Friday, October 23, 2009

Landfill and beach: bummer

Someone from Everett wrote to me this week asking for an update on the landfill.

I realize that I have not written anything about the landfill for a while, but it's not because I'm no longer interested - in fact, I have something in today's Current.

I guess I'm burned out (sort of like the landfill, maybe).

Between that stinking pile that is supposed to be capped by - well, today - the beach and any other issue that has involved dealing with unpleasant people and state agencies that don't know their ass from a hole in the ground ...

See the story in the Daily News and see my story in today's Current (most likely not online) and now this special town meeting that's being held Tues. in Newbury could get verrrrry interesting.

Were these 24 property owners in Newbury really stupid enough to not have realized they were essentially giving away a 20 ft. strip of their property to the town/the state?

I don't know! - All I know is, it's too late to squawk about it now.

6 comments:

Bubba said...

When your 20 ft strip is in the intertidal zone what difference does it make ?

Gillian Swart said...

Well it won't be in the intertidal zone after the nourishment, will it? That's the point ... plus the edict from the state says the guidelines apply to the whole beach, not just those individual 20 feet ...

Bubba said...

Sure, and that's why the state wants the easements - they're rebuilding the property at no monitary cost to the owner. The state doesn't give without getting in return.

There is no public access to the intertidal zone unless your clamming or fishing...

Anonymous said...

I guess the other 24 owners (most likely assisted by their pet attorneys) that it was more important to maintain the beach outside of their house than to be able to point to a stretch of water and say "I used to own that area".

Something about acting for the common good, I guess, and if it involves fencing to protect a rare bird...so be it. I've seen what sort of two-legged protosimians stroll up and down that beach, displaying the fat they've proudly stored for the winter while babbling in some unknown tongue ("I love nature! I only wish it were air conditioned, the sun wasn't so bright and the water was warmer."). Give me the plovers any day.

Ahem...anyway...

Let's be honest: I don't think there's a Plan B at this time, winter storm season is coming, this is probably the most workable plan given the time/finances at hand and it's not going to take much more damage to breach the island. I suppose Plan B would involve passing an ordinance distributing inflatable liferafts to every household on Plum Island but I really don't see that as a confidence booster.

Yes, some people think it's all the jetties fault, but all this antiJettyism doesn't have enough evidence behind it to force a project *at this time*.

- The Carrot

Gillian Swart said...

Protosimians ... I like that.

You're both right and I don't really get it, either. The alternative is possibly losing your property altogether.

I'm thinking that plovers must be pretty stupid birds.

Bubba said...

I'll give you a hint, guess which family owns the property on the corner of 58th St that was involved in a fencing/emergency vehicle access dispute with the city during the water & sewer project ?

While many of us march to the beat of different drums, some folks march to tambourines...