Barnstable Conservation Commission Continues Two Contested Osterville Pier Hearings

BARNSTABLE -- May 26, 2026, Barnstable Conservation Commission continued two contested Osterville pier extension hearings over unresolved shellfish and navigation concerns. The commission voted unanimously to continue the Madden application at 95 Eel River Road to June 16 and the Randon application at 117 Eel River Road to June 23, after two-plus hours of testimony at the May 26 meeting. Both applicants, represented by Arlene Wilson of AM Wilson Associates, seek to extend existing permanent piers, convert from non-motorized to motorized use, and obtain waivers from the commission's 30-inch freeboard rule, dropping to 12 inches, in shellfish habitat rated 10 out of 10 under the town's Delphi mapping system. Commissioner Peter Sampu argued the waiver would "be an assault on all of our shellfish significant" habitat, and Commissioner John Abedeli noted that no town advisory committee, including the Shellfish Committee and the Harbormaster and Waterways Committee, had supported either project. The commission also flagged that the applicants' 2023 shellfish survey was conducted without the proposed pier extensions plotted on the study area, and directed the applicant to overlay pier footprints on the survey grid before the next session. The commission separately approved, unanimously, an invasive species removal and native planting project at 129 Main Street in Centerville for the Terry L. Zico Trust.