The town conservation commission unanimously voted Wednesday to allow 275 vehicles across the Leland, Wasque and Cape Pogue properties run by the Trustees of Reservations.
Edgartown and the managers of the oversand vehicle trails on Chappaquiddick came to an agreement this week on how many vehicles should be allowed to drive out to Chappy’s beaches.
The town conservation commission unanimously voted Wednesday to allow 275 vehicles across the Leland, Wasque and Cape Pogue properties run by the Trustees of Reservations. The vote is the culmination of months of meetings over the contentious topic, and the Trustees hope it can put to bed an appeal before the state over the traffic counts.
“Thank you to the commission for this and for the general tenor of the discussion,” said Trustees attorney Dylan Sanders. “It’s been very productive and I hope this is the continuation of a collaborative and productive dialogue to preserve the resource we all care so deeply about.”
Edgartown had previously enacted a 200-vehicle cap for Leland and Wasque, and voted to limit Cape Pogue to no more than 30 vehicles.
Opponents fear the increase of vehicle limits could hurt the fragile environment.
Opponents fear the increase of vehicle limits could hurt the fragile environment.
Those limits drew challenges both by the Trustees, which argued more vehicles should be allowed, and by Chappaquiddick residents, who contended that the limits were too low and could lead to the degradation of the island’s pristine beaches.
Wednesday’s commission vote does not immediately change the previous restrictions. The town will send the recommendation to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) as a potential compromise to end the Trustees appeal.
The Trustees had met with the town’s attorney and the nonprofit came up with the amended proposal for the town to consider. The commission seemed on board through Wednesday’s hearing, largely only asking clarifying questions.
Commissioner Geoff Kontje said the new counts and singular cap were okay with the commission because of the already existing environmental conditions that can keep vehicles off the beach.
“I think the logic went that we’ve got a potential maximum number of 275, the Trustees are already managing where people can go based on conditions, shorebirds, so on and so forth,” he said. “And this is just a continuation of having the Trustees manage according to the conditions.”
Not all members of the public were so approving, though.
“I think 275 is a lot,” said Julia Livingston, a member of the town planning board. “When I was out there on the Fourth of July, the man at the booth who knew what the daily counts were said that the counts were 55 cars…so 275 seems wildly in excess of what’s going on out there now.”
Darci Schofield, the Trustees director on the Vineyard, pointed out that East Beach, a popular swimming spot on Chappaquiddick, was closed on the holiday due to the presence of protected shorebirds, meaning that there were few spots available.
Chappaquiddick residents noted that the DEP does not need to accept the new limits, and also needs to still decide on their appeal. Rachel Self, an attorney who lives on Chappaquiddick, took issue with the commission reassessing its previous limits.
“The lack of transparency and everything leading up to this meeting reeks of smoke-filled back rooms right now and it’s good to be able to clear the air,” she said.
Fishermen were pleased with the vote, and said fears that the beaches would be overrun were baseless.
“I think it’s just worthy to point out that obviously what we’re talking about here is a maximum number of cars with 275,” said Rich Thompson, an avid fisherman. “It doesn’t mean that we’re trying to fill the beaches with 275 cars each day. This is a nonsensical assumption.”
Several other hurdles remain for the Trustees. The organization still needs to get a special permit for its buildings on Chappaquiddick from the Edgartown planning board after its initial permit from the 1990s couldn’t be found by the town or the Trustees.
Vehicles on Cape Pogue remain a contentious point.
Vehicles on Cape Pogue remain a contentious point.
The Trustees are also involved in a case with the state Land Court. The first day of a trial centered on the legality of the Trustees operations on Cape Pogue, the northern tip of Chappaquiddick, was held last week. According to court records, resident Victor Colantonio, who is suing the Trustees, and the nonprofit need to submit more documents over the facts of the case before the trial can proceed.
That trial loomed over last Wednesday’s conservation commission hearing, and the commission voted to not allow any oversand vehicle traffic past the Cape Pogue lighthouse while the court attempts to resolve the issue.
“We’re in the middle of several lawsuits to work through the issues around our right of way,” Ms. Schofield said. “I think that’s probably best left to the courts.”
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