Two separate proposed marina expansions continue to make waves with neighbors.

Construction of additional docks at the Point Independence Yacht Club and Onset Bay Marina, both located in close proximity in Onset Bay, have been in the permitting process for more than five years. Neighbors have steadfastly opposed both proposals.

The yacht club is asking for DEP approval to increase the number of dock slips - essentially the floating parking spaces for boats - from 65 to 75. The club would then reduce its mooring field from 57 moorings to 41. A new 193-foot gas dock would also be built. The club currently serves 122 boats - which will not change if the proposal is approved.

More than 60 people packed a Department of Environmental Protection public hearing regarding the Point Independence expansion held Thursday, November 17. Though the purpose of the hearing was so the DEP could hear comments about Point Independence, many residents also used the opportunity to speak against a similar project proposed by the Onset Bay Marina, located next door in Onset Bay.

That proposal, if approved, would expand the existing floating dock and pier roughly 174-feet. The project would create 29 new slips and eliminate 15 moorings from the marina's mooring fields. The marina would be able to serve 14 additional boats with the expansion, for a total of 147 vessels.

Approximately 20 residents spoke. All were in opposition.

The speakers, many of whom were residents of nearby Nanumet Beach in addition to Point Independence, expressed concerns about navigational issues and safety hazards the projects could pose, as well as the possible dimunation of plant and shellfish life.

Residents argued that the existing set-up of docks and mooring fields are already causing the bay to be too crowded, making it difficult for people to navigate in canoes, kayaks, and other small recreational vessels.

"The most important thing ... is the navigational matters. The inability for all my grandchildren, nieces, and nephews to get in their kayaks and small boats and get around Onset," said Prospect Street resident Jim Kallstrom. "It's getting too big now and to add to that would be an absolute sin. ... What about the regular people who come here and want to launch a kayak and launch a small boat?"

Prospect Street resident Mandy Teehan echoed that sentiment. "It's already very crowded out there," she said. "It's an accident waiting to happen."

Point Independence resident William Judd worried that if further expansion into Onset Bay is allowed, shellfishing may have to be shut down permanently.

"Shellfishing in the area is closed [from April 1 to November 1] because of the condition of the water. ... From the time the [Onset Bay Marina] and the Point Independence Yacht Club have their main season," Judd said. "I am punished as a residential shellfish license holder from fishing [in that area]."

Brenda Eckstom, a current Onset Water Commissioner and a former Selectman who served when the Point Independence project was in litigation with the Zoning Board of Appeals, also worried about the shellfish crop.

"One hundred years ago, Wareham was the scallop capital of the world. Now you're lucky if you can scrape up a few of them on occasion," she said, noting that residents have been spending thousands of dollars on sewering in an effort to remove nitrogen - which kills shellfish - from the waterways.

Attorney Gene J. Guimond, who represents the Point Independence Yacht Club, said that no eelgrass - which provides a habitat for ocean species - or shellfish were located in the area. He said the pilings (the posts in the water that support docks and piers) showed a "favoring habitat for shellfish."

Selectman Ellen Begley, a direct abutter on Prospect Street, was the only town official to speak at the hearing. She urged the DEP not to allow the project to go forward, reading a 2008 letter from the Board of Selectmen in opposition to both expansion projects.

Begley also pointed out that the club is located in a residential, rather than a commercial area.

"In my personal opinion, [the project] definitely tips the scale toward commercial uses," she said, adding that the club "already extends into the bay, considerably more than other areas in the state."

Wareham Conservation Agent David Pichette and Harbormaster Garry Buckminster were in attendance, though neither spoke.

Neighbors further argued that the Point Independence expansion would harm many to benefit few.

"Ten members of this yacht club can walk to their boat instead of taking a launch," said Andrew Harrington, a summer resident and member of the Save Onset Bay association, noting that the expansion would not allow the yacht club to serve any additional boaters. "This is about a very few affluent people wanting their own little docks."

Eagle Way resident Linda Gay, who said she was introduced to Onset by her husband, whose family has summered in the area for decades, asked the DEP not to allow the expansion. Her husband, Peter, was killed in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks while traveling on American Airlines flight 11.

"When [Peter] took me to his family cottage on Onset Beach, I couldn't believe how beautiful, peaceful, clean, and safe it was," Gay remembered. "If my husband were alive today, he would be thoroughly disgusted with this expansion. ... The beach will become dirty from waste, unsafe due to boats. ... I ask that you carefully consider the consequence if this is allowed to continue."

Attorney Guimond, who spoke only before the residents began speaking, argued that the project would provide benefits such as increased pump-out facilities and launching for various town departments. He noted that if the proposal is approved, a Zoning Board of Appeals condition prohibits the club from asking for accommodations for additional vessels for 12-and-a-half years.

Residents weren't swayed, however, and worried that if the expansion is allowed, more requests would follow.

"It is very selfish that the Point Independence Yacht Club are asking for more docks, more moorings, when a resident of Onset has to get on a 10-year waiting list to get a mooring," said Judd. "If it is approved today, what will they want tomorrow?"

Residents can weigh in on the Point Independence Yacht Club proposal in writing until December 4. The Department of Environmental Protection will accept letters postmarked by that date and sent to David Hill, Assistant Section Chief, DEP Waterways Program, 20 Riverside Drive, Lakeville, MA 02347.

A representative from Onset Bay Marina could not be reached for comment.