HomeMy Public PortalAboutStrategyOutline_wBCAGSuggestions_v3BCAG Individual and Small-Group Suggestions for the Brewster
Coastal Adaptation Strategy
BCAG Individual and Small-Group Suggestions for the Brewster Coastal Adaptation Strategy
This document is a synthesis of suggestions submitted by individual BCAG members or
small groups to be considered by the full BCAG as additions, removals, or changes to the
draft Brewster Coastal Adaptation Strategy. This document is compiled to guide
discussions at the September BCAG meeting, and is organized by the roman
numeral/sections as outlined by the group during the August 8th BCAG meeting (See the
August 8 meeting summary for more detail. Included in this document are only the
roman numerals/sections for which suggestions were submitted).
I. Executive Summary
• Describe and refer to the conceptual diagram illustrating how the BCAG
produced the Brewster Coastal Adaptation Strategy and how the Coastal
Committee will create the Coastal Resource Management Plan. (See diagram file
named: Brewster CAG - Conceptual Diagram of Process.pdf)
• Remove “will build consensus” from the vision statement so that consensus
building isn’t the ‘vision’ but is instead the ‘how.’ The vision would be re-written
as:
o The Town of Brewster will build public consensus preserve and protect
the community’s coastal resources and expand access to its public coastal
beaches through public consensus, and in ways that preserve the natural
habitat and peaceful character of the coastal environment and coastal
neighborhoods, respect the overall coastal and land-based ecosystem,
and adapt to long term projections for coastal change.”
III. Community Perspectives and Issues (New section, and some already in
Appendix A and B Matrix)
See suggested text in the latest revised Brewster Coastal Adaptation Strategy. The text
was built from previous materials and suggestions by BCAG members, and compiled by
CBI and Horsley Witten Group.
VI. Town-wide Strategies
SMALL GROUP SUGGESTIONS – TOWN-WIDE STRATEGIES
Group 3 Town-wide Suggestions
Overall assessment ... we're responding to three major challenges:
Increasing and locally unpredictable erosion and coastal infrastructure damage
BCAG Individual and Small-Group Suggestions for the Brewster Coastal Adaptation Strategy 2
• Estimates do not incorporate accelerating factors now being observed,
eg:
– Greenland has lost 9 trillion tons of ice this century
– two “five hundred year storms” in four months in Louisiana
– Cape Cod Bay temperatures rising at 6x the global increase rate1
Summer beach access needs that have been poorly met for many years
• Vehicle beach parking need far exceeds the supply for a very short 'peak'
period
• Beach neighborhoods loaded with circling vehicles that can't find parking
• Awkward pressure on near-beach parking for other needs (eg museums)
• Poor provision for cyclists and pedestrians
Unmet year round needs for convenient handicapped access (vehicle-views and
physical)
• Increasing need as population ages
• Reduced opportunity – from storm damage (Paine's Creek)
– from trying to curb storm damage (Breakwater)
At peak times, sticker parking demand appears to be over 5x supply2
• Estimated three ways – fraction of overall sales spread out over the
summer
1 Andrew Pershing, Chief Scientific Officer, Gulf of Maine Institute [CCT 17 Aug 2016]:
“Cape Cod Bay and Gulf of Maine have experienced temperature increases six times
the global average since 1982, and the rate of increase has been accelerating since
2009”
2 'parking demand' vs. 'spaces available' estimated and verified in three ways:
(a) In 2014, 6677 stickers were valid in a typical summer day
On average summer day ~35% of survey respondents want to go to saltwater beach,
suggesting 2363 stickered vehicles seeking parking. Our 383 current spaces only meet
16.6% of this demand. [real percentage need met may be lower – only 2% of survey
respondents were visitors. Visitors with stickers may be more likely to go to the beach
than residents]
(b) If we assume all valid day stickers and 3/7 of valid weekly stickers on a typical
summer's day use saltwater parking spots, plus 12 Nickerson tags at Crosby, that leaves
153 spaces for the ~6,364 seasonal stickers sold. That is saltwater parking space for
2.3% of seasonal stickers, or 4.1% if we including all freshwater spaces. Estimate in (a)
corresponds to 13.8% of seasonal stickers seeking parking – seems reasonable.
