08/10/2011 ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS Minutes

Home Browse Search

My clients are gravely concerned with the proposal of Richard J. Cook to construct and operate a one-acre aquaculture grant with 3,000 wire mesh cages in an R-3 Residential Zoning District merely 30 feet offshore from a residential neighborhood. On May 27, 2001, pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 40A, § 7, we submitted a request for a zoning determination to the Acting Building Inspector, Charles Maintains, seeking a determination that the one-acre shellfish aquaculture operation (a so-called "aquaculture grant") proposed by Richard J. Cook thirty (30) feet off Popponesset Island would violate the Zoning Bylaws of the Town of Mashpee. See, Exhibit "A". On June 15, 2011, the Building Inspector responded with a letter in which he determined that the "proposed aquaculture use is not within my enforcement jurisdiction because it does not fall within the scope of regulation under the Mashpee Zoning Bylaws." See, Exhibit `B". My clients are aggrieved by the Building Inspector's determination and hereby petition the Zoning Board of Appeals to reverse the determination and issue a ruling that the proposed aquaculture grant is indeed subject to, and prohibited by, the Town's Zoning Bylaw. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND Richard J. Cook, Jr., a Mashpee resident, is proposing a one-acre shellfish aquaculture grant offshore from property at 10 Popponesset Island Road. A copy of an aerial photograph depicting the location of the proposed grant is attached hereto as Exhibit "C". The aerial photograph shows that the grant will be approximately 120 feet wide and 360+/- feet long and will be merely thirty (30) feet from the mean high water line. The corners of the area will be permanently demarcated with bright yellow, 16" diameter buoys. The grant area is entirely within a velocity zone (V 17 Zone) as designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency ("FEMA"). See, Exhibit "D". 2