DEEP Sets Public Hearing For ​“Dock To Nowhere”

A neighborhood’s efforts to stop a dock from being built on Sunset Beach has prompted the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) to take an unusual step to schedule a public hearing. In addition, the issue has raised questions once again about whether a Harbor Management Commission should be formed in Branford.

Edward Zelinsky, an attorney who lives near the proposed dock in the Pawson Park neighborhood, said he was delighted when DEEP officials informed him of their decision to hold a hearing. ​“DEEP rarely does this,” he said.

“We have been asking for a true public hearing before a neutral decision-maker to hear our concerns,” said Zelinsky, who is representing neighbors in their efforts to ​“Block the Dock.” A date has not yet been set for the hearing. 

“This is not a decision I take lightly,” Betsey Wingfield, chief of the DEEP’s Bureau of Water Protection and Land Reuse, said in a memo received by Zelinsky. Wingfield cited ​“intense public interest” as one of the reasons for scheduling a hearing.

More than 100 people signed a petition opposing the dock and many wrote letters to the DEEP after learning about the dock proposed by Francis X. Conlon II and his wife, Susan DeGrand Conlon, of 150 Pawson Rd. 

Opponents say the dock — which they call ​“the dock to nowhere” — would be a safety hazard to boaters and beach-users and have a negative impact on the environment. Susan Conlon calls the neighbors’ concerns were unfounded.

“I see it as being no public threat to boaters or people walking on the beach,” Susan Conlon said. She said she based her opinion on the conclusions of the environmental firm she and her husband hired to prepare the 20-plus page application that was submitted to the DEEP.

Since the proposed dock is not in a coastal wetland area, the DEEP is not required to hold a public hearing even if one is requested. The agency was planning a public information meeting instead of a hearing, then reversed the decision. 

In addition to the neighbors, First Selectman Anthony ​“Unk” DaRos and Branford’s harbormaster wrote letters to the DEEP opposing the dock. 

“It would set a precedent in that whole strip of beach,” DaRos told the Eagle. He said the dock would unnecessarily obstruct the beach and would be unusable in low tides.

“I don’t think they should try to destroy our shoreline by putting up a Coney Island-type dock on a pristine beach,” Harbormaster Cal Ohidy told the Eagle. ​“It doesn’t make any sense.” 

Since the proposal calls for an elevated 40-foot long fixed pier and a 40-foot long ramp, people would have to pass beneath the structure to walk along the beach. About 100 families in the Pawson Park neighborhood have access to Sunset Beach, which is considered public property because it lies beyond the mean high tide line. 

In his position as harbormaster, Ohidy has no jurisdiction over dock placement. That lies in the hands of the DEEP. But Ohidy thinks that a Harbor Management Commission would give the town more local control of shoreline issues, such as dock placement and moorings.

“They would look at anything that affects the waterfront,” said Ohidy, adding that Branford has more miles of shoreline than any other Connecticut town. 

Ohidy, who has been harbormaster for nine years, has expressed his views about Harbor Management Commissions to three different town administrations… with no success. 

“It seems people in Branford are reluctant to have one,” Ohidy said. ​“We’re one of the few (shoreline towns) that don’t have one.”

DaRos said he is not in favor of forming a Harbor Management Commission in Branford. He said the issue has come up before and residents have opposed it.

“It’s a double-edged sword. It can work against you, or it can work for you,” DaRos said in regard to such commissions. ​“At this point, I don’t see it’s been that advantageous to other towns.”

Harbor Management Commissions, which were authorized by the state in 1984, are tasked with creating a Harbor Management Plan for a town. 

Brian Thompson, director of the DEP’s Office of Long Island Sound Programs (OLISP), told the Eagle that commissions can develop standards for docks as part of their management plan. Thompson said the DEP has regulatory authority over docks but must abide by a town’s Harbor Management Plan ​“unless there is cause to do otherwise.”

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