Coming before the Mattapoisett Conservation Commission on December 23 was well known bike path advocate and prime-mover Bonne DaSousa. DaSousa expressed her concerns that memorial benches purchased by donors in support of the town’s bike paths were being undermined at Goodspeed Island by increased pedestrian traffic and environmental impacts from weather events along the coastal dune.
DaSousa said she was bringing this matter before the commission at the suggestion of Town Administrator Mike Lorenco but the commission was unsure of their role in this matter. Member David Nicolosi wondered if Friends of the Bike Path or any town agency had ever filed for permitting of the benches in the jurisdictional beach and surrounding dunes. No one seemed to recall a filing. Nicolosi thought an after-the-fact filing was in order, or a removal of the benches. Chairman Mike King believed the original filing for the bike path construction did not include the installation of benches and that the area in question was environmentally “dynamic” requiring the commission’s oversight.
King stated that the commission would “run it up the flagpole” to the Select Board for further determination. There was hope that the matter would be handled by the town moving forward.
In other matters, a new Notice of Intent filed by the Masson Family Living Trust, 36 Cove Street for beach nourishment and ongoing site maintenance as well as the installation of coir logs, garnered considerable discussion. The Department of Environmental Protection had indicated that the logs were not acceptable for purposes of shoring up eroding shorelines. The commission conditioned the filing taking the DEP comments into consideration.
A continued Notice of Intent filing by Eric Smith represented by John Connel of SITEC Engineering and Environmental Consulting was conditioned, also after lengthy discussion regarding its introduction. The commission added conditions that included a written statement by an engineer that the requested 4-foot elevation will not impact neighboring properties with storm water runoff.
The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Conservation Commission is scheduled for January 13, 2025.
Mattapoisett Conservation Commission
By Marilou Newell