The Gloucester County Wetlands Board approved two shoreline improvement applications during a meeting Jan. 11 in the colonial courthouse.

Winston C. Dowell Jr. was given permission to install 365 linear feet of Class 1 rock revetment, said Linda Walthall, administrative coordinator for Gloucester Environmental Programs. The revetment will be placed adjacent to property situated along the Northwest Branch of Sarah Creek at 1969 Tillage Lane.

G.C. Tillage, Inc., sought authorization to construct a new commercial pier 12’x112’ with a 12’x24’ L-head and to extend an existing four-foot lower dock approximately 32 feet to match the length of a 112’ pier.

Walthall said the board approved the placement of the commercial pier project that was within the board’s jurisdiction. The proposed project is adjacent to property situated along the Northwest Branch of Sarah Creek behind 7775 Tillage Estate Lane.

Following its meeting, the wetlands board sat as the Gloucester Chesapeake Bay Preservation & Erosion Commission. The commission approved two applications for buffer modification and tabled a third.

Winston C. Dowell Jr. was given the go-ahead for a buffer extension to the required 100-foot Resource Protection Area for a proposed 14’x28’  pool with concrete apron, infiltration trench, drywell and vegetative filter strip at 1969 Tillage Lane. The commission approved the project with reduced footprint, revised drawings to be submitted to staff depicting four planting units, infiltration trench to staff’s standard, drywell and three-foot berm, Walthall said.

George Makowiec’s application for a buffer modification was approved as presented with mitigation of plantings and rain barrels. Makowiec proposes to erect a 12’x24’ storage shed at 5776 Crany Creek Drive.

Walthall said the commission tabled the application of Christopher Williams to allow the applicant more time to produce a plan addressing their concerns for mitigation and runoff measures. Williams seeks a buffer modification to the required 100-foot RPA for a proposed 24’x12’ pool, paver patio and a retaining wall at 6865 Riverview Park Circle.

In other business, new officers were elected for 2017, with the same officers serving both the board and commission: chairman Bronco Bayless, vice chairman William “Bill” Walker, and secretary Rachel Strawn.