Neighbors Bemoan Loss Of Beach Access

 HARWICH – Storms last winter damaged dunes and destroyed stairs to the Nantucket Sound beach at town conservation property at 23 Walther Rd. Neighborhood residents want the access restored.

 The problem is that when the eight-tenths of an acre parcel was donated to the town by the Jenkins family in 1986, it included a deed restriction prohibiting any structures except a bike rack, according to Conservation Administrator Amy Usowski

“The property shall be used only for passive recreation,” the deed reads. It called for a bath house on the land to be removed and the property to be “kept open and free of all structures of a permanent or temporary nature,” except a bicycle parking rack.

Several people want the stairs restored, but that is in conflict with the deed, Usowski pointed out. There was erosion to the dune last winter, and people are damaging the dune even more by walking over it to get to the beach, she said.

Neighbor Jean Barker said she purchased her home in 1980 when Josephine Jenkins was still alive. There was a little gazebo on the property and stairs going down to the beach at the time. The gazebo, she said, was removed through a fire department practice drill.

 Neel Road resident Richard Waystack said without the stairs people are creating footpaths through the coastal dune, which end up channeling heavy rains and causing more erosion. Someone has put a board down to access the beach below, he added.

“The dropoff is significant,” Barker said. 

 A seawall at a neighboring house could be impacted by the erosion, said Waystack, adding that property is for sale for $6 million.

 “I would strongly urge the select board and the conservation commission to place stairs there,” said Waystack.

 He questioned whether the town would be liable if someone slipped and fell off the board to the beach or if someone gets a splinter sliding down it. He suggested the select board talk to legal counsel on whether the town has the right to modify the deed.

 “We have administration policy, then we have reality. The reality is people are still going to use it,” Waystack said.

“The board is illegal and using it is illegal,” said Town Administrator Joseph Powers. He agreed the loss of the stairs presented an ongoing liability that the town should address.

 Usowski recommended signs be put up warning of the danger until the town makes a decision on how to proceed. There are two other access points from which people can get to that beach, including stairs at Neel Road, said Waystack.

Because there is no house on the lot, no hard structures would be allowed to stabilize the erosion, noted Usowski.

Select Board Chair Julie Kavanagh recommended a sign and fencing to discourage beach access from the property. Piekarski agreed steps have to be taken to protect people there.  

“I’m inclined to support stairs,” Piekarski said. Kavanagh said the state Department of Environmental Protection would not approve a permit for stairs.

Because of the erosion and loss of the stairs, signs and fencing should be erected, Powers said. He said he would reach out to legal counsel to see if modifications can be made to the deed.

The select board plans to discuss the situation at its Sept. 16 meeting