[based on current spaces and 2014 sticker data]
(c) hundreds of survey complaints about not being able to find parking
BCAG Individual and Small-Group Suggestions for the Brewster Coastal Adaptation Strategy 3
– quantified survey responses on how often people want
to go
– anecdotally from many survey comments
Brewster is not able to meet this scale of peak demand with 'close-to-beach'
parking
• Extensive private ownership, plus marshland and sensitive habitat in
coastal zone
• Interference with natural systems increases risks for storm damage
• Not good to spend on things likely to be destroyed in a few years
• Public parking squeezed in residential neighborhoods changes rural
character
We note that: on peak days, many people are willing to walk at least half a mile
• MNH fends off ~40 vehicles/day trying to park for beach access to Wing's
Island
• Many parked that far from Crosby beach before street parking was
banned last year
Recommended Goal: everyone who wants can get to a salt beach on peak
season days
Recommended Strategy:
• Designate or add more spaces for beach access on higher ground, where
possible within walking distance but not in residential neighborhoods
• Focus first on opening up spaces for Wings Island and Spruce Hill (least-
used beaches)
As this likely will not meet peak demand, also investigate feasibility of shuttle
service(s)
• About half of survey respondents said they would take a shuttle
• Explore pilot temporary shuttle service from existing car parking for
beaches with highest beach/parking space ratio – Paines/Mants, Point of
Rocks, Crosby/Linnell
• Commercial partnerships, plus low season-sticker price, provide funding
opportunities
BCAG Individual and Small-Group Suggestions for the Brewster Coastal Adaptation Strategy 4
SUGGESTIONS FROM INDIVIDUALS – TOWN-WIDE STRATEGIES
Visual Access & Aesthetics
At Brewster’s landings, visual access is enjoyed every day, at all times; it’s what
brings people to the beach at sunset and during storms. Each coastal landing
offers vistas from the beach itself, looking north, east, and west. Views are also
available from the water and the flats, looking southward to the shoreline, in
some cases revealing undeveloped coastal dunes and marshland, more often
showing modest homes, and increasingly exposing large residential structures
out of scale with the bayside landscape.
Raised stairways and viewing platforms enhance visual access. Fencing installed
to capture wind-blown sand, to keep beachgoers off the dunes, and to protect
parking spaces—ranging from flimsy drift fencing to sturdy structural
reinforcement—covers the span from view-blocking to buried. Natural sand,
fine-grained and predominately white, is increasingly supplemented by imported
sand that is coarser and often redder or darker in color.
Landings themselves include bright yellow prohibitory admonitions and less
obtrusive informational displays created by the Town, plus signs installed to
mark private property lines. Also visible, to varying extent are porta-potties, solid
waste disposal and recycling containers, and structures built to facilitate and
control walking, wheelchair, bike, boating, and vehicle access and to manage
stormwater.
Coastal views from parking areas – and on the designated Scenic Roads that lead
to landings – have significant community value. Residents and visitors enjoy
seeing the beach, the shoreline, marshlands, the flats, and open water. Not all
views from the parking lot are equal, influenced by natural features and human
impacts. Quality matters, putting a premium on parking spaces at the coastal
dune and otherwise offering direct visual access over the shoreline.
At sunsets and especially in the offseason and winter, these spaces are filled by
people sitting in their vehicles and appreciating their surroundings while reading
the paper, sharing company, enjoying sustenance, taking a break from work, etc.
– simple activities enhanced in the presence of nature’s bounty. Visual access
from a parked vehicle may represent the only viable way for handicapped, aging,
or infirm individuals to enjoy precious and shared coastal resources. These
important community values were not addressed during design and
implementation of the Breakwater Beach parking lot relocation project.
Brewster should continue to consider aesthetic issues during its ongoing
management and maintenance of Town landings, and the views enjoyed by
BCAG Individual and Small-Group Suggestions for the Brewster Coastal Adaptation Strategy 5
beachgoers at individual public access points should be accounted for as Town
departments and committees review proposals for property development on
neighboring properties. Brewster should endeavor to maintain and increase the
inventory of parking spaces and viewing platforms delivering high-quality
beachfront vistas to residents and visitors of all capabilities.
