Charting a new course

PLYMOUTH – The town has developed many plans for the use of its valuable resources since the arrival of the Pilgrims. But none of those plans has ever addressed the harbor.

That’s about to change.

Over the course of the next 12 months, stakeholders from all quarters will put together a Plymouth Harbor management plan that finally will designate what the community wants to make of its waterfront resources and map out a path for getting there.

The Plymouth Harbor Committee hosted the inaugural meeting for developing the plan Thursday night at Plymouth Community Intermediate School. Organizers hoped to attract a dozen or so boaters, fishermen and others with interest in how the harbor evolves.

More than 70 people packed Little Theatre to hear from consultants leading the project and offer suggestions of their own.

Len Blaney, the chairman of the harbor planning subcommittee, said his board has been trying to develop a plan for four years. It came together recently with the hiring of Jack Wiggin, director of the Urban Harbors Institute at the University of Massachusetts in Boston.

Wiggin and Assistant Director Kristen Uiterwyk have developed similar plans for Gloucester, Nantucket and Southampton, N.Y., in recent years, and will help put together the local plan.

As with the other plans, the Plymouth Harbor plan will be unique to Plymouth and reflect the needs and desires of locals. “It’s your plan, and it should reflect the community’s vision for the harbor,” Wiggin said.

The project started with a working definition of what the harbor is: an area that extends south from Clark’s Island and Saquish to Brown’s Bank and Plymouth Beach, then north along the downtown waterfront to Cordage Park.

Over the next year, residents will work with state and local officials to define how the harbor should be shared and used.

Several different stakeholders expressed concerns, from recreational boaters to commercial fishermen to aquaculture farmers. The plan would also include how the town develops its wharves as well as the land adjacent to the waterfront.

Wiggin said the resulting document will be an important aide in pursuing grants for capital projects. Private developers likewise will be more interested in investing in projects if they know the idea has the general approval of the town.

Blaney said he expects the management plan to be completed in approximately one year, and he envisions aspects of it will be used to position the town for its 400th anniversary in 2020.

Some development is already in the works.

Harbormaster Chad Hunter noted that work will begin this spring on replacement of the T Wharf and the state boat ramp.

The state has awarded Plymouth $2 million to complete both projects.

Hunter said the T Wharf should have been fixed 30 years ago and portions of it are now condemned. It remains to be seen what the new wharf will be call as it will no longer be shaped like a T. Hunter said it will looked more like a hockey stick instead.

He envisions moving some of the commercial fishing operations now crowded onto the Town Wharf over to “The Stick.”

Town Wharf, meanwhile, will be friendlier to the general public, offering a walkway around the east side of Wood’s Seafood.

Some suggested adding facilities to the wharf to assist the local aquaculture industry. Others want to see better amenities for recreational boaters, such as a dock for wash downs and fresh water tanks.

Hunter said the next year will pose major problems as the town rebuilds the wharf and the boat ramp. He estimated construction at 10 to 12 months.

“This year will be a bit difficult, but if we can make it through it’s going to be great,” Hunter said.

The plan will not specifically address management of Plymouth Beach, but may look at broader issues like ensuring the barrier beach remains healthy and strong enough with warming and sea level rises to protect the inner harbor from the ocean.

Some residents want to look at installing more docks for transient boaters, possibly along Water Street. Plymouth has been in line for dredging for two decades, but continues to be bypassed for funding.

David Gould, director of the town’s Department of Marine and Environmental Affairs, said the town has had problems with dredging because the material did not meet standards for disposal at sea.

The material needs to be successfully retested or it would need to be more expensively disposed.

Blaney said the planning subcommittee will meet every few weeks, but no schedule has yet been set. He liked the start.

“We had a great turnout, and the nature of the comments were good," he said. "People were talking about the right thing, from commercial fishing to recreation boating to aquaculture.”