§ 196A-11. Docks and Piers
C. Pleasant Bay Resource Management Plan
The Pleasant Bay Resource Management Plan, which has been approved by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and adopted by the Town of Orleans, provides a framework for state and local permitting of docks and piers in Pleasant Bay. The plan concludes that a significant portion of the shoreline of the ACEC is resource sensitive and not appropriate for siting new docks and piers. In the remaining areas of shoreline within the ACEC, the plan calls for revised standards and criteria to be used in evaluating proposals for docks and piers.
The resource assessment incorporated into the Pleasant Bay Resource Management Plan concludes that the areas listed below are extremely resource-sensitive and therefore are not appropriate for siting new private docks and piers. The resource management plan recommends that the construction of new private docks and piers or the extension of existing private piers be prohibited in these areas. This recommendation does not apply to existing licensed piers or the maintenance of existing licensed piers.
(1) Quanset Pond, from the westerly boundary of the property with Map and Parcel Number 93-9 to the easterly boundary of the property with the Map and Parcel Number 93-12.
(2) On the Northside of Big Pleasant Bay and through the Narrows, from the westerly boundary of the property with Map and Parcel Number 93-17 to the northerly boundary of the property with Map and Parcel Number 89-11, and the Western shore of Sipsons Island from the northerly boundary of the property with Map and Parcel Number 94-7 and all contiguous properties running counterclockwise to the southerly boundary of the property with Map and Parcel Number 94-10.
(3) From the entrance channel of Paw Wah Pond beginning at the southerly boundary of the property with Map and Parcel Number 76-16, and continuing through the River Complex to the southerly boundary of the property with the Map and Parcel Number 64-7, including Paw Wah, Arey’s and Meeting House Ponds, the Namequoit River and The River.
(4) Pochet Inlet, from the southerly boundary of the property with Map and Parcel Number 65-02 and continuing Northward to the southerly boundary of the property with Map and Parcel Number 52-11, and including the Eastern Shore of Pochet Inlet.
The Pleasant Bay Resource Management Alliance has adopted standards for applications for new docks and piers. The considerations resulting in these standards have equal application to the Inner Cape Cod Bay ACEC and to Town Cove/Nauset Estuary which, under these regulations, is treated as if it were an ACEC.
