Wellfleet National Seashore Homeowners Association

The United States and Blasch del Mar LLC are in final stages of settlement negotiations in the United States’ appeal of the Land Court’s dismissal of its challenge to the Blasch building permit.

The United States had previously been given an extension to file its brief in the Massachusetts Appeals Court.  On June 25, 2010, court proceedings were stayed until July 28 to permit final settlement negotiations to proceed.  A status report was filed on July 28, with the stay pending settlement negotiations extended to August 30.

On August 28, both the United States and Blasch filed a joint motion to stay the appellate proceedings in order to go back to the Land Court to jointly request that court to vacate its decision and to modify its judgment.  The parties have until September 28 to dismiss the appeal if the lower court decision is vacated or to report back to the Appeals Court if it is not.

See the Mass. Appeals Court docket in case 2010-P-0385 here.

The United States of America filed an appeal on March 5, 2010, in the Massachusetts Appeals Court of the Massachusetts Land Court’s dismissal of its challenge to the Blasch LLC building permit.

A Land Court judge had ruled that the U.S.A. did not have standing to appeal the Wellfleet Zoning Board of Appeal’s approval of the Blasch LLC building permit.

The U.S. was granted a second extension, until June 28, 2010, to file its appellant’s brief with the Appeals Court.

The case is docketed as 2010-P-0385.  Its status is online here.

At a Wellfleet Forum on the wind turbine project on March 1, 2010, CCNS Superintendent George Price, Jr., stated that the Seashore believes it would have legal standing to seek court review of a turbine siting decision on municipal property within the Seashore boundaries, just as it believes it does to appeal the Wellfleet Zoning Board’s approval of the Blasch LLC building permit.

Price had noted the CCNS’ missions of preserving the Seashore’s resources and conserving energy.  Specific projects, such as the turbine proposal, would be examined in light of these goals.  He will review U.S. Park Service analyses of this proposal and its effects on resources in forming the Seashore’s position on it.

On January 5, 2010, a CCNS press release said:
“Superintendent George Price stated today, ‘I am deeply disappointed that Cape Cod National Seashore received notice that the Massachusetts Land Court justice dismissed the Complaint of the USA v. Wellfleet Zoning Board of Appeals and Blasch Del Mar, LLC on December 28, 2009′  The complex zoning case commenced on July 23, 2008. The case concerned the upholding of a building permit for demolition and construction of a new, replacement dwelling triple the size of the previous dwelling at 1440 Chequessett Neck Road in Wellfleet.  The Judge found that there was not a “particularized injury” and, accordingly, the USA lacked standing to appeal.

“Price said National Park Service staff will review the particulars of Judge Trombly’s decision and consider next steps.”

On December 28, 2009, Land Court Judge Charles Trombly, Jr., ruled that the Cape Cod National Seashore did not have legal standing to appeal the Wellfleet Zoning Board’s decision upholding the Blasch del Mar, LLC, building permit for construction of a large house at a highly visible site at “The Gut” in Wellfleet Harbor in the Seashore.

Read a summary by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly staff of the 16-page decision here.

“The size of the newly reconstructed Blasch house, which has 5,848 square feet of living area, is nearly three times the size of the original house on the lot, according to court records. It also is more than twice as high as the original house, court records indicate.

“The house’s bulk and location on a prominent vista within the Seashore boundaries had raised questions for federal officials about its legality.

“The house construction has also triggered a review by Wellfleet town officials of local zoning bylaws, with an eye toward limiting overall house size.”

      —- “Judge Upholds Wellfleet House Ruling“, Cape Cod Times, December 31, 2009.  See also, “Blasches Win Lawsuit, ‘Trophy Home’ Will Stay“, Wicked Local: Wellfleet, December 31, 2009.

For photos of the Blasch del Mar, LLC, house under construction in the fall of 2009, see here and here.

