Commission presses owners to remove unpermitted boardwalk, continues Wiggins file

Down Cape Engineering's Dan Ogula presented two related matters for properties on Feasant Cove Circle: a Certificate of Compliance request for previously permitted work at 61 Feasant Cove Circle and an after-the-fact filing for a 127-square-foot boardwalk and a modest addition at 2061 Feasant Cove Circle.

Ogula said the boardwalk was installed without a permit and that the owners seek to retain it coupled with roughly 4:1 mitigation through removal of lawn and native plantings. "We think that...if the boardwalk wasn't there, you'd normally allow a path," Ogula said, adding that the structure reduces foot traffic and siltation at the marsh edge.

Multiple commissioners expressed concern about allowing after-the-fact structures and the precedent it sets. One commissioner said the town must "stop forgiving" routine post-construction violations, and others questioned whether the mitigation accurately compensates for vegetation and staging impacts. Staff and commissioners also noted that delineation forms and soil-sampling locations were incomplete; commissioners asked the applicant to complete delineation forms with explicit sampling-plot locations.

The commission directed the applicant to remove the unpermitted boardwalk in revised plans or to present a stronger variance case with construction changes (e.g., wider board spacing, different foundation) and more robust mitigation showing net ecological benefit. The commission continued the Wiggins item to the April 16 meeting to allow the applicant to revise plans, complete BBW delineation forms, and document monitoring/planting details. The COC for 61 Feasant Cove Circle was approved as to the bulk of the original work, with continued conditions and required follow-up tied to the older enforcement order.