Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Chesapeake Bay Protections topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents and advocacy group urge Accomack County supervisors to restore seaside Chesapeake Bay protections
Summary
Public commenters at the July Accomack County Board of Supervisors meeting urged the board to reverse a recent change that removes the county's seaside from Chesapeake Bay Act protections, citing shoreline habitat loss and the economic value of shellfish aquaculture.
Public commenters at the July Accomack County Board of Supervisors meeting urged the board to reverse a recent change that removed the county's seaside from local Chesapeake Bay protections and to hold a joint public hearing with the Planning Commission before making any final decision.
Sue Mastel, a board member of Citizens for Better Eastern Shore, said the seaside had been added to the county's Chesapeake Bay protection area in 2009 after extensive public process and that reversing that change risks accelerating wetland loss as sea level rises. "The seaside deserves the same protections as the bayside as we work to offset these processes," Mastel said, and she asked the board to "confer with the planning commission to develop a detailed rationale" and schedule a joint public hearing.
Jim McGowan, a resident from Hancock District 7, echoed the call for formal hearings and proper notice, arguing that the Chesapeake Bay Atlantic Protection Area and accompanying map were adopted in 2009 and that modifications to the zoning map require advertised public hearings before the Planning Commission and the board. "Please help me understand what prompted this change," McGowan said, urging supervisors not to remove the 100-foot vegetated buffer that he said filters stormwater and supports fisheries and aquaculture.
Board Chair (speaker 1) and members acknowledged the public comments; earlier in the meeting, Supervisor Hart moved and the board approved a motion to refer the Chesapeake Bay-related ordinance amendment adopted last month to the Planning Commission to review its effects on the seaside watershed, hold a public hearing that includes state-mandated resiliency standards, and return recommendations to the board.
Next steps: the board formally referred the ordinance language to the Planning Commission for study and public hearings. The Planning Commission's review and any subsequent joint hearings will determine whether the seaside protections remain as adopted in 2009 or are revised.
