The Planning Board held a public information session on June 16, 2010, on its draft revisions of the zoning bylaws to prevent disproportionately oversized houses from being built in the R1 and R2 zoning districts.
Read the draft zoning bylaw provisions here.
The Planning Board continued its discussion of tighter standards for residences in zones R1 and R2, aimed at preserving the character of Wellfleet, and of procedures to apply these new standards.
When it finalizes a draft zoning bylaw amendment, it will conduct informational public meetings during the summer and fall in anticipation of presenting the amendment for a vote at the fall Town Meeting.
Planning Board member (and WNSHA Vice-President) Gooz Draz has written a public letter inviting Wellfleet residents to support the Board’s proposed zoning revisions for residential zones R1 and R2:
“I am writing to ask for your help in support of new zoning regulations for Wellfleet’s R1 & R2 districts. The Planning Board, of which I am a member, has a plan to regulate house sizes in our town in similar fashion to what was done for the Seashore District. Saturday, January 30th, 9 AM at the Senior Center, an open meeting will be held to explain the zoning revisions and get feedback.
“So, if you are interested in wanting to see our town zoning revised so that it reflects the many desires expressed to better regulate house sizes here, I and the other Planning Board members who have worked on this plan would appreciate your show of support at the January 30th meeting.
“In short, the zoning revision proposed would do away with our present 15% Lot (or footprint) Coverage, which allows for a 2 story 9,000+ square foot house (not including habitable cellar space) to be built By-Right (or without recourse to alter) on a 3/4 acre lot! Bear in mind that most of the lots in Wellfleet, meaning the R1 & R2 districts, are between 1/2 to just over 1 acre in size.
“Instead we are proposing a new Site Coverage sliding scale standard (one that reflects our existing housing stock averages) that would limit by-right house size on such a 3/4 acre lot to ~2,600 sf. And if anyone wanted to exceed the by-right sliding scale allowance for their lot size would be required to seek a Site Plan Review Special Permit.
“Five of us on the Planning Board believe this sliding scale plan is a very reasonable and fair one. No zoning revision will be perfect in all regards, but we hope this is one the town as a whole will accept and adopt, and with your understanding of it and support we can make it happen.
“If you care about this, please come to the January 30th meeting. And if you’re interested in the details of the plan ahead of time, please email me and I will send them to you.
“Thank you and best wishes,
Gooz”
A public discussion on house size and possible approaches to limiting it will take place on Saturday, January 30, 2010, with presentations by Planning Board members, starting at 9:00 a.m. at the Senior Center.
The Board discussed site coverage rules, including Site Plan Review, at its January 6 meeting.
Wellfleet residents are concerned about preserving the character of the town and its not becoming like the Hamptons, whose changes were recently described by writer Mark Helprin:
“Mere multimillionaires cannot afford anymore to go where within living memory actual people made a living from the farms, clam beds, and sword-fishing grounds. Now the potato fields are covered with houses that look like the headquarters of Martian expeditionary forces, ice-cream factories, vacuum cleaners on stilts, the Seagram building on its side, or shingled New England cottages monstrously swollen into something you might see after eating a magic mushroom. In simple and quiet towns that once deferred to the majesty of the ocean, the streets are now clogged with a kabuki theater of Range Rovers and $35,000 handbags.” “A Non-Delirious New York”, The Wall Street Journal, January 22, 2010.
At the public meeting with the Planning Board at the COA on Jan. 31, 2009, to consider possible zoning changes for residential zones R-1 and R-2, extensive public comments were made. These were summarized in brief, in the order they were made, as follows, followed by a list of goals for these changes:
1. Control building size
Do it soon
Do it right
2. The problem is large houses on small lots
3. Use a point system – a lower height might allow a larger footprint – need for
flexibility
4. Minimize the number of houses subject to Site Plan Review (SPR)
5. Concern for public view (view sheds) (more…)
How Should Wellfleet Grow?
Public Meeting with the Planning Board
January 31, 2009 11:00 a.m. COA
The Wellfleet Planning Board will be holding a public meeting to discuss alternate approaches to Zoning Bylaw proposals on the maximum~lot coverage, and other methods, to~regulate the maximum size of improvements on lots in the R1 and R2 zoning districts.
