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BREWSTER VISION ADVISORY GROUP
SUMMARY PAPER
COASTAL MANAGEMENT
OCTOBER 2017
I.Background
Brewster’s residents recognize the importance of the Town’s coastal resources to both
residents and visitors. They provide access to a range of summer and year-round activities,
including swimming, boating, commercial and recreational shellfishing, walking on the flats,
watching sunsets, and other recreational activities. In the visioning process, the Town’s north
shore beaches were identified as the second most important treasure, and directly linked to the
highest ranked treasure, the overall character of the Town. Town residents want to preserve
and expand access to the shoreline while also preserving and protecting the natural resources
that make the coast so special.
The Town’s public access points are threatened by storms, which can damage both the beaches
and their access points, and by the increasing impacts of climate change. Recent northeasters
have damaged parking areas and eroded the coastal dunes and beaches in some of these
locations, prompting improvements to the Paine’s Creek and Breakwater Landing facilities in
the last five years. Concerns over the planning for these improvements led to the creation of
the Brewster Coastal Advisory Group and the development of the September 2016 Coastal
Adaptation Strategy to address future management of Brewster’s shoreline using a set of
guiding principles developed by the Coastal Advisory Group.
The Brewster Coastal Committee is now charged with implementing the proposed strategy
through the development of a Coastal Resource Management Plan. The plan will provide
specific recommendations on improving and protecting coastal access incorporating the guiding
principles and employing a robust public involvement process to help refine specific plans.
Current Status of Brewster’s Beaches and Coastal Access
The Town owns 11 access points to the beach (landings): 10 beaches with public parking areas,
and one additional public beach with no public parking (Wing Island). Figure 1 shows the
locations of the 11 Town landings along the 7 miles of Brewster shoreline. The Town is heavily
involved in maintaining and increasing access to existing facilities. A number of these landings
are important for access to private beaches and the Town’s aquaculture sites as well as for
emergency vehicles.
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Figure 1: Town of Brewster public landings
From an access standpoint, the Town maintains 349 parking spots across all landings, including
16 dedicated handicap parking spaces. During the summer season the Town installs bike racks
at all landings with public parking, and small anchorages and kayak racks at some of the
landings. Unfortunately, during summer peak season, demand can be greater than the
available access, and additional parking opportunities are limited.
The beaches and their access points are vulnerable to erosion from coastal storms, and require
frequent maintenance and investment by the Town. Impacts to the landings are expected to
increase over time due to rising sea levels and the potential for stronger, more frequent storms.
In response, the Town is adapting to recurring and increasing erosion and storm damage
through retreat, such as at the Paine’s and Breakwater Landings where pavement was moved
further from the ocean edge.
Report on Trends
The closest NOAA tidal gage with the longest available record (Boston ID 8443970) illustrates an
increase in relative mean sea level of 2.81 millimeters (0.11 inches) annually, and indicates that
the annual rate of sea level rise is increasing. When taking into account additional factors such
as expected ocean warming and ice sheet loss, global sea level rise scenarios adjusted to local
tidal gauge information indicate the potential for 1-, 2-, and 4-feet of sea level rise in the next
20-, 40, and 60-year time frames.
Extensive sections of the Town’s seven miles of coast have historically and recently been
exposed to storm surge impacts, including dune washover, flooding, and significant erosion. A
2015 sediment budget evaluation by the Center for Coastal Studies indicates that sediment is
transported eastward from Dennis to Orleans along the Brewster coastline, and that while
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within the Town of Brewster overall, sediment deposition dominates over erosion, most of the
sediment deposition has occurred offshore rather than along the shoreline. The study also
demonstrated that not only have the tidal flats largely kept pace with sea level rise from the
1930s to the present, but in some areas have been increasing in size. However, a significant
acceleration of sea level rise is expected during the present century, and it is not clear if the
tidal flats will remain exposed at low tide under future sea level rise scenarios.