The Town’s Natural Resources Advisory Board is reviewing the Town’s great ponds and is seeking homeowner input in its preparation of a management plan for these ponds.  These ponds are within the Gull Pond and Great Pond complexes plus four others.

All but one of these ponds in Wellfleet lie within the CCNS.  Under state law, towns have jurisdiction over great ponds within their boundaries.

The NRAB has identified several issues for the management plan, including water quality, shoreline access, and shoreline and Town landing use.

NRAB Chairman John Riehl has written to homeowners on these ponds inviting observations, concerns, and suggestions for action.  Responses may be sent to him at Town Hall or delivered directly at an NRAB public meeting, which occur monthly at Town Hall.

Several studies regarding the feasibility, impacts, and funding of the Town’s proposed wind turbine near White Crest Beach are available on the Town’s website, as well as a map of the site.  They include a Preliminary Site Analysis by the UMass Renewable Energy Research Lab, a Feasibility Study by Black & Veatch, a Flicker [shadow] Analysis by the UMass Wind Energy Center, a PowerPoint presentation of the Funding Overview, and the 2008 Zoning Bylaw.

Several speakers raised questions about the proposed wind turbine to be built near White Crest Beach and about the CCNS’ position regarding the turbine.

See “Wind Turbine Plan Meets Resistance in Wellfleet“, by Kaimi Rose Lum, Provincetown Banner/Wicked Local:Wellfleet, November 29, 2009.

The Town has posted the Assessors’ Atlas FY2010 online, allowing property owners to view large-scale maps of all property parcels in Wellfleet.

Individual parcel assessments have long been available on the Assessors’ website.

On October 5, 2008, an editorial urging zoning reform in Wellfleet appeared in The Cape Cod Times:

“To the unknowing, the Cape Cod National Seashore is nothing less than an ornate bridal veil that gently protects golden strands of beach, curling surf and bejeweled ponds and hills.

To the unknowing.

In fact, the National Seashore is an ageing patchwork quilt of public and private property, fraying at the seams, threatened by gaudy development.

And if Wellfleet and Truro voters, in particular, don’t move quickly to permanently protect the park from trophy houses and even commercial development, their inaction could change the very character of our National Seashore. …”

Read the full editorial.

“For years, the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee have been dotted with quaint, unassuming cottages, modest places to hang your hiking shoes or moor a boat after a day of exploring the beauty of central New Hampshire.

Nowadays, the cottages are still sought after, but in many instances, it is to tear one down to make way for something much, much larger, like the 6,000-square-foot, $3.9 million home being built on the site where a 1950s island cottage once stood.”

Substitute “Wellfleet” for “Lake Winnipesaukee” in the preceding sentences and realize why stricter zoning is needed for Wellfleet and its Seashore District.

Read the whole article, “A Golden Pond: Winnipesaukee’s New Mansions“, by Katie Zezima, The New York Times, Sept. 18, 2008.

The Wellfleet Non-Resident Taxpayers Association sent the following update to its members:

The Wellfleet Comprehensive Plan, Mega Mansions and You

The Wellfleet Non Resident Taxpayer’s Association has been actively involved in the preparation and adoption of the Comprehensive Plan Update for over two years. An over-riding principle of the Comprehensive Plan expressed by both residents and non-residents was to retain the rural character of Wellfleet by protecting Wellfleet’s scenic and natural resources.

Before the ink was dry on the Comprehensive Plan, the Wellfleet Building Inspector issued a building permit for a proposal to enlarge the Billboard House-prominently located at the Gut, in the National Seashore, and very visible from Wellfleet Harbor and Chequessett Neck. The permit approved a new house with 5,848 square foot of living area. It would the 7^th largest house in Wellfleet.

The Wellfleet Building Inspector issued the building permit because the proposal met the requirements of the Zoning Bylaws. The Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) found no violations to the Zoning By-laws and upheld the decision of Building Inspector. The Wellfleet Zoning Bylaws deal with such issues as lot coverage (footprint), height and set-backs, not issues of retaining Wellfleet’s rural character or protecting scenic and natural resources.

