EAST LYME HARBOR MANAGEMENT PLAN 2019 Plan Amendments Draft For Town Adoption Harbor Management Commission East Lyme, Connecticut March 2019 EAST LYME HARBOR MANAGEMENT PLAN 2019 PLAN AMENDMENTS Draft for Town Adoption EAST LYME HARBOR MANAGEMENT COMMISSION East Lyme, Connecticut Consultant to the Harbor Management Commission: Geoffrey Steadman Westport, Connecticut March 2019 Adopted 1994; Amended 2019 ii FOREWORD This document contains the East Lyme Harbor Management Plan (the Plan) duly approved by the State of Connecticut and adopted by the Town of East Lyme in 1994 and amended in 2019. The Plan has been prepared by the East Lyme Harbor Management Commission (HMC) in accordance with municipal authority provided by the Connecticut Harbor Management Act of 1984 (Sections 22a-113k through 22a-113t of the Connecticut General Statutes) and by the Town of East Lyme Harbor Management Ordinance establishing the duties and responsibilities of the HMC. In accordance with Sec. 22a-113m of the Connecticut General Statutes, the Plan was reviewed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), approved by the Connecticut commissioners of En- vironmental Protection and Transportation, and adopted by ordinance by the East Lyme Board of Selectmen in 1994. In 2019, Plan amendments prepared by the HMC to address changing condi- tions and circumstances affecting the East Lyme Harbor Management Area (HMA) have been duly approved and adopted according to the same procedure required to approve and adopt the original Plan, with one exception. As required by the General Statutes in 2019, Plan amendments required approval by the Connecticut Port Authority instead of the Commissioner of Transportation. Included in the Plan are Town goals, policies, guidelines, and recommendations for beneficial use and conservation of the East Lyme HMA which includes all of the navigable waters and intertidal areas within the Town’s municipal jurisdiction on the Niantic River, Niantic Bay, Pattagansett estuary, Four Mile River, and nearshore Long Island Sound. A principal purpose of the Plan is to strengthen and maintain the Town’s authority for managing use and conservation of the East Lyme HMA. That purpose is achieved through Town planning, regulatory, and other initiatives undertaken in coordination with state and federal agencies, notably the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) and USACE. Public and private activities affecting the HMA must be consistent with the Plan. The HMC is responsible for determining this consistency through a Harbor Management Consistency Review Process established in the Plan. The Plan strengthens and maintains coordination among the different Town agencies with respon- sibilities affecting the HMA. It helps ensure that these agencies incorporate an awareness and understanding of harbor management concerns into their decisions, and that their actions are con- sistent with the Town goals, policies, guidelines, and recommendations established in the Plan. The provisions of the Plan are consistent with and complement the provisions of the 2009 East Lyme Plan of Conservation and Development. Together, these two Town plans serve as the prin- cipal guides for land- and water-use on, in, and contiguous to the HMA. Implementation of the Plan is an ongoing process that will continue to evolve in response to chang- ing conditions and circumstances. The Plan establishes a policy and decision-making framework to guide the Town’s actions, including case-by-case decision-making by the HMC, as well as the actions of other agencies. The framework is flexible and requires modification over time as con- ditions and circumstances change. To ensure that it responds to changing conditions, the Plan contains provisions for future amendment as needed. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many individuals contributed to preparation of The East Lyme Harbor Management Plan and the Plan’s 2019 Amendments, including Town officials and residents of East Lyme, as well as repre- sentatives of state and federal agencies. The Plan was prepared under the leadership of the East Lyme Harbor Management Commission (HMC)—the principal agency responsible for Plan implementation. In 2019, members of the East Lyme HMC are: Stephen Dinsmore (Chairman) Joseph Hitchery Don MacKenzie Rick Kanter Donald Landers William Montzoures Greg Murin Harbor Master Dick Morris (Ex-Officio) Deputy Harbor Master Marc Burger Many former members of the HMC deserve special thanks and recognition for their assistance over the years for preparation and implementation of the Plan including, most recently, former member Barbara Johnston who contributed significantly to preparation of the 2019 Plan Amend- ments. In 2019, First Selectman Mark C. Nickerson provides leadership and direction for implementation of the Plan. Previous First Selectmen Paul M. Formica, Wayne Fraser, Beth Hogan, and David Cini also encouraged and supported Plan implementation. Mr. Cini, for whom the waterfront Cini Memorial Park is dedicated, served as First Selectman when the Plan was first adopted in 1994 and was the Board of Selectmen’s first liaison to the HMC. The Office of Long Island Sound Programs (OLISP) of the Connecticut Department of Environ- mental Protection, now the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), provided funding assistance for the first Plan. More recently, DEEP’s Land and Water Resources Division (the OLISP’s successor agency) provided valuable technical assistance and support for develop- ment of the 2019 Plan Amendments through the efforts of Marcia Balint, its liaison to the HMC. L.R. Johnston Associates and Geoffrey Steadman, consultants to the HMC, worked at the HMC’s direction to prepare the first Plan document. Mr. Steadman assisted the HMC with preparation of the 2019 Plan Amendments and prepared the 2019 Plan document. Keith Placko provided com- puter-aided mapping assistance. Special thanks to the citizens of East Lyme who attend the HMC’s public meetings and demon- strate their interest and support for management of the Town’s waterfront and harbor resources through preparation and implementation of the Plan. iv CONTENTS Page Foreword ......................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments................................................................................................................... iii Contents ......................................................................................................................... iv List of Maps ......................................................................................................................... vi Introduction and Plan Overview ......................................................................................... I-1 Harbor Management Commission and Harbor Management Plan ............................. I-1 The East Lyme Harbor Management Plan 2019 Plan Amendments .......................... I-3 What Does the Harbor Management Plan Include? .................................................... I-3 How is the Harbor Management Plan Implemented? ................................................. I-4 What are the Benefits of the Harbor Management Plan? ........................................... I-6 An Ongoing Process in the Public Interest ................................................................. I-7 PART ONE: BACKGROUND FOR HARBOR MANAGEMENT Chapter One: The East Lyme Harbor Management Area .............................................. 1-1 Coastal Area Setting and Maritime History ................................................................ 1-2 Shoreline Characteristics ............................................................................................ 1-4 Shorefront Development ............................................................................................. 1-5 Water Access .............................................................................................................. 1-6 Navigation Conditions and Boating Facilities ............................................................ 1-7 Coastal Resources and Water Quality ......................................................................... 1-9 Niantic River Harbor Management Sub-Area ............................................................ 1-12 The Bar and Bridge Harbor Management Sub-Area .................................................. 1-17 Niantic Bay Harbor Management Sub-Area .............................................................. 1-18 Pattagansett - Rocky Neck Harbor Management Sub-Area ...................................... 1-20 Chapter Two: The Institutional Framework for Harbor Management ......................... 2-1 Town of East Lyme ..................................................................................................... 2-2 Neighboring Towns .................................................................................................... 2-7 Regional Organizations ............................................................................................... 2-7 State Agencies and Officials ...................................................................................... 2-8 Federal Agencies ........................................................................................................ 2-14 The General Public ..................................................................................................... 2-17 Shorefront Property Owners ......................................................................................