**DRYDOCKED:** Captain Eric Lorentzen of the fishing vessels American Lobster and Menhaden stands in front of the gate blocking the boat ramp at V Street. [Photo courtesy of Joe Berkeley]

By Christopher Haraden

Less than one month after the planning board rejected development plans for the former Sunset Marine at the base of Allerton Hill, the property owner blocked access to a boat ramp frequently used by the town’s fishing fleet and recreational boaters.

The ramp at the corner of V Street and Cadish Avenue is privately owned, but is subject to a state Chapter 91 license issued in 1994 that has provisions for public access. The 99-year license also covers the dilapidated pier at the end of U Street and the deteriorating wharf that once was the centerpiece of the marina.

Amid outcry from the public about last week’s unexpected closure – the buildings on property have been vacant and boarded up for years while the ramp has remained open – a member of the development group said the owner’s insurance company raised safety concerns about allowing the public on the waterfront lots.

“The town does not own them, maintain them, or control them. The current owner pays taxes on them. He is in the process of selling the lots to me and my group,” Hingham builder Tom Fleck posted in reply to posts on social media. “The fence has gone up after members of public boards have posted in this same group about how dangerous the property is. The current owner was contacted by his insurance and attorneys and asked to secure the lots.”

This image from the state Department of environmental protection’s website shows the maritime structures on the property — the boat ramp at the end of V street, the pier to the north (behind the former lighthouse restaurant) and the smaller dock near U street. Click here to read the site’s Chapter 91 license from 1994.

ARC DC LLC purchased the site, once owned by businessman William R. Kelley, from a court-appointed receiver for $1.05 million in 2018. Fleck’s group, The Point Nantasket Realty LLC, had proposed tearing down the former Lighthouse Restaurant and adjacent apartment buildings to construct nine townhouses on the 3.28 acres at 839-845 Nantasket Avenue. On May 14, the planning board ended its Site Plan Review hearing with a 6-0 vote to deny, one night after the Design Review Board voted to recommend against approval of the plan.

On Wednesday, Fleck told The Hull Times that members of the development group, which includes former Paragon Boardwalk owner Chris Reale, are in favor of public access.

“We are actively working toward a solution to reopening the boat ramp for commercial use, as it has been historically,” Fleck said Wednesday, although the fence remained in place as of the Times’ print deadline.

Several fishing captains joined Hull’s Joe Berkeley last weekend in front of the fenced-off ramp to explain its significance to members of the Humans of Nantasket Beach Facebook group.

“We use this ramp to haul our boats. It’s safer than A Street, especially when the wind is out of the west or the northwest,” said Eric Lorentzen, one of the boat captains. “We’re a community. We understand the developer has a beef with the town. That doesn’t include us.”

Click here to see the developer’s plans that were rejected by the planning board

Click here for the Masschusetts Public Waterfront Act (Chapter 91) license from 1994

The boat ramp dispute is the latest conflict over access to Hull’s shoreline. At May’s town meeting, voters reaffirmed a 2017 vote to pursue privately-owned land in order to ensure access to the beach at James Avenue in Hull Village. There, a property owner has feuded with neighbors about using a beach path he owns.

Select board member Jerry Taverna confirmed Wednesday that he has asked for the boat ramp access dispute to be placed on the board’s agenda when it meets next week.

The most recent effort by the town to promote public access was contained in a report by the Waterfront Access Working Group, which has transformed into an advisory committee. Member David Kellem said the committee expected the V Street boat ramp to continue to be accessible.

“It is definitely valuable to the boating community,” Kellem said. “However, it is also substandard in that the concrete is in need of repair.

“As a boater, I want to see the V Street ramp improved and maintained for public access,” Kellem said. “And I would love to see some boat trailer parking areas designated at the XYZ Street lot in conjunction with the boat ramp facility. I personally feel strongly that the U Street pier should be immediately disassembled and removed. The neighbors there have suffered the blight and the nuisance for far too long.”

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