These existing and future coastal and climate processes indicate that Brewster’s coastal
resources are under threat. Therefore, the Town is faced with the challenge of accommodating
access to its coastal resources, which is impacted and potentially reduced by coastal and
climate processes such as erosion and increasing sea levels. Ongoing development and
redevelopment of existing properties along the shoreline is also a concern. Climate impacts
create increased pressure to armor the shoreline with seawalls, fences and other measures to
prevent erosion of the coastal bank. While they may forestall erosion in the immediate area of
the property, they adversely impact other areas that rely on the movement of sand and
sediments along the coast.
Recent Actions by the Town
The Town turned to its residents in the form of a beach access survey and the development of a
consensus-based coastal adaptation strategy to identify priorities and principles for future
action. In addition, the Town continued to seek improvements to its existing coastal resources,
including its wetlands, which provide flooding and storm protection to the Town.
In January 2016, the Town launched its online Coastal Beach Access Survey targeting both
taxpayers and visitors, and resulting in a 28% response rate. A few important results from this
survey are summarized here, and additional results are available in both the survey report, and
the Coastal Adaptation Strategy. Over 80% of respondents rated their experience visiting
Brewster’s coastal beaches as excellent or good. People value the tidal flats, the natural setting
of beaches and surrounding areas, the wildlife and untouched beauty, and the lack of
commercial development. Survey results confirmed broad support for the Town’s coastal
resources among all age groups and resident status.
The Town’s Coastal Advisory Committee developed a Coastal Adaptation Strategy using a
consensus-based approach designed to address key community vulnerabilities, issues, and
priorities and to identify the community’s preferred adaptation strategies. It is intended to lay
the groundwork for future discussions and the development of an implementation plan, and set
the stage for the legal and regulatory changes that are likely to be necessary to implement
adaptation approaches.
In parallel, the Town also sought public input on other public amenities (e.g., bikeability), and
supported the Bikeways Committee in developing a Comprehensive Brewster Bike Strategy that
could complement the Coastal Adaptation Strategy.
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In addition to beaches, the Town seeks to protect all of its coastal resources. This includes the
Crosby Salt Marsh where the Town sponsored a wetland restoration project designed to
increase tidal flushing currently restricted by a culvert crossing on Crosby Lane. The design and
permitting for the project is complete, and the project is awaiting construction. Also at Crosby
Landing, the Town has added 110 parking spaces.
II.Key Issues Moving Forward
The completion of the Coastal Resource Management Plan will help guide the management and
protection of Brewster’s shoreline. Issues for consideration in the development of the plan
include:
•The ongoing planning and adaption needed to address sea level rise and extreme storm
events associated with climate change.
•Alternative access options. During the development of the Coastal Adaptation Strategy,
the Town recognized that additional parking was only one option to provide greater
access to the shoreline. A shuttle bus could be used to transport people to the beach,
and the creation of bike lanes and bike racks could encourage people to bike instead of
drive to the beach.
•Coordination with the state regarding access through state owned property north of
Nickerson State Park. There may be opportunities to provide additional access to the
beach between Linnell and Crosby Landings, minimizing impacts on these two landings.
As discussed in the Strategy, ongoing public input and involvement is essential to finalizing the
recommendations in the Coastal Resource Management Plan.
III.Discussion and Draft Goals
Discussion items
•What are the appropriate strategies for addressing future development and re-
development under the planning scenarios included in the Strategy?
•What is the best approach to providing increased, safer access to Brewster’s shoreline
while preserving the area’s natural resources and minimizing disruption to surrounding
neighborhoods?
•How can the Coastal Committee best involve the public in the ongoing development of
the Coastal Resource Management Plan?
•What other coastal management issues should the Town consider?
Draft Vision Goal
Goal: Preserve and protect Brewster‘s coastal resources and expand public access.
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Purposes:
1.Protect coastal resources in ways that preserve coastal ecosystems and habitats, and the
character of the Town and coastal neighborhoods
2.Maintain and expand public access for all through public consensus and explore alternate
modes of transport and access points
3.Adapt to projections of climate change and advance climate adaptation and resiliency
techniques that are environmentally and financially sustainable