New Shoreham conservation panel raises concerns about Block Island Club docks, forms subcommittee to draft CRMC protest

Members of the New Shoreham Conservation Commission on Tuesday discussed an application to the Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) from the Block Island Club seeking permission for expanded docks and floats in the Great Salt Pond and agreed to form a subcommittee to draft a protest to CRMC before the Oct. 9 comment deadline.

The application, listed in the meeting materials as application 2025-06-090 and referencing previously permitted CRMC file number 199502026, proposes five total floats totaling about 4,050 square feet compared with the current configuration the commission notes at roughly 536 square feet — an increase the commission characterized in the meeting as about a 210% increase in footage.

The commission’s concern centered on two points: that several of the piles and floating structures described in the CRMC filing are already in place and were installed without prior CRMC authorization; and that the work would expand use in areas designated as “Type 1” protected waters. Henry DuPont, who identified himself as long-involved with the club and a past member of its board of governors, told the commission that the structures “are already there. They’re illegally installed about 5 years ago. So this application is to get permission for what they did about 5 years ago.”

Commissioners noted CRMC rules for Type 1 waters generally prohibit expansion seaward of existing footprints and said that a special exception would be required if the town or applicant sought to legalize new pilings or a larger footprint. One commissioner summarized CRMC’s standard language as requiring a demonstration of “compelling public interest versus private benefit” for a special exception.

Members also raised environmental and precedent concerns. Commissioners said the Block Island Club shoreline lacks a vegetative buffer in places, increasing runoff into the pond, and noted that the proposed floats and pilings could increase motor-boat traffic and associated wakes in the salt pond. “I would urge my colleagues to lodge a strong, vigorous protest,” Carlos, a commission member, said. “This is disingenuous to say that proposed improvements are such.”

Henry DuPont and other speakers described earlier CRMC approvals and restrictions they said had governed previous repair and restoration work — including a requirement that any new floats fall within the footprint of the old pier and that new pilings not extend further into Type 1 waters. DuPont said a private firm installed pilings and docks about five years ago and that the current application appears intended to regularize that work.

Commissioners discussed options for responding. The commission voted to form a three-member subcommittee — Carlos; Taryn McGregor; and Susan (Sue) Gibbons — to draft correspondence to CRMC outlining the commission’s concerns and, if appropriate, to request that CRMC hold a public hearing on the application. Commissioners noted that filing “substantive objections” by Oct. 9 would be the procedural trigger for a CRMC public hearing.

The commission set a tentative deadline for the subcommittee to meet and complete a draft: a meeting on Sept. 30 to finalize language, and noted the Committee for the Great Salt Pond’s board would consider the matter at its upcoming meeting as well. Commissioners also agreed to inform the Great Salt Pond committee of the commission’s intended direction so the two bodies could coordinate comments.

Separately, the commission voted to continue consideration of an unrelated application (Turtle Swamp LLC, platform lot 45, application no. 1747) to its next October meeting.

The commission did not make a formal determination on the Block Island Club application itself; CRMC retains authority over permits for Type 1 waters. The subcommittee will prepare the town’s correspondence to CRMC and circulate a draft to commission members before the Oct. 9 filing deadline.