DaRosa Pier Appeal Upheld by DEP

It was soon clear why the Mattapoisett Conservation Commission did not let the blizzard stop its January 26 meeting from taking place.

Chairman Bob Rogers told the commission and the three people in attendance that the impetus for conducting the scheduled meeting was due to a Wednesday, January 28 deadline to appeal a Department of Environmental Protection upholding of the Daniel DaRosa appeal for the construction of a massive residential pier on Goodspeed Island.

Rogers and Conservation Agent Elizabeth Leidhold were both surprised at the speed in which the DEP announced their uploading of DaRosa’s appeal – a mere six weeks.

On Friday, January 23 the Town received the DEP’s verdict. The town has only until Wednesday, January 28 to respond with an appeal.

Saying that he felt ‘rushed’ during the last public hearing, Rogers said that by appealing, the commission could provide a better elaboration of their issues concerning the construction of the pier.

“This will give us an opportunity to expand upon our reasons for denying the application,” Rogers stated.

A vocal opponent to DaRosa’s personal pier, Michael Huguenin, also braved the elements to make his case to the commission that they should step forward.

“We have done research and raised money…. We will participate in an appeal,” Huguenin said.

He explained that a Town appeal and any appeal by private parties would be heard by the DEP’s Dispute Resolution Department, not the DEP staff in Lakeville.

Huguenin continued, “…the Town is an abutter to this project … we hope the Town will appeal this…”

He shared that in the beginning, the citizen group he had spearheaded had approximately 100 signatures against the DaRosa plan. That number now stands at 204. He said there is wide interest around town.

“People come up to me in the post office, in the grocery store. They want to know what is going on…” Huguenin was surprised at the amount of concern expressed to him about DaRosa’s plan even in “the dead of winter.”

He said that the citizen’s group has collected financial backing and more engineering information that will be used to mount a defense against the project moving forward.

Huguenin said that, had DaRosa been willing to sit down and discuss a more conservative private pier, something could have been worked out. In the absence of that type of compromise, he said, “We are willing to spend our own money.”

As for the Conservation Commission members, the board is split. Rogers and members Marylou Kelliher and Peter Newton have spoken to deny the project from the beginning, and on this night supported appealing the DEP’s upholding of the appeal in favor of DaRosa.

Commission member Tom Coops said he had questions and needed to abstain from voting.

“I felt it was a permittable project under the Wetlands Protection Act,” said ConCom member Michael King. “…It’s going to be appealed by private citizens … so it’s a waste of [the Town’s] time and money to appeal now.”

With Coops abstaining and King opposing, the commission moved to ask the selectmen to support an appeal of the DEP ruling and to fund legal counsel moving forward.

In other business, the commission approved a Notice of Intent filed by Robert Brack of 18 Water Street to construct a replacement residential pier.

Also approved with conditions was an application by Frank Linhares of 16 Holly Lane for the construction of a 28- foot by 32-foot barn, paved driveway, and in-ground pool on a 27-acre site that was formally a gravel pit. The new home was touted by King as “a nice improvement over the gravel pit.”

Also approved was an application by William Durbin, 21 Bay Road, for the construction of a stand-alone workshop on property that had previously suffered a severe fire.

Over the objections of abutters located at 20 Highland Avenue and 25 Bay Road (via letters read in part at the meeting), the commission felt the project was not in violation of the Wetlands Protection Act.

The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Conservation Commission will be held on February 9 at 6:30 pm in the Mattapoisett Town Hall meeting room.

By Marilou Newell

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