Conservation Commission Approves Beach Access Sand Move, Continues Coastal Home Rebuild

MARSHFIELD -- April 1, 2026, Marshfield Conservation Commission approves beach access project, continues barrier beach rebuild, and finds unpermitted wetland work at Iowa Street. The commission unanimously approved RDA 2605 allowing the Town of Marshfield Beaches department to relocate accreted sand along the jetty at Zero Beach Street to improve wheelchair access via mobi mats, with a Massachusetts Audubon plover monitor required given the April 1 start of piping plover season. Engineer James Garfield of Morse Engineering presented a Notice of Intent for 18 Abbey Street on behalf of owner Emily K. Harrison, a proposal to demolish a 1939 home in FEMA flood zone VE Elevation 13 and rebuild on wooden pilings with a new accessory dwelling, but commissioners continued the case to April 15, citing missing utility routing, inadequate coastal dune narrative, and the need for a qualified wetland professional's planting plan for a heavily vegetated lot commissioners called "what dune vegetation should look like." On Ocean Street, the commission closed a Title V septic replacement hearing for Lexi Realty, pending a revised plan due Friday. At 15 Iowa Street, Agent Mike's as-built inspection revealed an unpermitted paved driveway and a shed placed partly on town property within the 25-foot wetland buffer; the commission directed the homeowner to relocate the shed, obtain a building permit for it, and install native plantings before any certificate of compliance will be issued.