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HomeMy Public PortalAboutJohn_Lamb_May2016Input from John Lamb referencing Agenda Item 2: (~2.5 minutes to read) 5:45  BCAG  Input  on  Approved  Coastal  Projects   • Discussion  of  whether/  how  the  BCAG  should  offer  input  on  approved  coastal  projects   • Opportunity  for  Public  Comment  on  this  topic     Hi  everyone!    I'm  very  sorry  I  can't  be  here.  I  remain  with  you  in  spirit!    I  had  a  long-­‐standing   commitment,  indicated  in  all  “doodle”  polls.    Please  consider  my  thoughts  on  this  topic    …  I'll  be  back!     I'm  quite  concerned.    A  majority  of  our  select-­‐board  decided  to  snub  the  consensus  process  last   month  in  a  critical  beach  access  decision.    It  voted  to  create  a  new  car  park  with  a  wide  new  double   entrance  opposite  a  private  driveway  on  Crosby  Lane,  in  a  box  turtle/otter  habitat  coastal  transition   area.    This  isn't  in  DCR's  10-­‐year  Nickerson  action  plan,  completed  after  a  consensus  process  last  year,   and  it  is  the  kind  of  radical  action  that  could  be  better  addressed  by  our  initiative.     Our  consensus-­‐building  was  created  to  bridge  the  chasm  after  the  disconnect  over  the  beach  access   initiatives  that  triggered  a  500+  citizens'  petition.    87%  of  Town  Meeting  last  September  supported  it   –  633-­‐98  of  citizens  –  including  the  Selectmen.    The  Crosby  project  then  was  vague  –  not  surveyed  and   the  full  cost  was  not  shared.    It  is  based  on  a  very  specific  adaptation  strategy  that  may  not  be  our   consensus.    And  it  has  changed  substantially  since.   The  new  parking  is  on  broken  hardtop  and  trees  -­‐  former  courts  being  reclaimed  by  nature  for  over  30   years.    More  than  half  the  broken  hardtop  the  cars  would  use  is  within  the  100  ft  of  coastal  wetlands.   It  is  all  within  200  ft  of  a  perennial  brook.    It  slopes  towards  the  wetlands  and  the  brook.    A   Conservation  Commission  review  is  being  avoided  by  saying  cars  will  only  use  the  remaining  hardtop   areas  ...  but  if  it  rains,  their  run-­‐off  will  track  down  the  slopes,  and  they  will  not  be  ticketed  for   straying  closer  to  the  wetlands!    Also  two  short  sloping  connecting  roads  have  to  be  cut  through   woodland.   Three  selectmen  selected  a  voice/show  of  hands  vote,  close  to  50-­‐50,  taken  with  many  fewer  people   at  the  end  of  Town  Meeting,  as  their  justification  for  this,  rather  than  the  87%  petition  vote  of  many   more  people,  which  included  our  consensus  process.    They  ignored  the  adjacent  parking  alternative,   on  existing  clear  area,  agreed  in  a  consensus  process  with  Ben  deRuyter,  DPW,  and  residents  last  May.     These  Selectmen  authorized  the  new  parking  against  the  recommendation  of  our  Board  liaison  Pat   Hughes,  and  in  opposition  to  the  chair,  Ben  De  Ruyter.    This  should  worry  us,  as  Selectmen  usually   follow  the  lead  of  their  appointed  liaison.    After  yesterday's  election,  neither  Pat  nor  Ben  remain  on   the  Board.    The  Selectmen  who  disregarded  the  opportunity  this  process  presents  were  not   interviewed  by  CBI  as  we  started  –  they  were  represented  in  the  interviews  by  Pat  and  Ben.   We  also  heard  from  Chris  Miller  that  the  Town's  expectation  for  this  process  is  that  more  people  build   a  better  understanding  of  what  is  happening  and  needs  to  be  done,  not  that  the  Town  wants  to  hear   the  people  and  adjust  to  reach  a  true  consensus.   I  don't  want  to  pre-­‐judge  any  specific  decision  we  may  make,  but  I  don't  believe  three  selectmen   should  either.    They  supposedly  committed  to  this  consensus  process  last  September  with  the  rest  of   us.    I  see  no  point  in  continuing  if  the  three  selectmen  who  control  all  decisions  aren't  engaged   effectively.    We  are  all  investing  a  lot  of  our  time.    I  wonder,  should  we  ask  for  clarification,  or  should   we  respectfully  suggest  that  they  suspend  the  Crosby  decision  for  a  few  months  to  show  good  faith,   as  Pat  Hughes  recommended?