A massive plan to redevelop the Tisbury Marine Terminal on Beach Road in Vineyard Haven cleared another regulatory hurdle on Wednesday, when the town select board unanimously approved a harbor use permit for the marine industrial project on land owned by the R.M. Packer company.
The project is planned as an operations base and maintanance staging area for the Vineyard Wind offshore wind farm development, and a future barging terminal for the Packer company operation.
The development will take place in two parts. The northern section of the property will remain part of the marine terminal barging operations, with improvements that include a new pier and ramps and a future plan to increase barging capacity. The property’s undeveloped southern section will be rebuilt as a staging area for offshore wind farm maintenance, including a pier deck, vessel berths and a nearly 200-foot bulkhead that stretches into the harbor.
Ralph Packer, who owns the terminal, will lease the property to New Bedford-based Vineyard Wind, which is beginning construction on an 800-megawatt wind farm 15 miles south of the Island. The terms of the lease are not known.
On Wednesday Susan Nilson of Foth Infrastructure & Environment, the Marian-based engineering firm developing plans for the project, presented the plans to the select board.
“We aim to align with Tisbury’s strategic vision of a working waterfront where this site is located, creating jobs and enhancing public access,” she said.
The project is the largest waterfront development on the Vineyard in recent memory, and will include more than 70,000 square feet of underwater dredging.
It was approved by the Martha’s Vineyard Commission as a development of regional impact in October 2021. During that review commisisoners acknowledged that the scale of the project would have a significant impact on the harborfront, but found the environmental benefits outweighed those concerns.
A harbor use permit is required from the select board under town zoning bylaws. Numerous other permits are still needed at the state and federal level.
“We’re making our way through the regulatory process,” Ms. Nilson told the select board. “Our hope is that we can complete the permitting by May of 2022 as that’s required to be able to start construction and align with the Vineyard Wind schedule.”
The Packer site is the Island’s only deep-water access point in a working waterfront, Ms. Nilson said, and the project qualifies for a harbor use permit on a number of bases.
“There are several boxes that we check off . . . including its being a water-dependent use, the pier, bulkhead, the dredging,” Ms. Nilson said.
Detailing other aspects of the plan, Ms. Nilson said public access will be located on the Lagoon Pond side of Beach Road, and not on the harbor side where the terminal is being developed.
“Vineyard Wind is . . . interested in supporting public access to the Lagoon side,” she said.
Carolyn Wallis, a member of the town’s open space and recreation committee, said the committee is supportive of improvements to pedestrian access at Lagoon Harbor Park.
“We’re looking at connecting paths and a shore walk and continuation of the whole path along Beach Road,” Ms. Wallis said.
Two barge ramps and a wave fence are also part of the design, she said.
The consultant also spoke about Packer’s planned future barging operation for certain types of freight that she said could take the place of 6,500 one-way truck trips aboard Steamship Authority vessels.
No eel grass is growing in the project’s footprint, according to Ms. Nilson. Spoils from the planned dredging have already been determined by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to be suitable for beach nourishment and offshore disposal, she also said.
Among other business Wednesday, the board approved a pilot eel grass restoration project on a spot in Lagoon Pond near Hines Point, where mooring will be prohibited for five years. Shellfish constable Danielle Ewart said commercial fishermen will be notified and the area will be marked with buoys.
The board also approved an additional wastewater flow of 660 gallons for Safe Harbor Marina on Lagoon Pond Road, where wastewater superintendent Jared Meader said the owners are establishing five two-bedroom housing units for marina employees.
Comments
Comment policy »