HomeMy WebLinkAboutCorrespondence 4.12.2022
Grant, Kelly
From:Grant, Kelly
Sent:Tuesday, April 12, 2022 11:22 AM
To:'Douglas Bishop'
Subject:RE: Barnstable Town meeting on a project at the Mill Lane Bridge
Hi Doug
A few of the companies we see do this type of work are Wilkinson Ecological, Crawford Land Management, Cape
Organics, Safe Harbor.
The Town would not put signage on private property, but you are welcome to add a sign yourself. Just be sure that it is
placed in a way that it would impact the marsh or bank and keep the size as small as possible.
It certainly is a tough spot. I hope you can enjoy it for as long as possible!
Regards
Kelly Grant
Conservation Administrator
Town of Yarmouth
508-398-2231 Ext 1288
kgrant@yarmouth.ma.us
From: Douglas Bishop <dbishop@uchicago.edu>
Sent: Thursday, April 7, 2022 12:16 PM
To: Grant, Kelly <KGrant@yarmouth.ma.us>
Subject: Re: Barnstable Town meeting on a project at the Mill Lane Bridge
Hi Kelly,
Thanks for your message. It is helpful, albeit a bit disappointing. Who would you talk to regarding advice on planting
vegetation and biodegradable solutions in front of the structure? I do not know what plants would be most beneficial,
but we would certainly plant as much as we could to help the situation. The problem again is all the foot traffic on the
remaining edge of the marsh in front of the boat house.
Another thing we are thinking about is trying to encourage people who access the marsh through our property to go
around the back of the structure rather than trod through the tiny bit of remaining marsh in front of the structure. I
have seen signage someplace on the cape asking people to avoid the edge of the marsh, but I am not sure if Yarmouth
puts up such signs. If you do, perhaps we can discuss having the town post one at a strategic place on our property? If
there is no such standard signage, we could put something up on our own. I presume we would not need any official
permission to do that, would we?
Regarding relocation, the property is not really big enough to move it any further away from the edge of the marsh, but
we did elevate the building 1.5 feet when we replaced the pilings and floor a few years ago, so I think we did as much as
we could regarding location (although at the time I was told that it would not be difficult to raise it even higher).
We know the structure and property are eventually going to be lost with rising sea levels, we just want to try to preserve
it as long as possible. It has been owned by our family for more than 100 years (it was part of the property that included
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a house that is now Anthony’s Cummaquid Inn). As you might imagine, it has extremely high sentimental value to our
family. My brother and I will be retiring in the next few years, and we plan to buy properties nearby and to make more
use of it than the family has been able to since my parents sold their house at 1 Mill Lane about 10 years ago and moved
off cape.
Thanks for your help and advice on this.
-Doug Bishop
From: Grant, Kelly <KGrant@yarmouth.ma.us>
Date: Thursday, April 7, 2022 at 10:14 AM
To: Douglas Bishop <dbishop@uchicago.edu>
Subject: RE: Barnstable Town meeting on a project at the Mill Lane Bridge
Hi Doug
As the boat house is not a habitable dwelling the options would be limited to protect it from sea level rise. The best
option would be to relocate it when the need arises. Salt marsh will migrate inland as sea level arises – if the water
elevation doesn’t change too quickly, and if it is not obstructed from doing so. You can speak with a coastal
engineering/consultancy company about design options for resiliency solutions. The regulations favor natural solutions
such as vegetation and biodegradable temporary solutions that allow vegetation to become established.
Regards
Kelly Grant
Conservation Administrator
Town of Yarmouth
508-398-2231 Ext 1288
kgrant@yarmouth.ma.us
From: Douglas Bishop <dbishop@uchicago.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, April 5, 2022 7:10 PM
To: Grant, Kelly <KGrant@yarmouth.ma.us>
Subject: Re: Barnstable Town meeting on a project at the Mill Lane Bridge
Hello again Ms. Grant,
We attended the hearing. There was a continuance until more information was gathered on the impact of the proposed
project on the bridge. However, all of this has activated us to try to learn what we could do to preserve our property-
regardless of whether the project on the Barnstable side goes forward. Erosion of the marsh in front of our Boathouse is
of concern and we’d like to find out what types of remediation are allowable. How do you recommend we proceed in
that effort? Thanks in advance for your help. Recall this is the property immediately adjacent to the Mill Lane bridge on
the Yarmouth side.
-Doug Bishop
From: Grant, Kelly <KGrant@yarmouth.ma.us>
Date: Thursday, March 24, 2022 at 1:50 PM
To: Douglas Bishop <dbishop@uchicago.edu>
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Cc: Mark Bishop <markrbishop89@gmail.com>, Elizabeth Alach <ealach@comcast.net>
Subject: RE: Barnstable Town meeting on a project at the Mill Lane Bridge
Hi there, Taking a look at the map of that area the Town does not own any property within 100 feet of the proposed
project site so I don’t believe we have any jurisdiction or rights as an abutter. The road/bridge is within 100 feet so
maybe the highway department could in theory have an interest in the project though I don’t know that they would
typically review a project occurring in another town.
If you have concerns related to impacts on your property I would suggest reaching out to the Barnstable conservation
office or attending the hearing. You can also hire your own professional to review any potential impacts to your
property.
Regards
Kelly Grant
Conservation Administrator
Town of Yarmouth
508-398-2231 Ext 1288
kgrant@yarmouth.ma.us
From: Douglas Bishop \[mailto:dbishop@uchicago.edu\]
Sent: Thursday, March 24, 2022 8:34 AM
To: Grant, Kelly <KGrant@yarmouth.ma.us>
Cc: Mark Bishop <markrbishop89@gmail.com>; Elizabeth Alach <ealach@comcast.net>
Subject: Barnstable Town meeting on a project at the Mill Lane Bridge
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Dear Ms. Grant,
We are contacting your office to be sure you are aware of an upcoming meeting that is likely to have impact on the Mill
Lane Bridge, adjacent town of Yarmouth Wetlands, as well as our small piece of property next to the bridge. We are
specifically requesting that a representative from your office attend the meeting. We are anxious to have an assessment
of the impact of this project on our property. If you feel there is a different representative of the Town of Yarmouth
would be more appropriate to address this issue, please let us know who that would be.
Thank you for your help.
Douglas Bishop
Mark Bishop
Elizabeth Alach
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