2020.01.27 Council Agenda Item 11

Matthew and Kerry Bennett, owners of the property at 18 Carroll Street, are requesting that the Council approve a revocable license agreement to allow the installation and maintenance of certain proposed site improvements on Town property. The proposed site improvements include stairs, an underdrain system, and a seasonal/temporary dock and are shown on a set of plans prepared by Northeast Civil Solutions and attached as Exhibit A to the license agreement. Additionally, the Bennetts are requesting that the Council incorporate, as part of the license agreement, an allowance for the encroachment of ±40 square feet of existing patio on the Town’s property. The patio is a pre-existing condition and predates the Bennett’s ownership of the property. The form of this license agreement, with the exception of the patio encroachment matter, is substantially similar to license agreements previously approved by the Council for similar projects undertaken by nearby property owners including, most recently, license agreements approved for the properties located at 30 and 32 Carroll Street in 2013.

The Town property that is the subject of this request consists of a strip of shorefront land off Carroll and Brown Streets and under which a Town sewer line is located. This Town land lies between several private properties in the area and the ocean.  Over the past several years, several adjacent and nearby property owners have sought and obtained approvals from the Town to stabilize portions of eroding shoreline in front of their properties. In some instances, these shoreline stabilization efforts have included stabilizing portions of the Town property in question. While temporary use of Town property may be authorized by the Town Manager, Council approval is required for license agreements involving the granting of semi-permanent or permanent rights over Town property.  

The applicants obtained approval from the Planning Board for the proposed shoreline stabilization measures and associated site improvements on January 7, 2020. As of this writing, the DEP approval is still pending.    

The draft license agreement is structured as a one-year term that automatically renews for successive one-year terms unless the license is otherwise terminated in conformance with the terms of the agreement. The license agreement contains a provision allowing the Town, in its sole discretion and without cause, to terminate the license at any time.

Attached please find:

• Order 86-2020
• A cover letter from the applicant’s land use consultant at Northeast Civil Solutions;
• A draft license agreement;
• An aerial view showing the location of the 18 Carroll Street property and the Town’s oceanfront property;
• The set of plans prepared by Northeast Civil Solutions and approved by the Planning Board, referenced as Exhibit A in the license agreement, showing the location of the site improvements that are the subject of the license agreement;
• An existing conditions plan prepared by Titcomb Associates, referenced as Exhibit B in the license agreement, showing the location and extent of the patio encroachment.