Noyes seeks court relief of Marblehead conservation commission ruling

MARBLEHEAD – Peter Noyes is suing the town to overturn the Conservation Commission?s enforcement orders against him for driving a truck across the causeway from Gas House Beach to Little Harbor Island in May – and the Recreation and Parks Commission members are surprised to find themselves named in that court case.Noyes said the town allows motor vehicles on Riverhead Beach, which is controlled by the Recreation and Parks Department. Recreation and Parks employees were reluctant to comment on a case, which is actually between two other parties but one employee close to the situation said no department vehicles have been driven on the beach.The beach has a concrete launch ramp which vehicles may use to launch boats and bring them ashore.Conservation Commission Chairman Walter Haug said he met with Recreation and Parks Superintendent Brendan Egan to discuss Riverhead Beach, and Egan has posted a sign to instruct all motorists that they are only allowed to drive on the ramp, not the beach.?No motor vehicles are allowed to operate on the beach,” Haug said.Furthermore, Haug asked Egan to file a notice of intent regarding all recreation activities at the beach for commission approval, “so we can regulate the use of the beach,” Haug said.Noyes appealed the Conservation Commission enforcement orders and an estimated $900 in fines in Superior Court on June 9. According to a Superior Court clerk, Town Counsel Lisa Mead has responded to Noyes? complaint but no hearing date has been set. The case is scheduled to be heard in Newburyport. The clerk said Noyes is representing himself. He could not be reached for comment.Little Harbor Island is owned by Edward Moore, who asked Noyes to rebuild a seawall on the island. In exchange, Noyes is seeking to use the island as a campground and a boatyard for his boats. His request to build a gravel causeway on top of the current natural causeway was continued by the commission last week. The commission denied his application to install a crane on the island in June.He asked the court to recognize Moore?s and his right to use the causeway or “deeded way” to travel to and from the island, claiming that it has been approved for that purpose in the past.Haug noted that Noyes has also appealed the commission denial of his notice of intent to the state Department of Environmental Protection, which will conduct its own hearing under the state Wetland Protection Act, but so far he has not appealed the denial to Superior Court.?We work under the Wetland Protection Act and the town?s Wetland Protection Bylaw. He will have to appeal in court to overturn our denial under the bylaw,” Haug said.