The attached mapped materials were presented at the Matunuck Erosion Public Meeting held on Saturday, January 7, 2012 at Matunuck Elementary School. The materials provide background information and context on the Town’s two pending applications before the RI Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC).
The first application consists of a proposal to install steel “sheet pile” reinforcement on the southerly edge of the Matunuck Beach Road right of way along a 202’ stretch just westerly of the Ocean Mist property. This is the area judged to be at greatest risk for undermining of the road from coastal erosion. The sheet pile will be capped with a low concrete wall (3.5’) similar to that in place at Narragansett Pier.
The second application requests CRMC reclassify a portion of the shoreline in the Special Area Management Plan for the Salt Pond Region from the current designation of “Coastal Headlands, Bluffs and Cliffs” to “Manmade Shorelines.” Such reclassification will permit property owners along this stretch to propose the installation of hard structures (i.e. armor stone or rip rap seawalls) to protect their parcels from erosive forces. Under the present designation all such structures are prohibited by CRMC regulations.
At this point the CRMC has not scheduled any public hearings on either application. For more information on the Town’s proposals please contact the Town of South Kingstown Planning Department at (401) 789-9331 ext. 1244.