Funding
Coastal resiliency and beach access projects in Brewster draw upon a variety of
funding sources, notably state and federal grants and Town Meeting allocations
by various means, including annual departmental line items, Community
Preservation Act funds, and dedicated funding articles. Voters have been
supportive, but landing projects must compete with other Town programs,
initiatives, and projects for taxpayer funding.
In the past several years, Brewster has been very successful in securing grant
funds to better characterize sediment dynamics and erosion rates and to design
and implement tidal flow restoration, stormwater control, and parking lot
relocation projects. While grants create opportunity for supplementing and
leveraging Town funding, grant-driven work scopes and timelines can influence
project prioritization, design, and implementation, all to the potential detriment
of community interests. In addition, reliance on grant funding is not sustainable.
Brewster should provide the public with regularly updated information on
expenditures and remaining funds available under grants and Town Meeting
authorizations for specific projects and activities. Departmental allocations and
expenditures specific to coastal resiliency and access—reflecting both labor and
materials—also should be tracked and reported, relative to individual projects
and activities.
Annually, the town collects money through the sale of beach parking stickers and
permits for kayak storage, mooring, shellfishing, and other coastal activities, as
well as through fines for illegal parking at or near town landings. Collections are
treated as general revenue, available for various purposes. Brewster should
investigate establishment of an enterprise account as a possible approach to
creating a steady and dedicated source of funding for enhancing climate
resiliency and coastal access.
“Residents Only” Parking
Brewster sells thousands of beach permits annually, some to full-time or
seasonal residents and some to visitors looking to access the beach for a day, a
week, or the entire summer season. Permits exceed available parking many
times over. While visitors are essential to Brewster’s economy and its character,
property owners pay taxes to support year-round landing maintenance by town
departments. Some Cape towns operate “residents only” parking areas.
BCAG Individual and Small-Group Suggestions for the Brewster Coastal Adaptation Strategy 6
Dedicating beach parking areas—or an entire lot—to holders of residential
parking permits should be explored as a possible approach to addressing equity
issues during the busy summer season.
Coastal Access Information
Improve signage, handouts, and online information to expand awareness and
enhance use of coastal access points, spanning all landings and including parking,
biking, and walking options
Age-Friendly and Handicapped Access
Provide/improve age-friendly and ADA-compliant handicap access,
encompassing parking, access to the beach, and access to the water
Risk Communication
Communicate climate change risk information to coastal property
owners/neighborhoods and the broader community
Provide/improve age-friendly and ADA-compliant handicap access,
encompassing parking, access to the beach, and access to the water
o Provide/improve visual access from all parking lots, recognizing that the
quality of the view matters
o Investigate establishment of a coastal access enterprise account to create
a steady and dedicated source of funding for projects and potentially a
shuttle (and to reduce reliance on grants and taxes)
o Investigate establishment of "residents only" parking
o Communicate climate change risk information to coastal property
owners/neighborhoods and the broader community
VII. Landing-by-landing Strategies3
SMALL GROUP SUGGESTIONS - LANDING BY LANDING
Group 1 Landing Strategies: Paine’s Creek, Mant’s, and Linnell
Paine’s Creek
• Replace footbridge
• Continue beach nourishment
• Evaluate opportunity to introduce marsh grass to protect the
beach
3 This section is divided into small group suggestions, which required consensus from all participants
assigned to discuss these landings at the June 1 BCAG meeting, and suggestions from individuals.
BCAG Individual and Small-Group Suggestions for the Brewster Coastal Adaptation Strategy 7
• Consider a pilot shuttle to this landing from one or more of the
local business locations (e.g. Lemon Tree Plaza) as Paine’s Creek is
cited by the Coastal Beach Access Survey as a favorite beach and a
high choice for a shuttle
• Explore opportunity for a bike shore from the same business
locations
• Create a mixed use lane on Paine’s Creek Lane
Mant’s Landing
• Continue maintaining dune
• Replace pavement with articulated concrete pads
• Consider a shared shuttle with Paint’s Creek given proximity and
beach popularity
• Landing provides good access for heavy vehicles which should be
maintained
• Elevate back of lot to improve drainage
Linnell Landing
• Re-nourish dune at north end of Linnell Landing parking lot as
needed and maintain platform
• Create overflow parking on existing DCR open space, rather than
relocating northern portion of parking lot away from the dune.
