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Commission approves West Dennis Yacht Club bulkhead replacement after debate over mitigation
Summary
After technical debate about how much bulkhead must remain seaward to avoid damaging a club deck and questioning of a 2:1 mitigation calculation, the commission approved the West Dennis Yacht Club bulkhead replacement with conditions requiring revised planting plans and monitoring.
The Dennis Conservation Commission approved a revised plan March 19 to replace sections of the bulkhead at the West Dennis Yacht Club, following extended technical discussion about geometry, structural tie rods and mitigation measures.
Joe Brithman of GEI presented changes made after February feedback: the plan shifts most of the bulkhead landward to avoid impacts to salt marsh and shellfish habitat, transplants shellfish from work areas, and proposes a 6-foot planting strip where space allows. GEI engineer Dan Robbins explained the difficulty of entirely pulling the structure landward because tie rods extend back into the bank and disturbing them would risk failure of the yacht club deck.
Commissioner Shannon said she remained unconvinced that moving the wall as proposed was the right public-interest outcome, noting the project primarily benefits private property and that public resource loss must be considered. Bill Norman pressed consultants to explain the 2:1 mitigation ratio; consultants said new impacts total roughly 88 square feet and that mitigation accounts for gaining back upland by moving some wall inshore. The commission required a revised planting and multi-year monitoring plan as a condition of approval.
A motion to approve the project under the town wetlands bylaw and to issue any necessary variances carried; one commissioner registered opposition on the record. The commission asked the applicant to supply a revised plan that clearly shows the salt marsh restoration area and a planting plan with monitoring metrics.
