Nantucket panel grants waiver, approves conditions for Baxter Road alternative access project

The Nantucket Conservation Commission on March 19 approved an order of conditions and granted a waiver that will let the town advance a Baxter Road alternative access and utility relocation project intended to preserve access and reroute water and sewer in the event of a coastal breach.

Vince Murphy, Natural Resources Department representative for the town, told the commission the multi-year project ‘‘looks at how we can reasonably provide access, water and sewer services in the event of a breach.’’ The presentation by Bill Casey and project team mapped coastal bank, bordering vegetated wetlands and isolated wetlands and described temporary construction impacts and permanent impacts tied mainly to removal of paved surfaces.

Commissioners focused questions on timing, breach criteria and construction safeguards. Staff explained the operational trigger: an engineering review is initiated when the bluff edge comes within 25 feet of the road; engineers then assess if local access can be preserved or if the road is unsafe. Commissioners also asked about maintenance of proposed catch basins and infiltrating structures; staff said a maintenance plan can be required as a condition before construction.

The commission voted to close the application after the public presentation and then, following a staff-drafted order, granted the waiver and issued conditions including a prohibition on fertilizer within commission jurisdiction, native-only plantings in jurisdictional areas, yearly survivorship reports with photos, a requirement to submit a catch-basin maintenance plan prior to construction, standard erosion- and sediment-control measures (e.g., straw wattles, silt fencing) and contractor contact information and onsite supervision during active work. The vote carried unanimously.

Will (staff) read the specific waiver language presented to members; commissioners opted for the waiver justification that the project ‘‘provides a significant public benefit while minimizing potential adverse impacts’’ through design and mitigation. The order requires annual reporting until a certificate of compliance is issued and contains thresholds at which the commission may require additional plantings if revegetation goals are not met.

Next steps: the town will incorporate the conditions into contract documents and submit the catch-basin maintenance plan and contact information before construction begins. The commission will monitor regrowth and compliance under the schedule in the order.