• Use following strategies to reduce vehicular traffic on Linnell
Landing Road and Crosby Lane.
o Open beach area (Hopkins) at end of Weathervane Lane
with bike and walking access through DCR property.
o Select a site on DCR property for expandable but
environmentally sensitive parking with convenient access
to 3 beaches, i.e., daytime use of the Cape Rep parking
area or the old Camp Monomoy soccer field in lieu of
creating a parking lot on the old tennis courts.
o Evaluate usage over several years and if access is deemed
to be inadequate, consider shuttle bus and/or bike rental
stations with automobile parking on DCR property near
Route 6A.
o Clear and maintain existing hiking trails on DCR property
that pass through environmentally significant habitat.
Group 2 Landing Strategies: Crosby and Breakwater
• Improve signage, handouts, and online information to expand
awareness and enhance use of the new beach parking areas on the
upper tennis court and grassy field on DCR/Nickerson land while
BCAG Individual and Small-Group Suggestions for the Brewster Coastal Adaptation Strategy 8
minimizing adverse impacts on natural resources and neighborhood
character.
• Ensure that the design of the Crosby Lane culvert/resiliency project
includes a marked pedestrian lane and/or other approaches for
mitigating public safety risks created by the new beach parking areas
on DCR/Nickerson land.
Group 3 Landing Strategies: Wings, Saints, Little Breakwater, Spruce Hill
Saints and Breakwater Landing
• Close to homes and private land - no good opportunity to retreat, or
increase parking
• Has low public beach widths (180 ft and 65 ft) and high “parking
spaces/100 ft beach" ratios (Saints: 20 (highest in Brewster),
Breakwater Landing: 11; average: 3.6 )
We recommend cost-effective measures to maintain-in-place as long as
possible
• Continually maintain year-round visual access at B'water Land'g for
mobility challenged
Wing's Island and Spruce Hill
• Major neglected opportunities, perhaps the best in Brewster
• Large widths of publicly usable beach (WI: >3000ft and SH: 645-820
ft)
• Most under-served in Brewster (0 and 1.5 parking spaces per 100 ft,
average is 3.6)
• Clear from visioning and survey (417 comments) Brewster wants
uncrowded beaches
We recommend feasibility studies to develop substantially more parking
access
• Walks to beach are over conservation land/wetlands, but can easily
be achieved with good design
Wing's Island
• Over 3000 ft of Town beach which has no organized access from
beach parking
• Will change, but is naturally adaptive and resilient
We recommend a feasibility study to add ~100 designated sticker-required
beach parking spaces in NE corner of Drummer Boy Park
BCAG Individual and Small-Group Suggestions for the Brewster Coastal Adaptation Strategy 9
• Evaluate helical pile boardwalk across marsh (~140 yards long),
connected to parking by short trail across BCT land to east
• Replace existing ancient 'unfit for purpose' anchored platforms used
to cross from MNH (~150 yards long) with a similar new boardwalk
• Assess ways to nicely integrate with other Drummer Boy Park uses
Spruce Hill
• 645-820 ft of Town beach 0.4 mile walk from parking area
• No structures on either side, so naturally resilient
• Not in a residential area
We recommend a feasibility study to increase existing parking to about 60
spaces ⁴
• trail surface on cartway should be gently leveled with fill for
pushchairs and buggies
• add “Spruce Hill Beach” to the Town's beach map
• stairs sometimes break in storms – seek most durable construction
methods
• Town owns recently-vacated house on this land – important to avoid
conflicting rentals until parking opportunity is evaluated for 60 spaces
and potential further expansion
SUGGESTIONS FROM INDIVIDUALS – LANDING BY LANDING
General
• A summary matrix would be useful. One side would be each landing. The
other side would be every strategy, perhaps loosely grouped as
resiliency/maintenance measures and access measures. A key could be
employed to identify current practices and strategies with high
potential/priority and low potential/priority. For example, studying a shuttle
for the western and eastern landings has high potential/priority; from Saint's
to Ellis, not so much.
