Beach Parking Battle Takes Center Stage at Brewster Meeting

BrewsterBREWSTER – Adding beach parking to make up for spots lost to erosion in recent years will be the hot-button item at Brewster’s special Town Meeting tonight.

Residents will vote on a citizen’s petition that calls for a moratorium on all town projects that remove, relocate or create parking at town landings or other publicly owned coastal properties.

The petition comes in response to a plan to add parking at Breakwater Beach, where spaces have been lost to erosion. The town plans to start the project at the beach after Labor Day which would pave part of a piece of land donated as a dedicated beach park for extra parking spaces. The project also calls for constructing an artificial dune at the beach.

The plan has come under fire from some residents, leading to the petition.

“It really is turning the park into a parking lot,” resident Chris Powicki said.

If the plans go through, Powicki said, there will be no view of the water from the parking lot; instead, the artificial dune will become the view. “It’s not just about parking, it’s about people,” he said.

“The petition is in response to what many residents see as a fragmented and reactive approach that does not explore all potential opportunities and make the best use of scarce public resources,” said resident Mary O’Neil.

The town is planning on using $165,000 in state grant money to put towards $215,000 needed to stave off erosion damage to the beach parking area.

Selectmen are opposed to the petition article, which is number nine on tonight’s warrant.

Voters will consider a total of 18 articles at the meeting, which begins at 7 PM at Stony Brook Elementary School.

 

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