Public participation is encouraged. The meeting will be held at the Council on Aging facility at 75 Old King’s Highway. The meeting will convene at 11:00 AM on Saturday January 31, 2009. Lunch will be provided. No reservations or sign up are necessary.
Suggested bylaw language is available on the Town website at www.wellfleetma.org and hard copies are available at the Town Hall and Building Department. The initial discussion will be directed at by-right techniques including a possible proposal for Town Meeting consideration of:
This is not a formal proposal for purposes of freezing the existing regulations under Section 5.4.3, Building Coverage.
Please attend and/or submit written comments to: Planning Board, 300 Main Street, Wellfleet, MA 02667
Written comments may be submitted by e-mail to Rex Peterson, Assistant Town Administrator and Town Planner at: rex@townofwellfleet.org
Read the full text of zoning changes for Residential Districts R-1 and R-2 as drafted by the Planning Board.
For background, see the Planning Board’s Minutes of Jan. 7, 2009:
The lot coverage bylaw is the Planning Board’s proposal without the Seashore District. … The Board considered: keeping provisions for Affordable Accessory Dwelling Units, using site coverage, deferring Site Plan Review, adding Town districts, creating a waterfront Overlay District, publishing Article A only.
The Planning Board returned to its lot coverage and site plan review proposals for the Town, minus the Seashore District, at its December 3, 2008 meeting. It decided to post its proposals for comment on the Town’s website and to include opportunities for citizen comments at its future meetings. From the meeting Minutes:
Planning Board discussed approaches for continuing bylaw revisions of lot coverage and Site Plan Review with community input. O’Connell recommended following Joanne Gorfinkle’s suggestion to keep the bylaw simple. The Board discussed whether they or ZBA should be the permit granting authority. The bylaw, as originally drafted with the Seashore provisions removed and a few needed corrections, will be put on the Town website to open it to public discussion. Time at future meetings will be set for open sessions with the public.
Read the full Minutes.
At its regular meeting on November 19, 2008, the Planning Board prioritized its upcoming work:
The Board arranged the Priorities List according to high, medium or low level.
Rules & Regulations revision, coordination with DPW for Scenic Rd. tree removal procedure, Wind Turbines bylaws, and Lot Coverage bylaws were all considered high level. Cluster Development that addresses Affordable Housing incentives, Route 6 planning and more work on the C2 District were put at a medium level. Added to the list at an unspecified level of priority were: a nitrogen loading “Growth Neutral” bylaw (if it is not a Board of Health issue), response to LCPC, pursuit of the Landing Strip, adding an Inclusionary bylaw for Affordable Housing, and work on a Temporary Sign bylaw. Continued effort on a town-wide zoning bylaw for size could continue through work by a subcommittee. The bylaw could be brought back to April Town meeting basically as it is written minus the Seashore District provisions.
The Board also voted, 5-1, to send a letter to the Attorney General regarding the Seashore zoning bylaw amendments which were passed at Special Town Meeting, together with the Board’s October 15 recommendations against these amendments.
Read the full meeting Minutes here.
Wellfleet voters overwhelmingly approved Zoning Bylaw amendments for the Seashore District at a Special Town Meeting on October 27, 2008. More than two-thirds of the voters who filled the Elementary School gymnasium voted for Article 4, which establishes a sliding scale for buildings’ “site coverage”, and for Article 5, which introduces expansion flexibility by a Seashore District Special Permit to be issued by the Zoning Board of Appeal.
Article 4 was drafted and presented by “Gooz” Draz, a member of the WNSHA Executive Committee and the Planning Board. (See Draz’ slide show explaining Articles 4 and 5.) It was supported by Peter Watts, also on the Executive Committee, who described Seashore homeowners’ views expressed in a petition and survey. Article 5 was presented by Selectmen Dale Donovan, who led public support for the two related Articles.
The Planning Board’s proposed Town-wide “lot coverage” and Residential Site Plan Review - Special Permit amendments, Articles 6, 7, and 8, were presented by Chairman Dennis O’Connell (see slide show) and later withdrawn without being voted on, for further work by the Board in view of approval of Articles 4 and 5.
Read Articles 4 and 5 (prior to two clarifying amendments made from the floor at STM) here.
The Zoning Bylaw amendments will be sent to the Massachusetts Attorney General for review under state zoning law.
