After hours of public comment, Select Board authorizes filing NOI for barrier‑beach management plan with amendment

After more than two and a half hours of testimony and public comment, the Westport Select Board on June 22 voted to authorize filing a notice of intent (NOI) and associated barrier beach management plan with the Conservation Commission and state reviewers — a step town staff said was required to secure conditions and permits under the Wetlands Protection Act and related state programs.

Planning staff described the filing as the culmination of a multi‑year, grant‑funded planning effort that includes extensive public outreach and scientific appendices. Justine, the coastal planner overseeing the filing, told the board the town was not finalizing a single policy at the meeting but was seeking permission to bring the NOI and management practices — including how to handle overwash and cobble material along East Beach — to the Conservation Commission and state reviewers for an order of conditions: "We're here for the notice of intent application. The barrier beach management plan is an appendix to that filing," she said.

The most contentious issue was the proposed overwash policy on East Beach. The original draft leaned toward allowing overwash to migrate naturally, consistent with some state guidance; residents pressed for managed placement of cobble and sediment back onto the beach where it came from, saying split‑placement would deplete protective material over repeated storms. Multiple residents used visuals and calculations to argue that splitting material left the exposed ocean side vulnerable to subsequent storm damage. One longtime property owner warned that repeated split placement could reduce protective material to a fraction of its former volume after several storms.

Staff said the plan had been revised to include a compromise: along private properties the plan preserves town practice of prioritizing placement to the south/private frontage, while on the town‑owned sections of the eastern roadway the proposed policy would allow material to be split but with explicit requirements about oversight, stockpiling and coordination with Natural Heritage and other agencies. Justine emphasized that the NOI would be reviewed by the Conservation Commission and state agencies and that conditions and further edits could still be imposed.

After public comment, the board debated whether to delay filing to gather more comment or to move the application forward to preserve grant deliverables and deadlines; staff said the Coastal Zone Management grant funding had a June 30 deadline and that failing to file could jeopardize funding and the town’s standing for future grant rounds. The board amended the motion to instruct staff to incorporate the town’s interim road‑clearing practice for the publicly owned section of East Beach (favoring replacement on the south side where feasible) provided the change is legally and regulatorily permissible. The amended motion passed 4–0 with one member absent.

What happens next: Town staff will file the NOI with the Conservation Commission and state reviewers, who will open their own public process; the plan and permit applications may be modified based on conservation and state conditions. Neighbors urged continued engagement; the board and staff said the Conservation Commission hearings will provide additional opportunity for public comment.

Vote record: Board authorized filing the NOI, 4 in favor, 0 opposed, 1 absent.