Loading...
HomeMy Public PortalAboutBCA_MeetingSummary_120915December 9, 2015 – Meeting Summary – Developing a Coastal Adaptation Strategy for Brewster 1 Developing a Coastal Adaptation Strategy for Brewster Assessment and Process Design Review Meeting Summary 5:30 – 7:00 PM | December 9, 2015 Brewster Town Hall | 2198 Main Street | Brewster, MA Overview The Town of Brewster is supporting a public engagement process to develop a comprehensive coastal adaptation strategy that will guide future decisions regarding coastal areas taking into consideration the ever-changing nature of the coastal areas and variables such as erosion and sea level rise. The Town of Brewster and its consultants, the project team, will develop the Coastal Adaptation Strategy through extensive public input and guidance. The project team consists a public engagement team, led by the Consensus Building Institute (CBI), and a scientific and technical team, led by the Horsley Witten Group. On behalf of the project, Stacie Smith and Eric Roberts, facilitators from CBI, convened a public meeting with three primary objectives: • Review the findings of community interviews and focus groups • Share draft recommendations for a public process to develop the coastal adaptation strategy, and; • Gather feedback and input to refine and finalize process recommendations. The presentation slides and a link to a video of the meeting are available on the project website: http://www.cbuilding.org/project/brewstercoast. Please see the presentation slides and video for more detail on each of the topics below. Please direct questions, comments, or requests to be added to the email list to Eric Roberts, eroberts@cbuilding.org. Community Interview and Focus Group Findings CBI conducted community interviews and focus groups with 45 people from a wide cross- section of the community. The interviews provided insight on community perspectives about Brewster’s coastal areas, including the value of Brewster’s coast, threats to coastal areas, current management of those threats, and suggestions for future management. Key findings included: • The importance of the coast to most residents of Brewster • Access to the town’s landings is a central issue of concern, including concerns about vehicle access, bike and pedestrian options, parking, and mobility limitations • A need for better communication and engagement of residents with the town and with each other The interviewees and focus group participants also provided suggestions about how to maximize effective public engagement. Many interviewees suggested the plan development process be transparent and provide frequent and meaningful opportunities for public engagement in decisions impacting beach access and coastal area management. December 9, 2015 – Meeting Summary – Developing a Coastal Adaptation Strategy for Brewster 2 Draft Public Engagement Process Recommendations CBI presented recommendations for a process to engage residents and stakeholders to incorporate public needs and concerns with the best available scientific data to build consensus on recommendations for a comprehensive Coastal Adaptation Strategy. CBI recommended utilizing four process components: the findings of a beach use survey (being conducted separately), technical assessments to better understand current and projected conditions of the coastal areas, formation of a Brewster Coastal Advisory Group (BCAG), and a multi-day public charrette process. The four components would support and advance the development of a coastal adaptation strategy. The beach use survey would provide insight on when and how taxpayers use the coastal areas. The scientific assessments, which would be completed by the technical team, would provide understanding of current and projected conditions, including vulnerabilities and risks from erosion, storms, and sea level rise. The BCAG, which would be comprised of representatives of residential and business stakeholder groups as well as liaisons from relevant town committees, would serve as a steering group to guide the technical assessments and the development and implementation of the charrette process. The BCAG will initially describe the type of information (environmental, financial, social data, etc.) they will need to guide good decision-making. The BCAG will also integrate input from the survey and the charrette process into consensus recommendations for the adaptation plan. The charrette process is a multi-day collaborative planning event open to all people interested in the design of solutions to shape the future of coastal area management in Brewster. The charrette includes multiple opportunities for the public to learn about and help shape the coastal adaptation strategy over the course of several days, through broad public meetings, tailored topic sessions, open houses, and a set of short feedback loops that allow participants to evaluate and hone options for the strategy. Discussion and Question and Answer After the presentation, CBI opened the floor for discussion. CBI asked participants to provide feedback on the recommended approach. Participants discussed or commented on the following topics, which have been loosely organized by theme below. • BCAG representatives and liaisons: Participants suggested including