CCNS Superintendent George E. Price, Jr., had informed the Selectmen on October 24, 2008, that he would recommend approval of the zoning amendments in Articles 4 and 5 to the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, stating that “They represent the best reflection of needed changes to address building scale and mass and retain community character as envisioned in the park legislation and the federal zoning standards regulation for the National Seashore.” Federal law creating the Seashore suspends eminent domain for residential properties in a town with approved zoning rules.
See also “Wellfleet Voters Approve Restricting Size of Homes in Seashore“, M. Miller, WickedLocal:Wellfleet, Oct. 28, 2008; “Building Restrictions on Seashore Land Approved“, M.A. Bragg, CapeCodTimes.com, Oct. 28, 2008.
Editor’s Comment: WNSHA is extremely grateful to Gooz Draz, Selectman Dale Donovan, and Town Planner Rex Peterson for their expert and unflagging work on these zoning bylaw amendments.
The Wellfleet Board of Selectmen voted 4-0 on October 21, 2008, to endorse Zoning Bylaw amendments proposed as Articles 4 & 5 on the Special Town Meeting Warrant and to recommend further work on proposed Articles 6, 7, and 8. They concluded that Art. 4 & 5 better solved the problem of excessively large houses in the Seashore, while Art. 6, 7, and 8 did not. See “Selectmen Endorse Petitioned Articles, Not Planning Board’s“, by Elspeth Pierson, WickedLocal:Wellfleet, October 23, 2008.
Which Proposed Zoning Amendments Would Prevent a ‘Blasch’-Sized House of 5,600 sq. ft. from Being Built at 1440 Chequessett Neck Road?
|
Warrant Article |
Preventive Effect on Blasch-Sized House |
|
Art. 4 & 5 (Maximum Site Coverage; Seashore District Special Permit) |
Yes – Maximum “Dwelling Space Area” is 2,800 sq. ft. |
|
Art. 6 ( |
Not really – A 5,400 sq. ft. two-story house would be allowed – compared to ~5,600 sq. ft. two-story house now being built by Blasch, LLC. |
|
Art. 7 & 8 (Residential Site Plan Approval) |
Uncertain – Depends on Planning Board’s opinions (1) (a) whether the house is “integrated into existing terrain”, “take[s] into account the height, scale and bulk of other buildings in the neighborhood”, “to the extent practicable, preserve[s] … natural and/or historical features”, etc, (b) unless these standards are “changed or modified upon agreement of the Planning Board during the review process”; and (2) on Planning Board’s findings whether “the benefits of the proposal to the town will outweigh any adverse effects on the Town”. |
|
Art. 6, 7 & 8 ( |
Uncertain – see above. |
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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.
The Planning Board conducted public hearings on the Selectmen’s four articles proposing zoning amendments on September 17 and on its own three zoning articles on October 1, 2008.
Comments on the Selectmen’s proposals, and on an as-yet not publicized petition article, were made by CCNS and Cape Cod Commission planners and by citizens. Written comments were submitted by the CCNS Superintendent and the Commission. Suggestions and questions were raised by members of the Board and the public.
Two weeks later the Board conducted public hearings on its own proposed articles to establish Residential Site Plan Review. Discussion by the public and the Commission’s planner covered corrections, concepts, clarifications, quantitative limits, and additional features of the proposal such as “bonus” lot coverage for Affordable Housing.
Read the September 17 hearing’s Minutes here and the October 1 hearing’s Minutes here.
On October 15 the Board held another public hearing on all the zoning articles on the STM warrant. It then voted to recommend to STM against Art. 4 by a vote of 4-1 (following Chairman O’Connell’s motion to recommend in favor); against Art. 5. by a vote of 5-0; and in favor of its own Arts. 6, 7, 8 by a vote of 5-0 (with Parent leading the opposition to Arts. 4 and 5 and with Draz abstaining and Rowell absent). Read the Minutes here.
On September 23, 2008, the Board of Selectmen voted to replace one of their ZBL amendment proposals with one originated by citizens’ petition. The petitioned article would establish maximum sizes for dwellings in the National Seashore District. It was voted to be placed on the Special Town Meeting Warrant as Article 4, accompanying the Selectmen’s Article 5 which would allow homeowners to exceed the Article 4 maximums through a Special Permit issued by the Zoning Board of Appeals.
Read the Selectmen’s discussion and decisions here.
“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.