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Commission continues contentious 7 Harbor Way bulkhead and float proposal for revisions
Summary
Commissioners raised environmental and precedent concerns about a proposed bulkhead raise, patio and substantial float enlargement at 7 Harbor Way and agreed to continue the hearing to Feb. 20 so the applicant can submit revised plans addressing buffers, float size and mitigation.
The Dennis Conservation Commission continued the hearing on a proposed bulkhead replacement and waterfront reconfiguration at 7 Harbor Way after several commissioners said the package raised substantive environmental and precedent concerns.
Mark Burgess of Shorefront Consulting presented plans for a 75‑foot bulkhead replacement raised about 2.75 feet, a 10x35 pervious patio with 414 square feet of proposed mitigation and a proposed change to floats (from an existing 8x12 to an 8x20 float). He told the commission the project mimicked a previously permitted site and that his mitigation calculation provided more than the 5‑foot vegetative buffer requirement in square footage.
Commissioners pushed back on the float and patio elements. One commissioner said, "It just feels a little greedy, Mark," and another warned the proposed float expansion — described during the hearing as roughly three times the existing float area at that location — could stir up sediment and harm shellfish in an area that does not have adequate depth. "If you offer to pay the shellfish mitigation fee, I don't think the shellfish are gonna survive in this area because it's too shallow," a commissioner said.
Burgess acknowledged the floats were preexisting nonconforming and said increasing a nonconformance would be a difficult ask: "They are pre existing nonconforming. Increasing a nonconformance, if it was a zoning issue, wouldn't be allowed." He said he would ask the applicant but cautioned that the commission should not expect a favorable answer on float enlargement.
After extended discussion about moving patios landward, adding vegetative buffers, and whether dredging or increased mitigation could address the depth concern, the commission agreed they could not resolve the issues at the meeting. The commission voted to continue the 7 Harbor Way hearing to Feb. 20 and asked the applicant to return with revised plans that show buffer placement, planting plans and alternatives for float configuration or mitigation.
Next steps The applicant will be asked to submit revised plans before Feb. 20 showing how the patio/float elements are modified or mitigated; staff will prepare a draft order of conditions or special conditions if the revised submission addresses the commission's concerns.
