Chatham Updating Its Harbor Management Plan

CHATHAM – With the go-ahead from the state in hand, waterways officials are updating the 10-year-old south coastal harbor management plan.

 The updated plan will include heightened emphasis on sea level rise and climate change as well as the town’s scenic character.

 “The end goal is we really need to protect our waterfront,” said committee chair Tom King.

 Chatham’s was the first harbor management plan approved in the state in 1994. The plan originally focused just on Stage Harbor but was later expanded to include all waterways on the south side of town, including the southway complex (the area between North Monomoy and South Beach, including Outermost Harbor and the coast around Morris Island) and Nantucket Sound, which encompasses Taylor’s Pond, Mill Creek, Cockle Cove Creek, Sulphur Springs, Forest Beach, Pleasant Street Beach, Ridgevale Beach and Harding’s Beach.

 The plan was updated in 2005 and again in 2015. Many of the goals and objectives of the most recent plan remain in place, said Coastal Resources Director Ted Keon. Issues the plan focuses on include public access, recreation and commercial fishing, waterfront infrastructure, resource protection and water quality and regulation of shoreline structures.

 The Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management gave the town its approval to update the plan last fall, Keon said. The new plan will include a summary of what’s been accomplished to date, new initiatives and an implementation plan.

 “We’re not rewriting the entire plan,” Keon said. “It really doesn’t need to be done.” The goals and objectives of the 2015 plan remain relevant, he added. 

 New initiatives include a stronger emphasis on the character and scenic quality of the harbor areas, stressing the importance of the natural viewscape of the harbor and shoreline to avoid the visual dominance of man-made structures; further review and assessment of the appropriateness of new private catwalk structures and their impact on resources and the visual character of the harbor (taking sea level rise and coastal resilience into account); increasing support for wetland preservation and marsh migration due to climate change and rising sea level; and maximizing employment opportunities in the “blue economy.”

 In March, Keon plans to begin visiting waterways-related committees to discuss the plan update and get feedback on the goals, objectives and initiatives.