Lancaster County Wetlands Board approves revetment at Pratt Point roadway base

The Lancaster County Wetlands Board on Oct. 11 approved a permit allowing construction of a revetment at the base of the roadway that leads to the end of Pratt Point.

The application, submitted for property owner Gordon Smith, was presented by an agent identified as Joey, who said Smith originally applied to build an offshore structure but scaled the project back after receiving a new cost estimate. “He kind of tapped the brakes on that and applied on a separate application just to put revetment against the base of that roadway,” Joey said during the meeting.

Olivia, a wetlands staff member, told the board the application file was complete and that the applicant had addressed prior concerns about salt-bush impacts by planting an equal amount of vegetation; Olivia said the applicant had slightly exceeded the mitigation requirement. A representative said the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) had no additional comments on the project.

Board members moved to approve the application as submitted; the motion carried unanimously, with the board recording a 5–0 vote in favor.

The project as approved will place revetment at the base of the roadway to stabilize the shoreline and reduce erosion at that location. No changes to the advertised offshore proposal were approved; the board considered and approved only the revised revetment-at-roadway proposal presented by the applicant’s representative.

The board entered the next agenda item after the vote.