My View: Ecosystem Health in Cotuit
Haley Brew McMurray
A pathway to repair our fragile coastal ecosystem exists that is not conditional on the construction of new docks.
I am writing in response to an op-ed titled “My View: Peers and Piers” by Zenas Crocker published on Feb. 11, 2021. I would like to thank Mr. Crocker for explaining the reasons that Barnstable Clean Water Coalition (BCWC) supports a proposal to construct a private pier adjacent to Cotuit’s Town Dock. (The proposed project’s location is in a congested area where existing zoning laws prohibit the construction of new docks.). However, I have some lingering questions and comments after reading this article.
My View: Time for Title 6
Zenas Crocker
Groundwater on Cape Cod moves one to four feet a day, so all the wastewater and nitrogen that we have put in the ground is on a slow march to our surrounding waters, and it will be with us for decades.
At Barnstable Clean Water Coalition, we are working on ways to intercept the nutrient-loaded groundwater and clean it up.
Cape Cod is not alone, but we can develop and prove out technology that will impact the world.
For decades, the residents of the Cape and Islands have had their heads in the sand. Literally. We all were led to believe that our waste treatment system known as a Title 5 septic system took care of our wastewater problems, and we could all go about the business of enjoying the pristine waters and blue economy of Cape Cod. And then, after we knew better, we chose to believe this falsehood. Boy, were we wrong.
The Barnstable Conservation Commission voted Thursday to continue for a fourth time its review of a polarizing proposal to build a pier, ramp and dock in a strictly regulated shellfish overlay district in Cotuit Bay.
Donald MacKinnon, a trustee of Oyster Place Realty Trust, has applied for a special permit to remove 3,000 square feet of an existing historic, solid fill wharf first licensed in 1874.
In its place, MacKinnon proposes building low vinyl bulkheads; relocating existing rock[ installing a replacement pier, ramp and floats; and building a seasonal town office building on a 15-by-30-foot deck at 33 Oyster Place Road and 910 Main St.
Conservation Commission questions proposed Cotuit Bay dock
Bronwen Howells Walsh
After a four-hour meeting Wednesday, the Barnstable Conservation Commission voted to continue for a fourth time a polarizing proposal to build a pier, ramp and dock in a strictly regulated shellfish overlay district in Cotuit Bay.
Donald MacKinnon, a trustee of Oyster Place Realty Trust, has applied for a special permit to remove 3,000 square feet of an existing historic, solid fill wharf first licensed in 1874.
In its place, MacKinnon proposes building low vinyl bulkheads, relocating existing rock, installing a replacement pier, ramp and floats, and building a seasonal town office building on a 15-x-30-ft. deck at 33 Oyster Place Rd. and 910 Main St. in Cotuit.