Breakwater Beach
• Evaluate addition of walking trail through Cist Beach Park, with bench for
viewing and elevated stairway over dune, to increase pedestrian safety and
access, spread people along beach, and honor donor of land
• Consider off-season orientation of parking in Cist Beach Park to enhance
visual access
• Assess and mitigate water quality impacts from Consodine Ditch outfall on
swimming/shellfish
BCAG Individual and Small-Group Suggestions for the Brewster Coastal Adaptation Strategy 10
• Evaluate opportunities to alleviate tidal restriction at Considine Ditch to
reduce storm stacking and enhance natural flooding mitigation
Breakwater Landing
• Evaluate expansion of viewing platform to achieve ADA compliance and
improve safety and visual access
Crosby and Breakwater
• Remove all landing-by–landing strategies titled "Continue…," as this is
inconsistent with flexible and adaptive planning. It's essential to be
evaluating the efficacy of existing practice. Existing practice also has not been
evaluated against the guiding principles. These strategies should be
reworded as "Evaluate current … "
Crosby
• Instead Small Group 2’s recommendation of "Evaluate potential for
additional parking/access through adjacent state property," write it as the
following:
o “Evaluate potential for additional bike, pedestrian, and vehicle access
through adjacent state property,"
• Evaluate a viewing platform and raised stairways, on Town land and adjacent
state property, to improve resiliency and visual access
• Evaluate opportunities to allow and encourage wetland and salt marsh
retreat and to restore ecological function son Town land and adjacent state
property
• Conduct an East Brewster climate resiliency, coastal access, and economic
development study driven by the BCAG guiding principles and process
recommendations, considering all types of access (biking, walking, shuttle,
parking), and addressing the stretch of coastline from Namskaket Creek to
the western edge of the Spruce Hill Conservation Area and encompassing
Spruce Hill, Crosby, and Linnell landings plus Nickerson State Park, as well as
the areas leased by, and the interests of, Cape Rep Theater and Crosby
Mansion.
Crosby/Linnell
• Evaluate addition of kayak/canoe racks to increase boating access at east end
of town
Point of Rocks
• Evaluate addition of handicapped parking and ADA-compliant viewing
platform to increase visual access
Saint’s Landing
BCAG Individual and Small-Group Suggestions for the Brewster Coastal Adaptation Strategy 11
• Evaluate installation of ADA-compliant viewing platform to improve visual
access
Mant’s Landing
• Evaluate lowering/removal of sacrificial dune, along with orientation of
parking and location of handicapped parking, to improve visual access
Paine’s Creek Landing
• Install signage, upgrade bridge, and install elevated stairway over dune to
improve pedestrian access to easterly portions of beach
VIII. Recommendations
• Include a description of “opportunities for public input and comment”,
referencing the figure of the same name in the appendix. See figure in file
named: Brewster CAG - Opportunities for Public Input and Comment.pdf
• In order to implement affordable, effective and environmentally sound action
plans vis-à-vis climate change, we recommend the Selectmen adopt the
following proactive adaptation strategies:
A. Invest in studies of sediment migration and wave action effects along
the entire Brewster coastline
B. Petition the State Legislature to repeal the 2012 Amendment to WPA
re offshore dredging
C. Petition the State Legislature to amend the WPA to provide more
lenient application of soft solutions through enabling legislation
and/or regulatory changes
D. Seek coastal resilience grants from DEEA, CZM and NOAA to fund
more proactive solutions
E. Take leadership among Cape Cod communities in understanding and
preparing for climate change impacts such as SLR and coastal flooding
F. Petition the federal government, its Congress, Agencies and
Committees as appropriate
• This is a suggestion to revise sections of the draft document that address
institutional responsibility and contain reference to the existing, suspended town
Coastal Committee.
In preparation for submitting this revision for consideration, an email query to
the town as to whether the recommendation outlined below is within the
purview of the BCAG, Select Board chair, John Dickson answered in the
affirmative.
BCAG Individual and Small-Group Suggestions for the Brewster Coastal Adaptation Strategy 12
In advance of this meeting, the text below has been provided to Mike Embury,
Town Administrator, John Dickson, Chair, Brewster Board of Selectmen, and
Chris Miller, Director of the Department of Natural Resources.
