Residents of Cumberland will soon vote on borrowing $3 million to purchase part of the Payson property, 179 Foreside Road, with noteworthy tidal shorefront. This beautiful property appropriately carries significant restraints on town use due to its conservation easement. Recommended restrictions include no dogs on the shore; no walking or swimming in several significant areas of environmental sensitivity; limited boat moorings to protect eelgrass beds. (No boat is moored within a few hundred yards of the shore anyway due to shallow water.) Some may hope to fish or swim from the existing pier that was built for private, not public, use, but is not up to code. No cost estimates for necessary renovations of the pier, “changing shed,” access steps, roadway, plus town staffing have been offered. No water access at low tide, no beach at high tide, no boat launch or storage. Many unanswered questions. And a very high price.

Susan B. Curtis
Cumberland Foreside


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