Since the Bill Board house was enlarged over 20 years ago, the town had not made significant changes to zoning bylaws or developed other planning tools to review such proposals. Some of the changes that the town might have made include:

• Set limits on the size of additions and changes in lot coverage (in the rest of town too);
• Set tighter rules for tearing down and rebuilding non-conforming pre-existing houses;
• Conduct Site Plan Review (SPR) or Special Permit Review by the ZBA of new housing proposals that were very large in overall size and massing, and/or were dramatic increases in the size of existing houses;
• Create Overlay Districts to protect special sensitive areas of Wellfleet.

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The Wellfleet National Seashore Homeowners’ Association’s annual meeting on July 27, 2008, concentrated on zoning issues raised by the large Blasch del Mar, LLC, house planned for a much-viewed Bay dune in the National Seashore.

A crowded meeting room at the Wellfleet Public Library applauded CCNS Superintendent George Price, Jr., when he entered and later heard Price, Wellfleet Planning Board chairman Dennis O’Connell, and Wellfleet resident and Blasch attorney Ben Zehnder discuss the legal framework for zoning in the Seashore and possibilities for amending it.

Many homeowners in attendence signed a petition calling for strengthened zoning to preserve the character and values of the Seashore.

For an article, with photos, on the meeting, see “Park Homeowners Applaud Blasch Appeal”, Marilyn Miller, WickedLocal:Wellfleet, July 30, 2008.

PETITION

We, the undersigned Wellfleet Seashore homeowners, believing that “mansionization” presents a serious and irreparable threat to the character of the Seashore and the community, urge the Planning Board and Board of Selectmen to propose Zoning Bylaw amendments which would specifically and effectively protect the character and values of the Seashore.

Dan Arons, MD
Susan Stahl
Paul Conor
Mary C. Jones
Susanna Chivian
Joan Shapiro
Sharon Dunn
Paula Kotis
Deborah W. Lajoie
Laura Hewitt
John Clayton
Penelope Jencks
Geoff Palmer
Peggy Gilson
Peter Watts
Peter W. Gilson
Catherine Shainberg
Herbert Gstalder
Leonora Hall Williams
Agnes Wolf
John Taylor Williams
Dorothy Altman
Maria S. Brown
Patricia Cohen
Helen James
Kathryn Weill
Bryden C. Brown
Anthony P. Sager
Joe Ferrer
Miriam Dickinson, MD
Pat Bartlett
Robert Wood
R. Bartlett
Jane Mansbridge
Sidney Hurwitz
Christopher Jencks

July 27, 2008

The Cape Cod Commission prepared two maps of Wellfleet for the Community Forum meeting on July 21, 2008.

“Wellfleet Residential Properties - Building Square Footage” shows the size of current houses (using the Assessors’ 2007 “net living area” data) and where they are located in Wellfleet.  Houses of different sizes are represented by different color pentagons on the map.  The map thus shows the scale of Wellfleet’s current housing stock mapped to individual land parcels.  The map identifies the Seashore portion of town.

View the map “Wellfleet Residential Properties - Building Square Footage”.

“Wellfleet Residential Properties - Site Coverage and Development Potential” shows the “build-out” potential that is allowed by Wellfleet’s current Zoning Bylaw.  Residential land parcels are individually colored to show the percent of the lot that is covered by the current house on the lot.  Parcels where the current house covers less than permitted by zoning — 5% in the Seashore District — are colored red; i.e., houses on these parcels can be built-out in the future to the maximum permitted.  Observers at the Forum noted the usefulness of the map in depicting how many properties in the Seashore, as well as in other parts of Wellfleet, could have larger houses built on them.

View the map  “Wellfleet Residential Properties - Site Coverage and Development Potential”.

To visualize “megamansions” on these parcels, see “Future of Wellfleet’s Seashore?  Megamansions Allowed under Current Zoning“.