Text of proposed revision:
Government Structure and Implementation:
o The town currently has a suspended Coastal Committee whose charge is
to develop a management plan for Brewster's coastal resources and to
undertake much of the assessment, study and identification work now
accomplished in this strategy. Going forward, the best path to insure the
integration of this strategy in town decision making is the establishment
of a new, permanent Coastal Resource Management Board.
Establishing a permanent public body to oversee coastal resource
management will provide consistency of scope and authority in applying
the vision, guiding principles and recommendations of this strategy.
Although a permanent public body may be established by a vote of the
Select Board or with a bylaw passed at town meeting, the importance of
comprehensive coastal resource management as outlined in this strategy
is permanent and critical to the town, and seeking the approval of a
bylaw by two thirds of the voters at town meeting is recommended over
a vote by elected officials.
Therefore, it is recommended to:
• Ask the Town Administrator to create a task force to develop the
parameters for a Coastal Resource Management Board. The task
force will include identified stakeholders in the coastal resource
management process drawn from the BCAG, town officials, town
employees, and Brewster residents and will consult with
professional services as necessary.
• Assign the task force these objectives:
o Draft a bylaw, which establishes the CRMB and defines its
purpose, responsibility, accountability, membership and
required procedure to be recommended for inclusion on
the warrant for the next town meeting.
o Draft a set of procedural bylaws to be considered for
adoption by the CRMB for governing their actions
o Draft a management plan based on this strategy to be
considered for approval and subsequent administration by
the CRMB
o The task force will not be a public body subject to Open
Meeting Law since it will be strictly advisory and will not
make jurisdictional decisions.
BCAG Individual and Small-Group Suggestions for the Brewster Coastal Adaptation Strategy 13
IX. Appendices
• In addition to the adaptation strategies for the Brewster coastline presented
herewith and in anticipation of the devastating erosion and property damage
expected over the next 60 years due to climate change and specifically, SLR,
storm surge and full-moon high tide flooding, all as documented in this BCAG
Final Report with extensive scientific studies, we recommend to the Selectmen
of the Town of Brewster the following proactive action plans to reduce the rate
of erosion and the impact of violent storms along the entire Brewster coastline:
A. Explore the practicality and environmental soundness of dredging,
scraping and sculpting of the flats to create more absorption of wave
energy.
B. Explore the economic practicality and environmental soundness of
using sand from the flats for renourishment of all Brewster dunes and
beaches.
C. Explore the practicality of reintroducing marsh grass in those areas of
the shoreline flats and deeper channels to absorb wave energy and
slow down the migration of sand away from the beach.
We are proposing only soft solutions. We do not propose altering the lateral or
landward flow of sediment. We do not think the WPA prohibits restricting the
seaward flow of sediment, thereby giving us the proactive right to protect and
maintain our dunes and beaches. We think the 2012 amendment to the WPA in
Massachusetts which prohibits dredging inside the outer bar is discriminatory
against Brewster (and Orleans and Eastham) and should be repealed on
constitutional grounds as well as being environmentally unnecessary and
unproductive.
We understand that much more data needs to be accumulated in the
exploration of these proactive strategies. At the least, further studies need to be
performed on sediment migration along the Brewster coastline and on the
impact of wave action (height and frequency) throughout the bay and on the
Brewster beaches. Finally, how much has the bay silted in over the past 75
years? If the floor of the bay is higher and we are putting more water on our
flats due to sea level rise, there is no place for the extra water to go except over
our beaches and dunes and into our creeks and marshes.
Finally, we request that whatever opportunities for further proactive
intervention to combat climate change are approved by and for the Town of
Brewster, also be made available to private property owners on terms and
BCAG Individual and Small-Group Suggestions for the Brewster Coastal Adaptation Strategy 14
conditions similar to those imposed on the Town itself. While no subsidies of
private property owners are suggested, the process for obtaining approval of
private projects should be streamlined and in instances where work on the flats
impacts private owners, there should be fair and equitable assessments of the
private property owners to help defray the costs to the Town.
• Include parking permit figures. See file named: 2015 Beach-Parking-Sticker ratio
table.pdf