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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