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| NORWALK HARBOR MANAGEMENT COMMISSION MINUTES |
CLICK HERE FOR HARBOR MANAGEMENT MAYORS WATER QUALITY COMMITTEE MINUTES
CLICK HERE FOR HARBOR MANAGEMENT APPLICATION REVIEW COMMITTEE MINUTES
HARBOR MANAGEMENT COMMISSION
APRIL 28, 2004
ATTENDANCE: Dr. John Pinto, Chairman; Pat Clark; Henry Palau; Tony Mobilia; Jack Callahan; Jason Farrow; Dick Ramsey; Jose Cebrian; Tony D’Andrea (7:40)
STAFF: Erin Leonard, Planning and Zoning; Mike Griffin, Harbormaster
OTHERS: Geoff Steadman, Consultant; Steven Nezas
Dr. Pinto called the meeting to order at 7:35 pm.
** MR. FARROW MOVED APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF MARCH 24, 2004 AS PRESENTED.
** MR. PALAU SECONDED.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
a. Public Hearing on Environmental Impact Statement for Designation of LIS Disposal Sites
Dr. Pinto indicated that there would be a public hearing on May 4th and 5th in Long Island and Stamford, respectively. The meetings have been called for the purpose of information and fact-finding regarding people’s feelings on the matter.
Mr. D’Andrea joined the meeting at 7: 40 pm.
Mr. Steadman commented that this is not a formal hearing; it is giving the people the chance to comment.
Dr. Pinto added that the Mayor has requested a letter for his signature to be submitted.
b. Update on Mid-Harbor Development Plan
Dr. Pinto stated that he had attended the second meeting at the Maritime Center; it went well and the developers of the Plan, Chan Krieger and Associates, are 90% finished with the planning. He added that the Commission has been asked to provide some aerial pictures of the harbor.
a. 2003 Annual NHMC report
Dr. Pinto distributed copies of the report. He commended Mr. Mobilia on the artwork especially the cover page saying that he hoped this would serve as the Commission’s signature page and be used for all other documents.
b. Harbor Management Plan revision
Mr. Steadman stated that some of the Harbor graphics would be similar to those used in the annual report. He added that he was working on the acknowledgements and that it would be sent to the DEP by the end of the month.
a. Web Page/Newsletter – Mr. Mobilia
Mr. Mobilia indicated that the web page has been updated to include the harbormaster’s section and would reflect the fee changes. The deadline for the next issue of the newsletter is August 31st.
b. Finance – Mr. Ramsey
Mr. Ramsey acknowledged there was little activity in the first three months of the year so he had combined January, February and March 2004. He distributed the budget and went through the figures. With regard to the Shellfish Commission contribution he had spoken with Sal Iannaccone in the Comptroller’s Office who has a record of the transfer, not a check. Mr. Ramsey mentioned that Mr. Griffin is following up with Bloom Brothers on this item also. He indicated that they should have more definitive information by the next meeting.
Mr. Mobilia said with regard to the missing check to the Mayor’s Water Quality Internship program that he had boxes of information that had belonged to Mr. Dunavan and they could look there for the check.
Mr. Ramsey noted that he had attended a meeting with the officials from the railroad regarding barge damage of the dolphins and guard rails surrounding the railroad bridge pedestal and was informed that the work would begin next week and the completion date is the second week of June.
Mr. Callahan referred to the letter from City Clerk’s office regarding FOI requirements and if a secretary is required to take the minutes.
Ms. Leonard said if the committees are not having a secretary they still need to post an agenda; she also requested that copies of minutes taken by a committee member be given to her office.
c. Application Review – Ms. Clark
Discussion of 4/40 Dock (DEP-LIS-GP-001) proposal for 4 Seaside Place, Norwalk, CT. Proposal involved constructing a private residential dock with the following characteristics:
(1) 4’x 24’ timber pile supported access way (11’ +/- waterward of mean high water line);
(2) 3’ x 20 ‘ aluminum access ramp;
(3) 7’ x 14’ float with 2 support piles and one tie-off pile.
Ms. Clark stated that they did not have a meeting this month but she had received an application and did not want to wait for another month before having it reviewed. She noted her concern with regard to its proximity to the federal channel line (she referred to drawings) explaining that the waterward face of the floating dock is 12 ft set back from the channel. That means given the 10 ft setback that has been applied to this area since the NHMC Plan was put into place that any vessel, more than 2 ft deep tied to the waterward facing dock, would encroach into that 10 ft set back. Ms. Clark noted that this application is very close to a neighbor that would also have encroached on the 10 ft setback. She asked Mr. Nezas for his comments.
Mr. Nezas stated he and his neighbor, H. Bloom had talked about the plans and two issues had arose. The first being a safety issue in that the ramp is already very steep and if it had to be moved closer to the shore it would become unsafe. The second issue was with regard to the water being very shallow and by moving the dock inward would mean that the boat would rest on the bottom during low tide.
