Trustees hold Piper Clark dock application as First Coastal proposes catwalk and marsh revegetation

Representatives from First Coastal presented a revised permit application for Piper Clark 2 LLC at 86 Cedar Lane in West Remberg, describing a plan that shifts the access route to reach deeper water while restoring marsh habitat. For the record, First Coastal consultants Billy Mack and Kyle Hover said they moved the proposed access from an old walking path to the shortest route over high marsh and added a catwalk so the dock’s piles would reach roughly the two-foot depth the DEC requested.

The applicants told trustees they plan to remove the deteriorated walking path, reconnect two adjacent wetland areas and fortify the eroding bulkhead with coir logs and new plantings, characterizing the proposal as a living shoreline approach that would add about 1,400 square feet of revegetation (applicant-provided, approximate). “We’ve now put a catwalk that goes over the existing marsh,” Billy Mack said, describing the shorter route to upland and the reduced number of piles needed to reach the target depth.

Trustees praised the reduced upland disturbance and asked several procedural questions: whether the 113-foot elevated catwalk is considered part of the dock project for permitting, whether the DEC will issue an advisory letter, and whether the existing bulkhead work triggers additional jurisdictional review. Staff and the applicants said they had submitted materials to the DEC but had not received final agency sign-off at the time of the meeting.

The board asked the applicants to consult with Joe Lombardo (legal/jurisdiction questions were raised) and to secure any advisory letters from the DEC; trustees said the proposal generally fit the character of the area but reserved formal action until the advisory input and any required conservation permit determinations were complete. The trustees agreed to hold the item and return it for a subsequent meeting once the applicant had obtained the requested agency guidance and any supplemental planting plans and details required for the record.