$2,500 grant will be used to appeal marina plan

Warwick Beacon Online

Written by BARNES, JENNETTE

Thu, Jul 04 02

"By JENNETTE BARNES

The group fighting expansion of Greenwich Bay Marina just got $2,500 stronger. Defenders of Greenwich Bay has received a grant to appeal a state regulatory decision allowing the expansion.

On June 11, the Defenders filed in Superior Court to appeal the Coastal Resources Management Council’s approval of a plan to expand the marina perimeter to 3.9 acres, making it the largest marina in the state. About 161 new boat slips could fit in the new perimeter, for a total near 473 slips.

Defenders of Greenwich Bay won the funding from the New England Grassroots Environment Fund in Montpelier, Vermont. The non-profit program donates to local activist groups working to improve the environment. The majority of the groups that won funding this month have a strong element of advocacy. Opponents of a container port at Quonset Point received a grant, as did an organization fighting the development of a golf course, condominiums, and apartments in Cumberland.

But the Fund does not take a position on the issues, spokesperson Linn Perkins Syz said yesterday. Its goal is to support grassroots organizations.

"We focus on citizen groups actively involved in local communities. It’s not that we support or oppose the marina. We support the work the group is doing in terms of advocacy," she said.

Residents near the marina first formed the organization after two neighborhood groups, the Arnold’s Neck Improvement Association and Cedar Tree Point Association, pooled their resources to retain legal counsel to fight the expansion. The Defenders’ two attorneys, S. Paul Ryan and Michael McEntee, were not available for comment yesterday.

Lee Raymond, owner of the marina, argues that he will make environmental improvements by removing 800 feet of piling wave fence, a sunken steel barge, and 80 feet of rock breakwater. He will have three culverts and a wave attenuator installed, improving water circulation. Raymond estimates the construction will cost $500,000. He will also help fund transplantation of shellfish from the area to be covered by new slips.

He said the proposal meets state and federal guidelines for parking, infrastructure, public access and a pump-out station.

Neighbors who opposed the expansion have warned that it could increase noise and water pollution and reduce boats’ maneuverability in the area. At one City Council meeting, they staged a mock funeral for the bay outside City Hall.

Raymond says his expansion will bolster the local economy. The new slips and other upgrades will add to the $233,000 the marina already generates in city taxes, according to Raymond.

Jody King, vice president of the Rhode Island Shellfishermen’s Association, has said shellfishermen are most concerned about the perimeter, not the traffic or number of slips. They don’t want to lose open fishing waters.

Much less attention has been paid to the proposed expansion of Apponaug Harbor Marina, located to the north of Greenwich Bay Marina at the mouth of Apponaug Cove.

The Defenders group has not taken a position on the smaller marina’s expansion, according to spokesperson Jack Early. Owner John Dickerson hopes to add 97 slips, which would bring the marina to a total of 312 slips. The project involves installation of two main floats and 101 finger floats to create slips 25 feet and 30 feet long. Dickerson has said the Arnold’s Neck Improvement Association and Cedar Tree Point Association have no problem with the plan."