The Bristol Harbor Commission voted 4-1 on Monday night affirming that Bristol Harbor Inn’s plan to moor a pool boat near their event tent did not fly in the face of local harbor regulations, but simultaneously provided a list of four concerns regarding the proposal to the Bristol Town Council and to the Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC), the latter of which ultimately has authority to approve or deny the project.

During a two-hour meeting that brought dozens of Stone Harbour condo owners to the Bristol Maritime Center, lawyers and engineers had the floor for the vast majority of the time, going back and forth discussing the motivations of Bristol Harbor Inn for wanting the pool boat, how it would be deployed, and then a laundry list of reasons why the abutting property owners of Stone Harbour are staunchly opposed to the idea.

Members of the Harbor Commission, through their questioning, revealed a list of issues they found to be concerning regarding the project; but none that ultimately made them agree a negative recommendation to the Town Council or to CRMC would be appropriate or within their regulatory authority.

Environmental and safety concerns
Chief among the concerns raised was whether the pool boat would inevitably lead to contamination of the surrounding water through the backwash or leakage of chemicals used in the saltwater system planned for the pool boat.

Larry Goldstein, co-owner of Goldstein Associates, a property management company that includes the corporate entity that owns the Bristol Harbor Inn, said that the pool boat has a self-contained filtration system and that the boat would not discharge its pool water into the surrounding bay.

However, members of the commission were concerned with what would happen if a storm or a hurricane came through and the boat needed to be taken out of the water. They did not seem satisfied with the applicant’s explanation of how the pool boat would be emptied and removed in a timely manner.

Likewise, the commission wasn’t satisfied with a safety issue raised by neighbors and members of the commission’s advisory board regarding the location of the pool boat — the concern being that if a boat entering or exiting the nearby marinas lost control or suffered a malfunction, nothing would stop the boat from running directly over a pool boat potentially filled with people.

“I think we need to see some plans for both of those,” said commission member Steven Januario. “How the water will be removed so the harbor does not get polluted with whatever is in that pool, chemical-wise. And so we’re sure if a boat does get loose, it doesn’t go into the pool and hurt somebody.”

The commission also insisted that CRMC ensure that the ramp leading to the pool boat was ADA-accessible, as they were unable to confirm that through the course of the meeting.

Other safety concerns seemed to be answered
For the roughly 50 Stone Harbour residents who had gathered, those who spoke against the project also brought up safety issues separate from those outlined above.

Bob Camosci, who owns a unit on the second floor that looks out directly over the Inn’s event tent and the area where the pool boat would go, said he often sees young adults congregate in that area after the nearby bars close, intoxicated but looking for the party to continue.

“What’s going to happen when they see a swimming pool? We were all young adults in our 20s. We get it. And today we have to worry about other stuff they’re taking, not just alcohol,” he said. “It is a recipe for disaster…We do not want someone to get severely injured.”

The applicant, however, seemed to satisfy the commission’s concerns over this unwanted accessibility angle, saying that not only would the pool boat be located behind a time-locked gate that only opens to hotel guests, but that a cover would be placed over the top of the pool boat once it closes.
“It’s not good for us if it becomes a nuisance to anybody, our hotel guests included,” Goldstein said, adding later in the meeting, “We have no interest in creating an unsafe situation.”

At the end of the meeting, the commission made a motion to confirm that the pool boat did not run afoul of the Town’s harbor management plan, but that they recommended that the applicant provide to CRMC a written plan explaining how the pool would be emptied and how it would deal with any backwash that occurs, as well as a written hurricane action plan to describe how the boat would be emptied and removed from the water.

Additionally, they recommended that the applicant look into providing some type of safety barrier to prevent a collision occurring with surrounding boat traffic, and for CRMC to confirm that the ramp leading to the pool boat would be ADA-accessible. That motion carried, 4-1.

So what’s next?
The Harbor Commission’s recommendations will now go to the Bristol Town Council, who will take the issue up during their meeting on July 31. They have the authority to provide their support for the project, disapprove of the project, provide their own recommendations, or essentially receive and file it again.

Ultimately, it is CRMC who will have the authority to approve or deny the project, and their timeline for holding a hearing on the issue, as of press time, was unknown.