On May 19, stakeholders and researchers came together for a final meeting to discuss climate changes that will impact Mattapoisett Neck Road in the coming decades, as well as the more immediate need to make decisions on how best to move forward with culvert repairs. Their discussion also included conceptual designs for elevating the nearly sea-level roadway.

            Presenting data and its impact on the roadway was Adam Finkle of the Woods Hole Group, who responded to a question from Select Board member Jordan Collyer asking if elevating the roadway would have a negative impact on the hydrology of neighboring parcels and if it might also create an earthen dam effect.

            Finkle said that the next stage of the project is to study hydrological impacts by modeling several concepts. He said that erosion may represent a problem and that the study would also model unintended consequences related to building up the roadway slopes to achieve the desired elevation, a number yet to be determined. Finkle did state that projections indicate the roadway would experience daily flooding if not elevated by the year 2050. He said that any roadway modifications would be a balancing act between improvements and coastal areas. Finkle cautioned that there is evidence now that there are no viable plants under shrub and tree canopies, a condition that will eventually erode the existing slopes allowing more flooding occurrences.

            In describing one roadway concept, Finkle said that at 7.5 feet of elevation, water would not overtop the roadway by the year 2070. He also said, however that whenever roads are built up, they also must build out, and agreements with all regulatory agencies would be needed to approve the work.

            On the question of whether or not a larger culvert would benefit Molly’s Cove, Dean Audet of Fuss and O’Neil said, “There is no science in place that tells if increased culvert size would help either the cove or flooding.” He said that a larger culvert might flood areas not previously subject to flooding. “We want to make sure we don’t create erosion.”

            Andrea Judge of Fuss and O’Neil offered two culvert solutions. One would include precast walls surrounding a pipe. The second would create a larger opening embedded deeper into the mud, a design that she said would benefit natural stream systems and help the wildlife. Other improvements such as drainage systems and utilities should be timed in concert with roadway work, she suggested.

            Earlier in the meeting, Judge and Eileen Gunn of Fuss and O’Neil described elevation concepts. First, they said the current elevation is a mere 2.3 feet and, if left unchanged, would experience daily flooding by 2050-2070. They said the maximum height the team members had considered is 7.5 feet, a height that would provide the greatest resiliency, but again, would impact the slopes.

            If nothing is done to the elevation, the teams still offered some hope. The removal of invasive plants and the addition of salt tolerant vegetation could help, they said. While sunny day flooding at high tides remain an issue, storm flooding might be somewhat mitigated.

            The town has received a Coast Zone Management grant in the sum of $74,981 to complete the study and roadways concepts.

Mattapoisett Neck Road Climate Resiliency Project

By Marilou Newell

            Just before adjourning the May 20 Mattapoisett Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, Director of Inspectional Services Andy Bobola asked the ZBA to confirm the process that establishes an applicant’s need to secure Conservation Commission permissions for a construction project before seeking permits that might be required from the ZBA.

            Bobola said that he was seeking the support of the ZBA because increasingly he receives plans needing modifications required by the Conservation Commission, including restrictions and any wetlands-related jurisdictional controls. Such changes, he explained, then put a project in conflict with any permits previously granted by the ZBA such as special permits and variances. Bobola said it creates needless delays in the construction process. He said it makes more sense for the commission to render its conditions and acceptance of a project after thorough conservation oversight. Once secured, the applicant can then seek whatever approvals might be needed from the ZBA, and the ZBA will be better informed as to the site plan.

            There resulted a bit of confusion when Attorney Jamy Madeja, representing 0 Starboard Way, LLC, said that currently the Conservation Commission requires the ZBA to adjudicate first. She stressed that the case she represented before the ZBA that night might be sent back if the commission saw fit to not hear it before the ZBA did. Bobola disagreed with that assertion.

            In the end, the ZBA unanimously affirmed the requirement that applicants needing ZBA approvals would first go through the Conservation Commission process, thus clearing the way for any ZBA involvement.

            Madeja’s representation of 0 Starboard Way also saw some hiccups when abutters represented by Attorney Mike Kehoe questioned whether or not the two undeveloped lots being reviewed had in fact been merged, thus creating one lot, not two.

            Madeja countered that the applicants had been paying two tax bills and that each lot had a sewer stub; therefore, they were, in fact, two lots. Bobola confirmed that proposed lot coverage and height of proposed single-family dwellings were within the scope of bylaws.

            Brian Grady of G.A.F. Engineering, also representing 0 Starboard Way, LLC, said that lot coverage was planned at 14 percent and that the height of the buildings would be under 35 feet. Grady also pointed out early in his presentation that the properties in question had previously been granted Special Permits in 2012, but that at that time no work had taken place and the permits had lapsed.

            Chairperson Susan Akin said a least two letters had been received in objection to the development of the lots, primarily due to intermittent flooding, an issue that had also troubled the chair. This point, she said, was why the project needed to go through the Conservation Commission first.

            Madeja, on behalf of her client and at the behest of the ZBA, asked to withdraw the application without prejudice. Permission was granted.

            In other business, a Special Permit was approved for 56 Ocean Drive, owned by Conrad and Janice Roy, for the demolition of their fire-damaged home and the construction of a new single-family home on the 37,000 square-foot lot. The original home had been constructed in 1952.

            The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Zoning Board of Appeals will be scheduled for Thursday, June 17, at 6:00 pm if there are cases to be heard.

Mattapoisett Zoning Board of Appeals

By Marilou Newell