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Politics & Government

Two Private Piers Approved For The Harbors

Conservation Commission chairman voices concern about piers; neighbors want the town to set a policy about private piers.

The Conservation Commission unanimously approved the construction of two large private piers Thursday night despite opposition from neighbors -- and over the personal objection of the commission chairman.

The commission approved a 140-foot-long pier at 21 Neptune Road on Salem Harbor and a 144-foot-long pier at 1 Beacon Road that overlooks Little Harbor. 

"I feel very bad about all these piers going up," said Walter Haug, who has been chairman of the commission for about 15 years. "But people have the wherewithal to build them." After the second pier was approved, Haug said, "I wish to God we had more sensitivities to our neighbors in this area."

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Haug, who said he had often enjoyed the views of Little Harbor while walking his dog, noted that the commission lacks the authority under the Wetlands Protection Act to stop the piers from being built unless they will have a negative environmental impact.

"We cannot subject our personal feelings" in these issues, he said.

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The commission found that the piers would not cause significant environmental problems. Neither pier would impact protected eel grass or shellfish, the commission was told.

At the July meeting, commission member Fred Sullivan told his fellow commissioners: "You better get used to it. Everybody is going to build piers out there." 

Neighbors, who opposed the private piers, vowed to continue the fight. Greg Thibodeau, a nearby resident to the pier at 21 Neptune Road, said after the vote that he would take the issue to the town's Planning Commission. He said he has already met with Town Planner Becky Curran.

"I went through hell to get a small deck approved" by the planning commission and Zoning Board of Appeals, he said. "Now the town is allowing this huge pier. This pier would never be built if it was on land."

He said the town needs a policy that governs the design and construction of private piers.

Neither the planning commission nor the zoning board appears to have jurisdiction over the construction of private piers. In addition to the Conservation Commission, the harbormaster reviews the proposed piers. His primary concern is that the piers and the boats they serve not have a negative impact on nearby boat moorings in the harbors.

The owners must also secure a Chapter 91 license from the state, which regulates access to the water. The Department of Environmental Protection and the Division of Marine Fisheries also have jurisdiction over the piers. DEP had no comments on either of these piers, and the Division of Marine Fisheries only asked that the proposed floats be anchored with helical anchors, which secure the floats to the ocean bottom like corkscrews, instead of using concrete blocks.

David Smith with Vine & Associates in Newburyport, who helped design both piers, said they would probably not be built for a year because of the time it takes to secure a Chapter 91 license.

The Neptune Road pier, owned by Peter Etholm and Elisabeth Steinfeld, will have three sections – a permanent timber pier that would extend from the shoreline 94 feet and stand 12 to 13 1/2 feet above the water.  There will also be a seasonal, movable aluminum gangway that extends another 40 feet into the harbor to connect with four floats that are 8 feet by 20 feet. The pier would have a t-shaped float at its end to allow for about 40 feet of dockage space.

The Beacon Road pier, proposed by Steve McHugh, who owns 400 feet of beach front, would have a similar design to the Neptune Road pier with a permanent section of 88 feet from the land, a 44-foot aluminum seasonal ramp and floats that would be 12 feet by 24 feet.

Thibodeau was joined in his opposition by John Messenger, who lives on Village Street. He told the commission the proposed pier would "impact the whole neighborhood." Thibodeau called the pier "huge" and said, "From an environmental impact, this is not justifiable."  He said the pier would limit access to the beach. "I think the beaches should be left open," he said.

Steve Willard, who lives at 24 Orange St., called the Beacon Road pier "massive" for its location. He said he had talked with other neighbors who are concerned that the pier "will impact the ability of boats to navigate this small cove," he said.

Smith told the commission that the piers must be long because the water under each of the piers is very shallow. He said there would be about a foot more water under the Beacon Road pier than under the Neptune Road pier.

The commission members were concerned that the floats would bottom out in low tides. Thibodeau gave the commission members a photograph that showed a lobster trap in the same area where the pier will be located. The photo showed the trap was partly exposed at low tide.

Commission members required that both piers add 18-inch legs on the bottom of the floats to keep them from bottoming out and scouring the ocean bottom.

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