Wellfleet National Seashore Homeowners Association

At a special session on August 19, the Wellfleet Board of Selectmen voted for amendments to the Zoning Bylaws intended to prevent “McMansion” rebuilds after teardowns in the National Seashore.

Five of the seven amendments promoted by Selectmen Dale Donovan were passed.  One would close the loophole relied on by the Blasch LLC development regarding structures on non-conforming lots, thus bringing the Zoning Bylaw in line with Massachusetts Zoning Act.  For Seashore properties, alterations within the CCNS 50% guideline could be made “by right”, not requiring a Special Permit.

The other amendments would allow Seashore property owners to expand their homes “by right”, simply by obtaining a building permit, if the expanded house would comply with the CCNS 50% guideline and would not exceed the average existing house size for an equivalent lot size.  House size would be measured by “site coverage”, which would include garages, finished basements, covered porches, and decks above a 750 sq. ft. threshold.

Expansion beyond those limits would be permitted only with a National Seashore Special Permit, issued by the Zoning Board of Appeals.  Standards for issuance of this Permit would protect scenic views, environmental needs, and Seashore District objectives and control scale, mass, and size of structures.

The Selectmen sent their amendments to the Planning Board for publication announcing a public hearing for public comment on Wednesday, September 17, 2008.

See “Selectmen’s Proposed Zoning Amendment Stirs Debate“, M. Miller, WickedLocal:Wellfleet, Aug. 20, 2008; “Wellfleet Seeks to Curb McMansions“, D. Fraser, CapeCodTimes, Aug. 20, 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.

  (more…)

The Wellfleet Board of Selectmen discussed among themselves, and with the public, a draft of seven Zoning Bylaw amendments intended for a Special Town Meeting on October 27, 2008.

The seven amendments would allow Seashore houses to expand up to 50% beyond their 1959 size or up to the average for currently existing houses on similarly sized lots without needing a new “National Seashore Park Special Permit”, and to expand beyond that with the Special Permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals.  One of the amendments would more clearly spell out the zoning objectives of the Seashore District.

Another amendment would close the “teardown on non-conforming lots” loophole in current zoning, relied on for the controversial proposed replacement of the “Billboard House”.  This amendment would affect not only Seashore properties but also the whole town.  Discussion suggested that the two parts of this provision be split into separate Articles for voter consideration of the effects of each.

Selectman Dale Donovan sought to have the Board send the draft amendments to the Planning Board for a public hearing, but other Selectmen wanted more time for review and discussion by themselves and Town Counsel.

To  keep the seven amendments on track for a public hearing on September 17, the Board scheduled a special meeting on Tuesday, August 19, to go over them in depth, with legal counsel’s and the public’s input, and to produce a revised version for the Planning Board for the latter’s August 20 meeting.

See “Selectmen Take Step toward Zoning Changes,” M. Miller, WickedLocal:Wellfleet, Aug. 16, 2008; “Wellfleet to Weigh Zoning Decisions,” D. Fraser, CapeCodTimes, Aug. 19, 2008.

Spurred by Barbara Gray to move its own Site Plan Review proposal to a public hearing in September, the Planning Board on August 6, 2008, set its next meeting to be decisive for zoning amendment proposals.

Three Board members strongly favor amending “lot coverage” rules while another three strongly favor Site Plan Review, with or without a Special Permit process.  Majority support for SPR might emerge if the Board first agrees on new “sliding scale” lot coverage rules.  A subcommittee was formed to develop these, both for the NSP District and other residential districts.

In addition to coming to agreement on lot coverage when it meets again on August 20, the Board would have to agree on SPR’s quantitative “triggers” and criteria and a possible Special Permit requirement, if these proposals are to be put out for public notice in August.

The Board was also informed that it should expect to receive the Board of Selectmen’s seven proposed ZBL amendments regarding the Seashore District in time for its Aug. 20 meeting.

State law requires a Planning Board “report” and a public hearing on zoning amendments before they can be voted on by a town meeting.

Wellfleet’s Charter requires the Planning Board to utilize the town’s Comprehensive Plan in making recommendations to the town.