State Approves Edgartown Harbor Plan

Contact: Anne Donovan
October 28, 1997
(617) 727-9530 x411

Peg Brady, Director of Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management, today announced the state approval of Edgartown's Harbor Plan at a ceremony at the Town's Memorial Wharf. The Plan contains a series of recommended measures for protecting water quality, public access, and community character. The Plan was signed by Trudy Coxe, Secretary of the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (EOEA). All state-approved Harbor Plans are reviewed by EOEA and its agencies and approved by the Secretary.

"This Plan will help Edgartown ensure that its harbor can meet the needs of its citizens in the short term and well into the future," said Environmental Affairs Secretary Trudy Coxe. "It will also be a key component to keeping the Harbor environmentally healthy and encouraging public use and enjoyment of the waterfront."

State approval means that future development in the harbor and on filled areas along the "village waterfront" must meet Edgartown's Harbor Plan requirements in order to obtain a state license under the state Waterways Regulations (Public Waterfront Act, M.G.L. c. 91).

"The Harbor Plan is essentially an agreement between Edgartown and the state on how the future waterfront development will proceed," said Brady. "Now that Edgartown has received state approval, the state's Department of Environmental Protection will only issue state licenses to projects that conform to Edgartown's Plan."

Edgartown is the third community in the Commonwealth to obtain state approval for its Harbor Plan. Edgartown's Harbor Plan creates both a land and water use strategy for the Harbor, maintaining the distinct character of the different harbor areas. Specifically, the Plan uses water surface zoning to control the proliferation of docks and piers; protects priority public views of the harbor across specific waterfront parcels; and maps a continuous walkway system knitting the waterfront with the Town Center.