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Rockport board accepts pier application, approves 45 Pandian Lane pier with Army Corps permits noted
Summary
The board accepted the Ruden pier application as complete and approved a 98‑ft fixed pier plus gangway and float at 45 Pandian Lane after harbor‑committee review; staff noted required shoreline and flood‑plain permits and an Army Corps waiver condition tied to a signed construction contract.
The Rockport Planning Board voted Feb. 26 to accept the Ruden pier application as complete and to approve the proposed pier at 45 Pandian Lane.
Will Gartley, representing Elizabeth Roini and Charles Ruden, presented plans for a residential pier consisting of a 98‑foot fixed pier measured from highest annual tide, roughly a 50–60‑foot gangway (the town's updated harbor ordinance allows a 60‑ft gangway extension beyond the fixed pier), and a 14‑by‑18‑foot float. Gartley said the harbor committee reviewed the project and recommended it; he also said the Army Corps of Engineers had issued permitting action and the applicants would obtain shoreline‑zoning and floodplain management permits from the town.
Board members asked clarifying questions about a signed construction contract (Jan noted the Army Corps waiver requires a signed contractor contract by Oct. 25 of the prior year and completion by October of the current year), resiliency measures, anchoring and stair construction, tree removal, and whether the project met the harbor height and navigation standards. Gartley said the pier would be raised substantially (about nine to ten feet above mean high water, consistent with the new ordinance limits) and that granite cribs and pinned construction would be used to improve resilience.
After the Q&A the board voted to accept the application as complete and then to approve the pier "as presented"; both votes recorded four‑to‑zero in favor.
Next steps: Staff said the applicants will return to planning staff to obtain shoreline‑zoning and floodplain permits, provide stamped plans, and confirm the contractor contract required by Army Corps conditions before construction proceeds. The board noted that harbor master and code‑enforcement inspections will be used to monitor maintenance once the pier is built.
Representative excerpted quote: "The total length still is limited to 200 feet, but we're only at about 160 feet. So we're still well within the total allowable length of the combined pier, float and gangway system." — Will Gartley
