Gloucester Conservation Commission Approves Scaled-Back Seasonal Float, River Road House Rebuild

GLOUCESTER -- January 22, 2025, Gloucester Conservation Commission defers Wingaersheek Road ATV dispute, approves river road rebuild and scaled-back float. At its January 8 meeting, the commission declined to remove disability-access language from a special condition governing ATV use on a beach ramp at 139 Wingaersheek Road, with members arguing the widened ramp had been approved specifically for mobility-impaired access and that removing the restriction would expand authorized use without a new filing. Attorney Valerie Moore, representing the applicant, argued that the condition requiring the trust to assess guests' mobility impairment status is unenforceable under the Americans with Disabilities Act and cited case law supporting the commission's authority to make minor modifications without an amendment. No vote was taken; the commission directed Moore to return with language limiting ATV use to transporting the applicants' parents. The commission unanimously approved a riverfront area redevelopment project for Hayes-Stumpe LLC at 4 River Road, a flood-damaged home rebuild that achieves a two-to-one mitigation ratio through driveway removal and infiltration improvements, and approved a seasonal float system at 12 Island Rock Lane after property owner Larry Witten agreed to drop an outer 10-by-20-foot float from the plan over eelgrass and size concerns raised by the Division of Marine Fisheries.