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Conservation commission member protests Block Island Club CRMC filing; council will review original May letter
Summary
A conservation commission member urged the New Shoreham Town Council to withdraw or reconsider a May letter to the CRMC supporting an after-the-fact application by Block Island Club; the council agreed to place the correspondence on a future agenda for fuller discussion.
Carlos Salinas, a member of the town’s Conservation Commission speaking as a resident, told the council on Sept. 17 that the Block Island Club has sought action from the Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) to effectively ratify an expansion into Type 1 waters that, he said, was built without required permits about five years ago.
“...the Block Island Club about 5 years ago…did the expansion anyways. And now they have sought the CRMC to essentially ratify what they had done,” Salinas said, adding that the commission would be lodging a formal protest with CRMC and seeking legal guidance on the applicable law.
Salinas said the Conservation Commission had reviewed a Sept. 9 CRMC public notice and that the town council’s May letter to CRMC — which he said expressed support for the application before it had been filed — raises process questions for the commission and some residents. He asked the council to explain how the May letter was prepared and why the Conservation Commission had not been consulted prior to it being sent.
Council members discussed procedure and the difference between receiving a public notice and taking a formal position. Councilor Amy and others explained the May letter was drafted in the context of earlier engagement by the Block Island Club with the harbor master and council staff as the club prepared an application to CRMC. Council members also acknowledged the Conservation Commission may hold a separate view and recommended the council put the matter on a future agenda so the commission and staff could present fuller background.
Council agreed to place the CRMC correspondence on the next council agenda for fuller review and to provide the Conservation Commission information on how the May letter was drafted and approved.
No formal action on the application or an objection to the application was taken at the Sept. 17 meeting; Salinas said the commission planned to file an objection with CRMC independently.