There was discussion on the possibilities and reconfiguration of plans.
Mr. Palau commented that although he could understand Mr. Nezas’ point of view they as a Commission had to remain consistent with their considerations regarding the setback.
** MS CLARK MOVED THAT THE NORWALK HARBOR MANAGEMENT COMMISSION HAS REVIEWED THE APPLICATION BY STEVEN H & DEANNE L NEZAS FOR WORK AT 4 SEASIDE PLACE, EAST NORWALK INVOLVING A 4/40 DOCK APPLICATION AT A PRIVATE RESIDENCE AND FINDS THE APPLICATION IS CONSISTENT WITH THE HARBOR MANAGEMENT PLAN AND MOVE TO RECOMMEND FAVORABLE ACTION WITH THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS:
1. THE DOCK AND FLOAT ARE CONSISTENT BUT A BOAT MAY NOT BE BERTHED ON THE CHANNEL FACE OF THE FLOATING DOCK SO AS TO ENCROACH INTO THE 10 FT SETBACK ESTABLISHED IN THE NORWALK HARBOR MANAGEMENT PLAN.
** MR. PALAU SECONDED.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
d. Boating and Harbor Safety – Mr. Farrow
Mr. Farrow indicated that since last month they had discussed new language for changes to Mooring rules and regulations and also reinstatement fee for mooring holders and if it is approved it will have to go for public hearing. He distributed copies of Transient Anchoring, Transfer of Mooring Permits and Mooring Reinstatements. He read each copy and there was a discussion of the changes.
Mr. Cebrian suggested the dates be defined.
Mr. Farrow replied that the proposed rule changes are not meant to be an “all inclusive” document; it was designed to give the Harbor Master additional guidelines to be able to deal with mooring issues as they evolve.
Mr. Callahan suggested that if they are going through the process of getting the document before the Common Council they should also consider increasing the mooring fees at the same time as the process takes such a long time.
** MS. CLARK MOVED APPROVAL OF THE THREE DOCUMENTS AS AMENDED AND BE PREPARED FOR PUBLICATION.
** MR. CALLAHAN SECONDED.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
Mr. Steadman stated that he attended a meeting in New Haven and it was his feeling that the dredging matter is now out of the Commission’s hands. The EPA has made their decision to support the designation of the Long Island disposal sites and since their last meeting there has been a lot of opposition to this from Long Island residents. He went onto say that New York state has to put this out for public notice and if they find it inconsistent it will have to go through a mediation process and that could take a very long time.
Dr. Pinto referred to an email received from Marcy Balint (DEP).
Mr. Griffin suggested the Dredge Committee continue pressing ahead with their checklist of dredging issues.
f. Mayor’s Water Quality – Mr. D’Andrea
Mr. D’Andrea referred to a letter received from John Frank Chairman of the Norwalk Shellfish Commission with regard the zero oxygen count in the water. He (Mr. Frank) has suggested a meeting to develop monitoring of hypoxic conditions to identify possible causes as the shellfish counts are down.
Mr. Callahan suggested that they keep as much documentation on this as possible.
Mr. D’Andrea indicated that the Water Quality Committee is still in the process of interviewing summer interns and they will have a final decision by the next meeting. He added that he is trying to work with the Boy Scouts to do a clean up of the beaches before the Splash! Weekend event.
g. Plans and Recommendations – Mr. Callahan
Mr. Callahan distributed pictures of the bulkhead deterioration at 58 Water Street and the Committee is in the process of trying to finalize the violation with the DEP. He also said one of the other things he had initiated this past month, are boat launching areas for non-motorized boats, kayaks etc. He suggested several areas. He referred to a map showing street ends and public access. Mr. Callahan asked Commissioners to start considering other spots.
Dr. Pinto interjected saying that the Mid Harbor Plan is also proposing potential sites for non-motorized launches using street ends.
h. Waterfront Facilities Advisory – Mr. Griffin
Mr. Griffin distributed copies of the committee report and went through each item.
There was discussion on the dedication of the Boating Center at the Norwalk Visitor’s Docks to Mr. David S. Dunavan.
There was no new business this evening.
a. Planning and Zoning – Ms. Leonard
There was no report this evening.
b. Harbormaster’s Report – Mr. Griffin
Mr. Griffin distributed his report and discussed the items included.
** MS. CLARK MOVED TO ACCEPT THE HARBORMASTER’S REPORT DATED APRIL 29, 2004.
** MR. CALLAHAN SECONDED.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
c. Consultant – Mr. Steadman
There was no report this evening.
There were no other comments this evening.
ADJOURNMENT
** MR. PALAU MOVED TO ADJOURN.
** MS. CLARK SECONDED.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:30 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Kate Kye
Telesco Secretarial Services
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