An appeal from a Chappaquiddick property owner could put to rest a years-long debate over whether the Trustees of Reservations has the permits it needs to operate its oversand vehicle trails.
Chappaquiddick resident William Gazaille filed an appeal with the Edgartown zoning board on June 24 that alleges the Trustees, which manages 16 miles of trails on the small island, needs to get a new special permit to allow four-wheel drive vehicles to travel out to the beaches.
The appeal echoes some questions that came up during the planning board permitting process earlier this year, but the Trustees insists that the conservation nonprofit already has all the necessary permits in hand.
The Edgartown select board is scheduled to talk about the Trustees’ operations on Monday, and a hearing on the appeal with the zoning board is set for August 5.
Management of the trails has been controversial for years and snarled in hours and hours of public meetings and several appeals, both in the courts and with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.
For many beachgoers, it’s a battle over practical access to Chappy’s pristine beaches. For residents on Chappy, the concerns have been about the encroachment and growing commercial operation in their backyards.
The current argument stems from a permit that the Trustees appeared to have received in 1990 for its Chappaquiddick properties, but now cannot be found in town records. With no permit to look back on, the zoning board voted in 2024 to require the Trustees to get a new permit from the town planning board.
The Trustees applied for a permit for several of its buildings and boardwalk on Chappaquiddick and received approval from the town this May. But during that process, many argued that the Trustees needed to apply for a permit for the use of the oversand vehicle trails themselves.
Mr. Gazaille said it is clear that the intensity of use has increased since the 1990s.
“The issue was never a few boardwalks, fences, gatehouses or other small structures….The questions that brought everyone into those hearings were about vehicle traffic, commercial activity, beach use, management practices and the overall impact of [the Trustees’] commercial operations on Chappaquiddick,” Mr. Gazaille wrote in his June 24 appeal.
The issue hasn’t been so cut and dry for the town, though.
Mr. Gazaille asked the building department in May to issue a cease and desist to the Trustees for allegedly not following the zoning board decision. Later that month, building inspector Reade Kontje Milne, who has since left for a job in Chilmark, declined to issue the cease and desist, saying the zoning board decision didn’t explicitly require a permit for the trails.
“Unfortunately, the decision itself does not identify the particular subjects of the required special permit, saying only that the Trustees were required ‘to file for a new special permit with the Planning Board by 12 July 2024 or cease operations within the DCPC.’”
Ms. Milne said there wasn’t a clear enough case to find that the Trustees violated the zoning board’s decision, though there were broader issues that she planned to address in the future.
The need for a permit to operate in the residential area also came up with the town planning board, which dealt with the special permit application after the zoning board’s ruling.
In December 2024, some planning board members asked the Trustees for more details about the trails used by thousands of drivers each summer. At the time, then planning board chair Michael Shalett called on the Trustees to include the trails as part of the application, saying it was part of the consideration for the town in 1990.
“I think it’s distinct to me that when looking back, the planning board in 1990 certainly thought trails were part of what they permitted,” he said.
Planning board member and current chair Julia Livingston echoed the sentiment at the time as well.
“I really hope that the Trustees will come to us with an application that gives information about intensity of use and how that intensity of use has changed over the years, and also about the trails,” she said.
On May 19 of this year, the planning board approved the Trustees application for the buildings, but made no requirement for the trails. After the vote, Ms. Livingston told the Gazette that she believed that the Trustees still needed a permit for the trails, but the board could only vote on the buildings’ portion as that was what was in the application.
That doesn’t mean the Trustees shouldn’t still be required to have another permit, but the board can’t make decisions on something that wasn’t applied for, Ms. Livingston said. If someone is doing something that requires a permit, the issue falls under the purview of the building inspector and the zoning board.
“We might try to explain to them what we think they should be doing,” Ms. Livingston said. “All we can do is say yes or no to the application in front of us.”
The whole process has been frustrating for Mr. Gazaille, prompting him to file the appeal.
“The ZBA ordered [the Trustees] to come back with a Special Permit that addressed the actual zoning concerns about its operations and intensity of use — not simply to file any Special Permit application on any subject and call that compliance,” he told the Gazette. The Trustees has maintained that only the buildings need approval.
“The Trustees has all of the state and local approvals required to allow the public to continue enjoying this special place, including approvals from MassDEP, the Edgartown Conservation Commission, and the Edgartown Planning Board,” spokesperson Mary Dettlof wrote in a statement.
“We are confident that we are in full compliance with all state and local requirements governing [Cape Pogue], and that these requirements and the Trustees’ stewardship are more than adequate to protect this special place now and for future generations,” she added.
The issue has resulted in a flurry of emails and letters to the town, many of which were supporting historical access to Chappy’s beaches.
The area is prized for its fishing, shellfishing and wide expanses that are some of the few available to be accessed by oversand trails.
“This matter has been reviewed by local boards, state agencies, environmental regulators, and the courts,” Patricia Sanson wrote to the zoning board. “After years of proceedings, I believe the community deserves certainty and the opportunity to enjoy the public access that has been approved.”
The select board is scheduled to talk about the issue on Monday. Town administrator James Hagerty said that the board plans to hear grievances from all involved, reiterate who has jurisdiction in the matter and discuss the potential for a memorandum of understanding with the Trustees over a property known as the Jetties.
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