At least one chapter of the Cape Poge discourse was closed after Edgartown officials decided to toss out a case.
The Edgartown Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously dismissed an appeal that questioned whether the Trustees of Reservations, which owns and manages conservation lands on the Island, had the proper permitting to allow recreational activities of its Cape Poge properties on August 5.
The appeal was filed by William Gazaille, who lives in the Cape Poge area on Chappaquiddick, in June, in regard to the properties, according to the zoning board agenda, of 10, 20, 23, 30, 35, 36, and 43 Lighthouse Road. Gazaille called for enforcement of the zoning board’s 2024 decision to require a special permit.
The issue sparked discord in Edgartown between Cape Poge property owners, who backed the appeal, and beach access advocates who supported the Trustees. The town’s select board held a listening session about the matter on July 20 and referred the matter to the zoning board.
At the Wednesday meeting, Martin Tomassian, zoning board chair, said it dawned on him while driving back to the Island from Boston on Tuesday that Gazaille may not even be the proper applicant to make an appeal.
“He doesn’t own the property, and he doesn’t have any particular injuries to himself,” Tomassian said.
Pamela Dolby noted that the last time the board heard of this issue in 2024, it upheld the building inspector’s decision and referred the Trustees to the planning board. The planning board awarded the Trustees with a special permit that May. Dolby said “if anybody was aggrieved by that permit being issued,” then the appeal process should have gone to Dukes County Superior Court.
“I do not understand why it’s back at the zoning board because they did what the zoning board told them to do,” Dolby said. “I wasn’t comfortable sitting on this at all.”
The zoning board took no comments from the public.
“I don’t want to take any evidence for this hearing,” Tomassian said. “I don’t really want to open up more than what we have right now.”
Mary Dettloff, Trustees spokesperson, expressed the organization’s approval of the decision.
“We are pleased with the decision by the ZBA[,] and we will continue our work of protecting this special place and providing our visitors with access and connection to nature,” Dettloff wrote in a statement.
Edgartown officials aren’t done reviewing the Cape Poge area just yet. The Edgartown Conservation Commission’s August 12 meeting is scheduled to review the Trustee’s notice of intent. The organization is seeking reauthorization to incorporate a 450 feet of historic oversand vehicle (OSV) trail to existing trails. The trail “connects OSV access between the 200-acre Wasque Reservation and 98-acre Leland Beach, owned by the Commonwealth of MA and managed by the Trustees,” the commission’s agenda reads.
