A Hance Road homeowner hopes to nearly double the length of his Navesink River dock, above. An engineer’s plan, below, details the additional length, as well as the boat lifts and jet-ski port that would be added. (Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
A proposal for a private dock extension that would nearly double the length of an existing Fair Haven pier is in the crosshairs of at least two environment watchdogs.
Documents filed with the state Department of Environmental Protection show that homeowner Pat Scire plans to build an 82-foot-long, 8-foot-wide floating-dock extension at 1 Hance Road. The new structure would be flanked by a pair of boatlifts and a jet-ski port.
In addition, Scire proposes to rebuild 354 linear feet of bulkheading.
While they support the bulkhead plan as necessary to combat erosion, Ralph Wyndrum and Richard Huff, chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the borough environmental commission say the dock raises safety and other issues.
The environmental commission which has no enforcement powers, serving in an advisory capacity to the borough intends to review the proposal this month. Wyndrum, however, tells redbankgreen that he has recused himself from commission discussion of the matter because he lives next door to Scire’s property.
Meanwhile, both Wyndrum and Huff have written letters to the DEP detailing their objections. In his, Wyndrum says the alteration would create “a serious detour out into a very busy river, competing with jet-skis and speedboats and facing high waves on weekends.”
“I’m a little leery about a pier that goes out to 160 feet,” Huff told redbankgreen Monday. He said canoeists, kayakers and other users of small craft “will be forced to go farther out into the river,” where they’d be be exposed to powered vessels in the central navigation channel.
Scire could not be reached for comment. But his DEP filing maintains that the existing dock “is not sufficient for safe navigation.”
In addition, the plan documentation, filed by Birdsall Associates, says the extended dock will still be 730 feet from the river’s main channel, and “will not extend farther into the waterway than the adjoining waterfront structures,” a claim Wyndrum disputes.
Larry Hajna, a DEP spokesman, said the agency had recently written to Scire to call attention to his need to comply with regulations protecting clam production areas and wetlands mapping.
Scire estimates the cost of the job at $110,000, though Wyndrum believes it will cost three or more times that amount. DEP permit fees are based on job valuations.
The property was the scene of a fatal accident in October, 2010, when a 15-year-old Middletown boy fell off the roof of the main house, which was vacant at the time. Scire bought the property through River Capital Associates in October for $2.975 million.
Scire is remembered by some in the Middletown historical preservation circles for having demolished the 1895 shingle-style mansion at the Rough Point estate, which he bought from TV personality Geraldo Rivera in 2001.
