Hammering out details on shared docks

Such an application had been pending from neighbors Russell Ireland Jr. and Gary Sher. But Mr. Ireland sold his South Midway Drive property to  Brian Shea last week, Councilman Peter Reich told the WMAC at Monday night’s meeting. That ends a need for an immediate decision. Still, the WMAC wanted to consider terms for shared docks should there be a future application.

If two property owners want to share a dock, it shouldn’t be the “town’s problem,” member James Eklund said. Mike Anglin agreed, noting that presumably the two neighbors would each have their own attorneys to protect their individual interests in creating an agreement for a shared dock.

But for William Geraghty, there was concern that unless restrictions were stated in any permit for a shared dock, it could be misinterpreted as a means for owners of substandard lots to get around the town’s zoning code.

The council decided that if the town were to grant permission for two property owners to share a dock, they would like to see the following covenants attached to an agreement:

• Unless the shared dock were removed, neither neighbor could seek permission for a second dock.

• Both neighbors would have to agree to grant one another rights of way to access both sides of the dock.

• Should either neighbor sell his property, the shared dock would be an encumbrance on the new owner unless the dock was removed. If one neighbor wanted to keep the dock, he would have to seek agreement with the other to buy sufficient land to meet setback requirements.

“They’re stuck with the agreement” unless the dock is removed or made to conform with zoning requirements for a single property owner, Mr. Eklund said.

If the partners failed to properly maintain the dock, the town would have to have authority to either remove or repair it, passing the bill to the property owners for whatever cost was involved, Mr. Geraghty said.