Eastham Conservation Commission Calls for Peer Review of Cove Road Seawall Proposal

EASTHAM -- January 13, 2026, Eastham Conservation Commission orders independent review of a contested seawall replacement at 75 Cove Road. The commission voted 6-1 at its January 13 meeting to bring in Ryan McCormick, Barnstable County's coastal processes specialist, to review a proposal by Steven Werst to replace a concrete seawall with a sloped stone revetment on Town Cove, a project that has been before the commission since November 2025 and previously went through a withdrawn state filing. Chair Karen Strauss raised questions about whether removing the seawall section triggers the town's bylaw definition of a new structure, whether the alternatives analysis submitted by Tyan Bond engineers was technically sufficient, and whether any wave energy or structural analysis backed the claim of imminent failure. Engineer Dan Jeremykley called the wall "failed" as a licensed structural engineer, citing sinkholes behind the wall, fill loss through the face, and a three-inch separation from a corner patch, while owner Werst said the commission had "hit nothing but stone walls" in years of attempts to address the structure. Chuck Wagner voted no, saying the state and project engineers had already spoken definitively in favor of the revetment. The commission also voted unanimously to issue daily fines of $300 per violation against the owner of 150 State Highway for failing to remove seasonal docks, adding a third and fourth violation to an existing civil contempt case in Barnstable Superior Court.