Conservation Commission Continues DCR Horseneck Beach Road Widening Hearing to May

WESTPORT -- March 31, 2026, Westport Conservation Commission continues disputed Horseneck Beach road widening hearing to May after sharp public pushback. The commission voted unanimously March 31 to push the Mass. Department of Conservation and Recreation's Notice of Intent for the Horseneck Beach Roadway Maintenance Improvement Project, SE802822, to the second meeting in May, tentatively May 26, after a long session in which abutters, residents, and a former NOAA official challenged DCR's public safety rationale for widening the dune-flanked access road from as little as 8 feet back to its original 20-foot width. DCR Senior Coastal Ecologist Jorge Ayub defended the project, citing as many as 25 to 30 beach rescues per year and documented cases of ambulances unable to maneuver through crowds of up to 10,000 beachgoers, while abutter Jake McWiggin said the Bridge Road gate "has not been opened once for an emergency situation" in four years. Commission Agent Chris Capone said wooden snow fencing does not constitute adequate dune mitigation and questioned whether the road qualifies as a public way under the limited-project exemption DCR cited. The commission also unanimously approved NOIs for a 77-foot residential pier on the west branch of the Westport River, a 67-foot seawall extension at 329 Brayton Point Road to protect a house dating to 1900, and, with one abstention, a concrete boat ramp repair at the Westport Yacht Club, along with three certificates of compliance for long-completed buffer zone and septic projects.