As anticipated, the proposed Goodspeed Island pier into Mattapoisett Harbor’s recreational space brought out residents from throughout the town, not just the village neighborhood. A standing room only crowd came to hear about Daniel DaRosa’s plans to construct a 290-foot pile supported pier, which is designed with an L-shaped wave attenuator that is 75 feet in length.

Before the hearing of this ‘notice of intent’ began, Mattapoisett Conservation Commission Chairman Peter Newton told the crowd that the commission would only be reviewing the project through the filter of the “Wetlands Protection Act” (WPA) since that is all they were charged with the responsibility of doing. He said that other town boards would be reviewing the project on the merits of its design or impact on the community, but not this board. With that said, he invited David Davignon of N. Douglas Schneider & Associates to present the project in detail.

Davignon began his commentary on the project by stating that the applicant already had rights to the beach in front of his property and a deeded easement. He stated that DaRosa has received a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers (as of September 22). Other agencies he has contacted on behalf of his client were Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries and National Heritage. He said that Marine Fisheries had requested a few modifications to the plan, such as changing pressure-treated lumber for a more environmentally friendly material and the height of the float that is planned for the end of the dock. National Heritage responded that they found nothing in the plan that impacted their area of oversight. Davignon also said that he anticipates that the permit from the Army Corps will trigger other agencies’ review. Those agencies were not listed.

As described in their filing with the town, the pier will be for the applicants’ swimming, fishing and boating activities. To construct this large-sized pier, shellfish beds will need to be removed and re-established in another location. No eel grass beds are reported in the construction zone. A man-made dune with beach grasses will be crossed, allowing the applicant to walk from the lawn area of the residence directly out to the end of the dock. At mean high tide, the pier will extend 183 feet into the harbor itself.

Before Newton opened the hearing up for public comment, he again reminded the crowd, which had patiently waited for more than thirty minutes as the commission members questioned Davignon on various aspects of the project, that their questions and comments should not be about recreational use of the public waterway impacted by the pier, but instead should relate to jurisdictional wetlands issues only and that all comments should be respectful.

Harbormaster Jill Simmons was the first to speak, citing numerous calls her office has received. She said that people were very concerned about losing such a large area of the harbor to a private venture, that the Marine Advisory Board was concerned from a waterfront management perspective, and that she was also very concerned about a variety of safety issues the pier may cause the recreating public. Simmons noted that the pier will be close to the mooring field, making navigating in that area problematic. Though Davignon had noted in his commentary that there are similar piers on the shoreline, Simmons countered that those piers are not in an area of the harbor heavily utilized by the public.

The most succinctly prepared speaker of the evening – who spoke on behalf of more than 50 residents and who had presented a written statement in opposition to the project – was Mike Huguenin. He kept his comments focused on the WPA as instructed by Newton, making the case that the commission needed its own engineering study or at least a more thoroughly researched study from the applicants’ experts, in order to understand the long-term environmental impact of the pier. He pointed to the “little piece of barrier beach” in front of DaRosa property as critical to the entire island. Huguenin directed the commission’s attention to the large sewer pipe located in this area and the potential of it being ruptured in the event of a storm that could damage the pier causing it to be thrust into the pipe. He repeatedly urged the commission to carefully consider a more ‘serious study’ for the project. Huguenin and the other signatories wrote: “We request that the commission require the applicant to conduct and submit a detailed coastal engineering study that looks carefully at the probabilities and possible consequences of damage to the proposed structure from storm winds and waves, and the resulting environment and public infrastructure damage.”

Peter Trow, one of the signatories, said that a proposed pier for Molly’s Cove in 2008 was denied in 2012 due to WPA impact and that DaRosa’s pier was in a velocity zone. “…This is unreasonable use of a sub-titled area … the greater public trust of many people using the area needs to be considered…” Trow said.

“The harbor is the signature of Mattapoisett,” emphasized Paul Osenkowski.

“If we had a local wetlands law,” said Brad Hathaway, “we’d have the laws to protect the people’s land.” Hathaway wondered aloud what had become of the proposed local wetlands bylaws that had been voted on during a town meeting in the past; however, that query was not responded to by the commission. The conservation commission is only charged with implementing the state mandated wetlands protection act.

Commission member Mike King commented on the shallow water in the site zone as not being of much use as public recreational waters, while member Tom Copps wanted to see drawings on exactly where the sewer pipe is located and spoke to the issue of scouring from the pier’s pilings.

Newton asked Davignon to consider several design modifications and to provide engineering studies that the DaRosas had recently completed to address some of the areas touched on during the hearing. The notion of peer review was not completely dismissed, as the hearing was continued until the next commission meeting on October 15. That meeting will be held at a larger venue to accommodate more people.

Other business included a negative one finding for Joanee O’Day’s request for determination of applicability for the addition of an 8-foot deck located at 8 Linhares Avenue; a negative 3 finding for Nichole Balthazar of 12 Shore View Avenue for a 12- by 16-foot addition located in a flood zone; and approval with standard conditions of Ken Fleury’s request to construct a single family dwelling on Brandt Island Road, including filling in part of the backyard for a lawn area.

Mattapoisett’s Conservation Commission meets again on October 12 at 6:30 at a location to be announced.

By Marilou Newell