HomeMy Public PortalAboutCoastal Committee -- 2014-12-03 Minutes Brewster Coastal Committee
Minutes of December 3,2014 Meeting
Committee members present: Abigail Archer,Steve McKenna,Chet Lay,Matt Cannon,James
Goodrich and Joe Rinaldi
Others:Chris Miller, Brewster DNR,Pat Hughes,BOS Liaison, Anne Kitchell,Grace Cambareri and
Mark Nelson of Horsley Whitten Group (HWG) and approximately 14 members of the public.
Chris Miller and the HWG team provided a general overview of the Breakwater Beach Coastal
Resiliency Project. The Town is proposing to remove the northern portion of the parking lot and
restore the dune system;re-orient the remaining parking lot,and add additional spaces in the
southeast portion of the Town's property,thereby retaining the full complement of parking spaces.
Drainage issues will also be addressed.
The full Environmental Notification Form and preliminary plans are available in the Town Offices.
J. Goodrich asked if the proposed slope of the re-designed parking lot would increase stormwater
velocity and potentially erosion. G.Cambareri responded that HWG is looking at erosion control and
might consider recommending rip-rap along the drainage swales. J.Goodrich also asked if the 3%
grade for the new parking area would affect the performance of the proposed permeable pavement.
G. Cambareri responded that the lot was intentionally sloped to catch runoff and direct it to the
stormwater catchment and treatment system.
T. Rinaldi asked if the walkway,curved to reduce the tunnel effect,would fill up with sand and
become impassable. C. Miller said that sand will move onto the pathway and also on the articulated
pads,but that it will be easy to remove the sand.
M. Cannon asked about vehicular access and pedestrian access if the curved path would be an
impediment. C. Miller responded that the beach nourishment activities occur in the off-season and
that small machinery is used to move sand onto the beach;no large vehicles need beach access.
S. McKenna asked about the stormwater treatment goals via the proposed bioretention systems. G.
Cambareri responded that the bioretention systems would remove nutrients and bacteria. S.
McKenna suggested that nutrient removal may not be a priority here,as it is in Brewster's freshwater
ponds and Pleasant Bay and that monies could be saved by installing standard stormwater treatment
systems.
C. Lay asked if the swale on the west side would be lined and G. Cambareri responded that it would
be vegetated.
A.Archer asked about the design life of the articulated concrete block. C. Miller responded that he
didn't have published figures; however the mat would be covered with sand and anticipates a 50 year
life span.
The audience was invited to comment and ask questions:
H.Hayes,Breakwater Road resident,noted that 20 years ago the existing dune system was much
farther seaward than it is now. He said the revetment on the west side of the landing has and
continues to cause erosion. He asked how the Town planned to keep the current beach/dune system
from eroding and whether it will continue to be replenished.
C. Miller responded that the private revetment ends before the Town's property line and that 4x4
sand fencing was installed and beach nourishment has occurred in front of the revetment. Miller said
the erosion rate at this site is one foot/year.
A. Fernandez,Breakwater Road resident,noted that people have been parking in the center of the
existing parking lot,allowing more cars in the lot than the lined spaces,and wondered why the re-
configured parking lot is being narrowed. She wondered where these displaced vehicles would go
and expressed concern that cars will be parked along Breakwater Road. C. Miller responded that
there is limited beach parking everywhere in town and that new parking regulations will be in place
by next summer to discourage illegal parking. Ms. Fernandez said this area is like a wind tunnel and
that she has lost 77 trees from storms and her property is not on the water. She asked what will
happen to the existing vegetation on the property. C. Miller said the new dune could minimize the
tunnel effect and that very few trees on the property would be removed in developing the new
parking area. A. Kitchell said there are opportunities to plant trees as part of the project.
B. Maugel,The Tides resident,requested that the Town not replace the parking spaces that would be
lost in this project. He stated that less parking is a good thing since fewer people would reduce
damage to the beach. He also asked about the project process and whether gifted Beach Park could
be used for this project.
T. Bergeron expressed his concern that the new parking area will require cutting into the slope of the
hill and that,even with a retaining wall, the hill could come down. He lives above this site. He noted
that there is late night activity in the current parking lot and suggested the Town consider closing the
parking lot at night. At the request of his wife,he encouraged the Town to re-plant the existing beach
plum bushes rather than planting new ones- the established bushes produce good plums!
B. Biondi asked about handicapped access to see the water. She also stated that the property gifted to
the Town as a park should remain as such. C. Miller said there will be a seasonal boardwalk about
the articulated mat that will allow access.
D. Lapidus asked how the Town will address the beach and dune protection on the east side of the
parking lot.C. Miller said the Town will survey the property lines and may eliminate some of the
paths over the dunes and could add Keep off the Dunes signage.
K. Tones echoed Mr. Maugel's comments and said the park should not be used for parking
S. Hayes asked if Committee members have observed Breakwater Beach over time and noted the
changes.
C. Miller read into the record two letters/emails regarding this project.
C. Miller will email the Committee a copy of the Massachusetts Environmental Notification Form
(ENF)filed for this project.
The Committee elected Joe Rinaldi as Chair and Abigail Archer as Secretary
Prompted by a question from J. Rinaldi about the objectives of the Coastal Committee, C. Miller
reviewed the charge and indicated that the Committee can contribute to the analysis of projects and
recommend actions to the Town regarding management issues such as access to beaches and
landings. The Committee will have more information to consider once the analysis of the movement
of sand along the Brewster coast is completed and shared with the engineering consultant. C.Miller
doesn't expect or want the Committee to focus on parking regulations,etc.but on the larger issues of
access and best management practices for the coast over the long term.
S. McKenna said Brewster is losing spaces over time at all the landings;keep spaces where we can
and retreat where land is available to do so. Perhaps the Open Space Committee could be asked to
identify land for developing additional coastal parking areas.
Perhaps a beach survey should be developed.
C. Miller told the Committee one idea for the newly-acquired Eldredge property is the construction of
an elevated walkway to the Wing Island. This proposal could be evaluated by the Coastal Committee.
Next Meeting: Wednesday,December 17,2014 at 5 pm in the Brewster Town Offices to continue to
review proposed plans for the Breakwater Beach coastal resiliency project.
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