Advisory board demands restoration plan after town parks cleared shoreline at Cox Road without permits
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
Advisory members reviewed after‑the‑fact clearing at a Cox Road right‑of‑way called 'Toucans Park' that removed riparian vegetation; the DEC intervened and the board required the town to submit a restoration plan and coastal consistency review before any further work.
The advisory board reviewed an after‑the‑fact project in which the town parks department cleared riparian vegetation at a Cox Road right‑of‑way (referred to in discussion as 'Toucans Park'). Residents and board members said the work removed shoreline vegetation and damaged a drainage pipe; the DEC was notified and intervened.
A board member said that the town must restore the riparian corridor and include educational signage explaining the restoration work. "You're not gonna get any kind of approval for this project until you put a plan together that restores all of that vegetation that you ripped out of there," a board member said during the packet review.
Members noted the site is in a sensitive submerged aquatic bed area and that the town must submit a coastal consistency certification to the board and DEC. The board emphasized that after‑the‑fact permits require a restoration plan and that future town‑led work should be coordinated with the advisory board before being undertaken.
Next steps: Staff will require the town (parks department) to prepare a restoration plan and submit the repair/restoration package for board review; the board will vet the restoration approach and request education materials and a planting plan as conditions of any consistency approval.