Chatham Conservation Commission Hires Consultant to Resolve Black Pond Boundary Dispute

CHATHAM -- April 22, 2020, Chatham Conservation Commission votes to hire outside consultant on contested Black Pond inland bank question. Meeting by remote teleconference on the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, the six-member panel voted unanimously to retain a third-party expert to determine whether a sloping embankment on the western edge of Black Pond qualifies as a protected inland bank under the town's Wetlands Protection Bylaw, a ruling that will determine whether a proposed pool and terrace at 41 Locust Lane require significant redesign or a variance. Applicant's representative Stephanie Sequin of Broder and Wilcox argued that the pond's outlet pipe elevation of 23.8 feet and the conservancy district's defined high water mark of 24.1 feet both fall below the 24.4-to-25.3-foot base of the disputed embankment, making inland bank status unlikely. Commissioner Bob Rawls called the existing regulation language "not cut and dried" and urged the commission to revise it proactively. The commission also continued three open enforcement cases, at 114 Pottenumacet Road, 83 Seagull Road, and 552 Orleans Road, the last dating to a May 2019 violation, to its May 6 work session, warning that fines would be reassessed if restoration materials were not submitted by April 29.