HomeMy WebLinkAbout05062013 Coastal Management Plan Work Group Minutes
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MINUTES: Coastal Management Plan (CMP) Work Group – May 6th, 2013
PRESENT: Sarah Oktay, Carl Borchert, Jamie Feeley, Kirk Riden and Emily MacKinnon
Meeting called to order at 5:06 pm
Agenda: The agenda was approved with a motion by Jamie and a second by Sarah.
Chair Announcements: Sarah announced that the erosion control forum on 4/22/13 was available on Nantucket
Community Television and Geno TV. She also stated she would like to get Jim O’Connell (presenter from forum) to
return to Nantucket in the near future to meet with the CMPWG. Jamie suggested this be done along with a coastal
engineer for a balanced discussion of coastal erosion control issues/measures. Sarah also mentioned that a sub-
committee on Baxter Road access would be presenting to the Board of Selectmen on Wednesday evening.
The Civic League will be holding a seal forum at 4:30pm on Monday 5/20 at 4 Fairgrounds Road.
Minutes: Emily agreed to continue trying to contact Julia Knisel re a previous question from her shoreline change
powerpoint on erosion rates.
The minutes from the 4/8/13 CMPWG meeting were approved with a motion by Carl and a second by Kirk.
Sarah announced that she had contacted Allen Reinhardt of the NILB about their participation on the CMPWG and as the
new chair he will bring it up to the Land Bank Commission at their next meeting.
The Committee engaged in another discussion on MA Coastal Zone Management’s “No Adverse Impact” approach.
Sarah suggested again that the Committee re-word the approach ourselves. Emily asked if the Plan should reference
their NAI document more broadly or if we should re-write it completely? Jamie expressed concern that as written it was
too confusing. He was concerned that the Committee not make things more restrictive and that we should leave the
door open for erosion control methods. He also suggested some language encouraging pilot projects be included in the
Plan. Sarah and Jamie agreed that the State is in the process of re-writing some of their regulations regarding erosion
control and that the CMP should not be more strict that the State. Sarah suggested that the CMP should not be less
strict than the state. Jamie pointed out that the State’s Wetland Regulations were written in 1978 prior to knowledge of
sea level rise and that with this new knowledge the conversation about erosion control has been changing.
Carl pointed out that the Committee has a lot of knowledge among its members and that we should go through this
process assuming that the Plan, although only applicable to Town owned land, may become a model for coastal land
management across the island. Jamie suggested that the potential for projects such as artificial reefs which would be
constructed in Land Under the Ocean (completely under the Town’s jurisdiction) should be included in the Plan.
Kirk asked other Committee members for their opinion on at what point the Town may actually consider proposing a
coastal engineering structure itself to protect its coastal property? Sarah suggested that at some point/threshold, public
benefits and the safety/preservation of public infrastructure may very well overrule concern for environmental impacts,
such as the protection of the sewage treatment plants, etc. The Town will also have to give some serious consideration
to their responsibility for the maintenance of public roads as well as impacts to fisheries resources.
Carl pointed out that the future of Baxter Road was initially raised by SBPF, but now it has become the Town’s concern
as it has become threatened. Jamie suggested that the presentation to the BOS on Wednesday regarding Baxter Road
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would include lots of options including the stabilization of the toe of the bank. Carl pointed out that in this past year of
sitting on this Committee, 15+/- ft has eroded from Sankaty Bluff in front of portions of Baxter Road.
Emily reminded the group that while CZM’s documents outline the No Adverse Impact approach as a spectrum from
Basic to Better to No Adverse Impacts, Jeff had suggested replacing the phrase “No Adverse Impact” with “Best”.
Sarah suggested that the Committee focus on re-wording the No Adverse Impact approach text and Statement 1 under
Erosion Control before the next meeting.
Sector 4 & 5 Drafts: Bam suggested that the Committee should be aiming for the No Adverse Impacts, or Best approach
in areas that are less developed with little to no public infrastructure. In these areas erosion control should be minimal
and used only as a last resort.
Bam suggested that under Public Access, the Plan should state that potential infrastructure needed for the Tuckernuck
community and/or emergency access is an accepted use (as referenced in the 2009 Harbor Plan). This is primarily to
allow access by emergency management folks if necessary. Sarah suggested adding a “1A” disclaimer discouraging the
use of coastal erosion control structures within the Erosion Control sections of Sectors 4 & 5. Carl agreed that these two
islands are beautiful and unspoiled and contain relatively little to no Town owned land so provisions for future
structures are not necessary.
Sarah wondered if the Town may propose placement/exploration of alternative energy infrastructure that could impact
Tuckernuck or Muskeget…? The Committee discussed this possibility and decided not to change the Alternative Energy
sections.
Sarah wondered if a provision should be including requiring residents of each Sector be notified if alternative energy
structures are proposed? The Committee will ask Dave, Jeff or Andrew Vorce for more information on this point.
The Committee agreed to integrate the Municipal Harbor Plan as it relates to Tuckernuck/Muskeget.
Carl asked if language had ever been included in the Sector 3 Draft regarding future parking for Tuckernuck/Muskeget
property owners somewhere in Madaket with easy access to Hither Creek? Emily reminded the Committee that this had
been included under the Public Access section within Sector 3.
Bam mentioned that he had seen a large piece of black geotextile material between Warren’s Landing and Cambridge
Street.
Jamie brought up the Offshore Resources section and asked if we really wanted to restrict future dredge sites? The
Committee decided to review what the MA Ocean Management Plan had identified as future dredge sites to see if they
seem sufficient or if we should not be restricting them at all. The Committee will also seek input from Dave and Jeff.
Public Comment: Sandy was concerned about the Ocean Management Plan review taking place in June. She said that
public hearings were being held around the state, but not on Nantucket.
Jamie informed the Committee about a Woods Hole Group conference taking place in September for the Barnstable and
Nantucket planning groups (NP&EDC).
Scheduling of Upcoming Meetings: The Committee decided to hold another meeting on Monday June 10 for further
review of Sector 2, 3, 4 & 5 drafts. Two public hearings will be held over the summer, possibly on Monday July 8 and
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Monday August 12 in order to gather additional public input on all Sectors. The hearings could be split Sector 1-5 in July
and Sector 6-10 in August.
The next CMPWG meeting will be held Monday, June 10 at 5pm at 4 Fairground Road in the Training Room.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:47pm
Respectfully submitted,
Emily MacKinnon