Towns rethinking development
by Joseph SantangeloIn Cape Cod’s 15 towns, a revolution is slowly brewing on land use controls. Town leaders and voters are beginning to reorder the patterns of development that had been allowed for more than 30 years.
Instead of separating commercial and residential zones, the new trend is toward denser, mixed-use town centers with top-of-shop apartments in two- and three-story structures. Instead of pushing housing out further from towns on increasingly large lots with individual septic systems, new thinking calls for cluster housing near developed areas, while preserving surrounding open space in its natural state.
For businesses, this new model promotes the use of existing or rebuilt structures in town centers while imposing tighter controls on development of vacant parcels between towns. For the short term, however, navigating a shifting tide of building requirements will take considerable patience and perseverance. Towns in particular have been slow to implement zoning bylaws to reflect these newest concepts for better communities.
The stated goal is to cultivate distinct, livable, pedestrian-friendly town centers, each with their own character, where transportation, sewage treatment and other facilities can support higher density. At the same time, the plan is to slow the consumption of undeveloped land and maintain greenery and seaside vistas between villages.
The town of Dennis led the way when voters in 2004 approved higher density development as an incentive to promote long-term rebuilding of its aging Dennisport village.
The Cape Cod Commission has formally determined that the redevelopment of a Dennisport storefront parcel on the south side of Route 28 owned by Dan Keefe is not a commission-regulated Development of Regional Impact and can move forward at the local planning board level. Housing also is planned above a Blockbuster video store and behind a Brooks drugstore. The town and the commission are working on an application to designate a larger area of Dennisport a growth incentive zone, thereby taking most Dennisport development out from under commission regulatory review.
Others towns have adopted components of village-style zoning, while Yarmouth is identifying several village centers along Route 28 for revitalization.
The Yarmouth Town Meeting in April approved a zoning change to encourage aging motel stock to be converted to year-round housing, to be expanded or razed and rebuilt with larger rooms in two-story structures. However, the commission’s regulations still could tie up any motel project of more than 10,000 square feet, unless it relaxes requirements for rebuilding on the same footprint with the same number of rooms, though with added resort amenities such as spas and fitness centers.
Hyannis downtown growth zone
In an unprecedented move, the commission in March approved a downtown Hyannis growth incentive zone where development is encouraged. In addition, there are several Cape "growth/activity centers" (a designation in the commission’s Regional Policy Plan) in the Hyannis industrial park and Mashpee rotary area. Other growth incentive zones are under preliminary discussion only – such as the Sandwich Golden Triangle and Buzzards Bay village.
Soon, sweeping changes could revitalize the Hyannis section of Barnstable, the regional hub of Cape Cod and the closest equivalent to the Cape’s central city. If property owners respond as envisioned, three-quarters of a square mile of land ultimately will grow into a vibrant year-round community with a diversity of apartments, shops, businesses and residents of all ages.
Under this first growth incentive zone, the Cape Cod Commission will turn over to the town the regulation of most development within the area. On 448 acres from the airport to the ferry docks and from the hospital to the West End Rotary, the new downtown concept is the latest element of a Hyannis revitalization project that began about five years ago.
As in other revived communities around the country, the rejuvenated Hyannis downtown is expected to attract a mix of older empty-nesters as well as young adults, professional couples and people of various income levels. Families seeking private homes with a yard will still find them not far from downtown.
This is all part of a movement begun in the mid-1990s called smart growth. It aims not to stop growth but to channel it into already developed areas with built-in infrastructure and to minimize consumption of outlying open land. It involves reviving central downtown areas, creating more attractive buildings, preserving land resources and reducing automobile dependency.
Proponents say new land use patterns will help preserve the quintessential qualities of Cape Cod that attract residents, visitors and business investment. These include small-town charm, historic buildings, scenic roadways, water views and cultural attractions.
So far, however, this transition in town-level thinking about development has been slow and bumpy. Most town leaders are naturally focused on daily operations, balancing budgets, funding schools, maintaining facilities and managing rising costs such as energy, pensions and employee health-care insurance.
The complexities of proposing zoning changes that involve higher density in some areas and lower density in others can be daunting. Many nearby residents are wary. These new growth priorities that call for tighter limits on undeveloped vacant land also can prove unpopular with land owners. Discouraging growth outside defined development boundaries raises issues of property rights.
To promote higher density in town centers while allowing commercial strip development outside of town would only accelerate problems of traffic congestion, water contamination and loss of open space. So, officials are considering reducing the amount of commercially zoned land along Route 28 and other highways running between villages.
“We can’t have smart growth surrounded by dumb growth,” said John Lipman, chief planner and deputy director of the Cape Cod Commission.
Since the 1980s, some towns have downzoned outlying areas, mandating less dense development, but that has proven unsuccessful in slowing growth. Instead, it has led to sprawling properties on larger lots, rather than preserving natural resources.
Towns also have the ability to acquire environmentally sensitive parcels through public land bank money, private conservation trusts or a combination of both. However, those land acquisition funds are finite.
Town zoning bylaws lagging
The commission, as well as environmental groups and town planners, are discussing legal tools to help offset increased growth in village centers with less growth in surrounding areas. Some towns have bylaws that include transfer of development rights, where one land owner can be compensated by another to give up the right to build on the land. Outright purchase of development rights also can be used to preserve agricultural land, as well other types of property. The Business Roundtable recently proposed a Capewide Transfer of Development Rights Bank.
Towns have examined a variety of steps such as growth caps that limit the annual number of building permits that can be issued. Others adopted open space cluster bylaws, allowing structures to be built more densely than previously permitted in exchange for preserving more land in its natural state.
Six towns (Barnstable, Bourne, Brewster, Dennis, Falmouth and Sandwich) have created districts of critical planning concern, involving a temporary moratorium and special regulation of future construction in environmentally fragile areas. Still others have designated historic districts with architectural review requirements.
Ten towns have completed local comprehensive plans spelling out future development goals, yet none have amended their zoning bylaws to fully reflect those aims. The Cape Cod Business Roundtable and the Association to Preserve Cape Cod call this gap between long-term planning goals and outdated zoning bylaws a critical issue for Cape Cod.
In April, the Business Roundtable issued a “Call to Action,” and as part of its five-point action plan, urged that growth centers be identified and town zoning be amended accordingly. The Association to Preserve Cape Cod has conducted a zoning audit of Cape towns and spelled out a long list of zoning updates needed.
The Roundtable concluded that “In order to achieve these objectives, local bylaws must be changed to promote mixed use in town centers, transfer of development rights, cluster subdivisions, affordable housing (in perpetuity) above retail. Bylaws must also be altered to offset any increased density in town centers with decreased density elsewhere, and to eliminate commercial zoning outside of town centers.”
Maggie Geist, executive director of APCC, said, “The failure is of the local communities to implement local plans. Two-thirds have certified local plans, but there is a disconnect between the local comprehensive plans and zoning bylaws.”
While a clear trend emerges from this flurry of planning and zoning activity, specific building requirements still vary from town to town. During the transition, many property owners will see inconsistency among county and town regulatory rules.
Nevertheless, a seismic shift is taking place, though it will be several years before all the contemplated zoning changes are put into effect.
Joseph Santangelo Joseph Santangelo has been a statehouse bureau chief, a corporate executive and currently works for the Connecticut Legislature. 
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