representatives of commercial aquaculture, non-commercial shellfish permit holders, people who can represent a range of mobility concerns and a range of ages (especially including the elderly), and Nickerson Park campers on the BCAG. Participants also suggested adding a liaison from the Dog Park Development Committee. • BCAG representative nomination process: A participant suggested the process to select BCAG representatives could be done through self-selection and a nomination process. The participant suggested that some stakeholder groups such as real estate or business might have organizations that can select a representative for that group. He added that a nomination process for self-selection might be good for identifying neighborhood representatives. Another participant suggested a meeting would be useful to review the attributes of those who self-nominated and assess their ability to fill the seat. December 9, 2015 – Meeting Summary – Developing a Coastal Adaptation Strategy for Brewster 3 • Charrette process: Participants suggested information be shared online and that opportunities be provided for people to participate or provide input remotely if they cannot attend in person. Other suggestions included considering holding the charrette in a location with sufficient Internet bandwidth to support data and information sharing and holding meetings during the daytime since some residents do not like to drive at night. • Technical assessments: Participants suggested the BCAG anticipate how best to utilize technical expertise during the charrette process and provide advanced notification of data requests to town departments and technical staff to ensure timely delivery of pertinent data. A participant also suggested engaging utility companies to identify critical infrastructure located in coastal areas that may need to be considered during the process. • Survey: A participant expressed concern about the survey, noting that it seemed like it would create more of a wish-list of wants instead of helping to collect and evaluate alternatives and tradeoffs. He asked if it could be amended to meet those needs. CBI clarified that the survey process was independent of the CBI-led public engagement process, but that other public engagement opportunities can and will be used to collect critical information not collected by the survey. • Project timeline: The Town clarified the project must be completed by the end of June 2016. CBI suggested that they might convene the BCAG in January, hold the community visioning meeting in March, and the charrette process in April or May. A participant suggested holding the charrette in April or afterward to allow some part-time residents to participate. • Communication: A participant suggested the process should provide a constant feedback loop so that citizens are aware of the steps being taken and how they can be involved both during the planning process and afterward when the strategy is finalized and being implemented. A participant also suggested providing conference phones during meetings so that people could join remotely. • Final product contents and implementation: The Town of Brewster Director of Natural Resources, Mr. Chris Miller, clarified that the visioning and charrette process will shape the formal and contents of the final product, which he envisions will be a strategy that can guide decisions about future projects on the coast. Board of Selectmen representative Pat Hughes said she anticipated that the process will produce consensus around a set of strategies or principles that can be used by the Coastal Committee and other boards or town departments to evaluate or develop site specific plans. She added that approval of any site-specific plans would still go through public processes, including town meeting as needed. • Relation between already funded projects and the final coastal adaptation strategy: In response to a participant question, Mr. Miller said funded projects that are currently underway, and those that will be out for bid soon, might be completed before the strategy is finalized. He added that they hope to convert the two tennis courts at Crosby Lane into parking lots before the next beach season. He also said that he does not anticipate the idea of using Nickerson property for additional parking will advance much before the adaptation planning is completed, which means the final strategy could influence that project. Several participants commented the town had not provided opportunities for public engagement on the Crosby Lane tennis court project, and that if the town proceeds with it during the coastal adaptation planning process then it would make it difficult to December 9, 2015 – Meeting Summary – Developing a Coastal Adaptation Strategy for Brewster 4 build trust with the citizens and potentially jeopardize the success of the adaptation planning process. • Other: Several participants said the proposed process looks great because it is comprehensive and designed to gather the broadest possible input. Next Steps The next steps are to seek additional input on the recommended engagement process via email and phone (call or email Eric Roberts at 617-844-1126 or eroberts@cbuilding.org), then refine the engagement process and distribute a request for nominations.