HomeMy WebLinkAboutRevised plan letter 5.11.2023Shorefront Consulting
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290 Center St., Dennis Port, MA 02639 www.shorefrontconsulting.com
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Yarmouth Conservation Commission May 8, 2023
Attn: Brittany DiRienzo
1146 Route 28
South Yarmouth, MA 02664-4492
By hand delivery and email
Re: Notice of Intent Application Filing Package; Revised Plan Submission
Proposed reconstruction of existing permitted pier, and float modifications in Bass River
Aunt Edith’s Road Association, Inc.
5 Aunt Edith’s Road
South Yarmouth, MA 02664
Map 51, Parcel 96
On behalf of my clients, The Aunt Edith’s Road Association, I am submitting (8) full size (24”x 36”) revised
plans for the above referenced project. Electronic copies of the plan will be emailed to the conservation office.
The applicants have decided to withdraw the currently proposed float configuration, (consisting of 6-foot wide
floats), and revert to the float configuration previously approved by the Determination of Applicability dated
8/14/2020.
The dock is proposed to be reconstructed within the same exact footprint, without expansion. The plan
submitted at the last hearing (Revision 1 dated 4/30/23) has been revised (Revision 2 dated 5/8/23) to show the
previously approved floats and the original permitted and licensed footprint of the dock. The previously
proposed height increase remains.
In an email dated 4/23/23, the applicants requested the commission to cite the specific regulation in the
Yarmouth regulations that triggered the proposed dock expansion, and the subsequent requirement to bring the
pier in conformance to some or all of the current regulations. In an email dated 4/27/23 from the conservation
office (attached to this letter), the conservation administrator stated that “if you remove a dock and rebuild it
voluntarily, without it being destroyed, it is considered a newly constructed dock and should meet our current
regulations as closely as possible.” This is not stated anywhere in the Yarmouth regulations, and is a
misinterpretation of the Yarmouth Regulations. In point of fact, a word search conducted for the entire current
Yarmouth regulations for “as closely as possible” does not yield any results. Further, as you know, Chapter 91
and the local bylaws provide for the maintenance of the existing dock. More importantly, the pier is currently
in a state of disrepair, and has deteriorated to the point where it poses a health and safety risk. However, in the
spirit of cooperation the applicants have proposed some voluntary changes to the dock that do, in fact, meet or
exceed current regulations. See below.
Further, the conservation administrator also stated that “The dock is indeed being expanded as the floats are
extending and additional 15 feet further south, even if the square footage is decreasing, the footprint is being
expanded in this direction and therefore 1.09 (1) through (19) apply at the discretion of the commission via
1.09 (11)”.
Since the proposed changes in the float configuration (specifically) were considered an expansion, the
association chose to withdraw that portion of the project and simplify it by keep the originally approved float
arrangement. Where now the project can no longer be considered an expansion, this relieves the association
from the interpreted “expansion”, and returns the project scope to the reconstruction of an existing permitted
and licensed pier, in its original configuration.
A summary of the voluntary changes proposed by the applicants are as follows:
The dock height has been raised up by 5.3 feet to provide 6’ of clearance to the underlying structural
member at the MHW location, and to over 7.7’ of clearance at the seaward edge of the salt marsh.
The pile span has been increased from 8 feet to 12 feet, reducing the number of piles required.
A letter from the Guyana Forestry Commissioner is attached to this letter confirming the sustainability
of the Greenheart forestry operations in Guyana. In support of this effort, the association is willing to
make a $500 donation to a rainforest preservation fund.
Please review and this revised plan for your May 18, 2023 public hearing. If there are any questions or
concerns regarding this revised plan submission, please contact me as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Mark Burgess
B.S. Ocean Engineering
Shorefront Consulting
Enclosures: As Stated
cc: Mass. DEP/SERO – Wetlands (by email)
Aunt Edith’s Association, Inc. (Applicants)