EDC Votes to Recommend Increased Off-Season Access in Seasonal Resort Community Properties

On January 19th the Economic Development Committee re-visited the issue of off-season access to winterized cottages in the Seasonal Resort District.  As I previously mentioned, here, when we were reviewing the Seasonal Resort Community Zoning for most of that time period we were looking at ensuring these properties were available during the off-season to attract these summer residents back for various school vacations.  At the very last meeting before the by-law went to Public Hearing this was changed from allowing ten days of off-season access in any thirty day period to only four days.

As the EDC did not want this issue to be a stumbling block to the adoption of the by-law, they agreed to this change, with the promise to revisit it in the future.

Over the past few weeks, I had a poll up on the blog that asked if you supported a longer off-season stay, or the shorter four day restriction.  Twenty-nine people responded, all in favor of the longer stay.

The EDC believes the longer stay will provide the following benefits to the town:

• Increased off-season spending in town by these seasonal residents as some may decide to visit during Christmas or February school vacations.
• Improved public safety/reduction in vandalism on the properties as the possibility of a cottage being occupied will increase the risk of a vandal being caught in the act.
• Improved functioning of waste water treatment facilities on these properties as having some level of off-season flow will maintain the bacteria needed to digest waste in the systems.

For those reasons, the EDC voted to recommend extending the off-season stay from the four days presently in the by-law to fifteen days.  While there was discussion of allowing unfettered access to these properties in the off-season, the EDC wants to see how this works for a couple of years first.

The proposed zoning amendment is as follows:

o See if the Town of Dennis will Vote to Amend Section 12 Seasonal Resort Community Districts Subsection 12.6 Provisions Affecting All Seasonal Resort Communities Part A. by making the noted deletion (strike-through) and addition (bold italic):

A. Seasonal Resort Communities may be open between April 1^st and October 31st, inclusive. Seasonal Resort Communities may provide for short term use, up to four fifteen days in any thirty day period, during the remainder of the year, provided that there is an occupancy permit which ensure sanitary facilities are provided.

By: Economic Development Committee

Heritage Sands Update

The Dennis Economic Development Committee met this morning to learn about the status of the Heritage Sand Seasonal Resort Community Project.  Robert Brennan, counsel to the project, provided an overview of their efforts since the zoning change passed.  The slides are below as is a link to the full Powerpoint presentation.

Full Slide Show

Heritage sands edc january 2012

View more presentations from Town of Dennis, MA

Economic Development Committee Meeting

There will be an Economic Development Committee Meeting on Thursday January 19, 2012 at 9 am in the Downstairs Large Hearing Room at Dennis Town Hall.  The Agenda is as follows:

1.    Village Wayfinding Signs – Request Board of Selectmen schedule a Public Hearing and Place on Annual Town Meeting Warrant

2.    Length of Off-season Stays in Seasonal Resort Community Cottages

3.    “Heritage Sands” Development Project Presentation

 

Something To Keep an Eye On

From time to time I have posted about the condition of the local housing market.  As many know, for sometime foreclosures have been an issue in Dennis and elsewhere on Cape Cod.  Foreclosures disrupt peoples lives, and the longer they remain vacant, impact surrounding properties.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has made a suggestion to allow/encourage banks to rent these properties rather than leave them vacant, Bernanke calls for nationwide REO rental program.

Such  program could have benefits for Dennis.  According to Foreclosures.com and Foreclosuresmass.com Dennis has 31 residential properties currently being marketed that have been or are in the process of foreclosure.  These are scattered through-out town, and generally are now vacant properties.  Long term vacant properties pull down neighborhoods as lawns are left unkempt and buildings begin to deteriorate.

The Bernanke solution is to allow/encourage banks to rent these properties out.  Bernanke sees this as a boost to the economy, it is quite likely such a process could also be a major boost to the neighborhood where the house is located.  Stay tuned.

Now, if they could just figure out how to keep the original homeowner in the house as the bank’s tenant, we could really be onto something….

Keep Up To Date On What Is Happening At Heritage Sands/Grindell’s Ocean View Park

During the Summer of 2010 we worked diligently to create a new niche for the seasonal resort properties in Dennis.  Since completing the rezoning, I have tried to keep people up-to-date on happenings that look to the long-term future of the area.  Below are several options available to you to keep up to date on the happenings at Heritage Sands/Grindell’s Ocean View:

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/#!/HeritageSands

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Heritage-Sands/318278924857283

Web: http://www.heritagesands.com/

Dennisport Higher Regional Review Threshold Request

On December 6th the Dennis Board of Selectmen shall be asked to join the Planning Board in voting to request the Cape Cod Commission raise the thresholds for Developments of Regional Impact within Dennisport Village Center.  The proposal, as discussed previously has been developed in close coordination with the Cape Cod Commission and has been a long term effort of the Dennis Economic Development Committee and the Dennisport Revitalization Committee.  For the past seven years these two committees and Town and Commission staff have worked to prepare a proposal that works both for the Town and the Commission.  The full report can be found at this link.

Heritage Sands Update

I received the following Tweet over the weekend as to the status of the changes that will be occurring at Grindell’s Ocean View RV Park.  I thought I would pass it along for those wondering what is happening:

NewCapeCottages Heritage Sands

Now comes the hard part – narrowing down 16 amazing #capecod #cottage designs by @DPowersArchs to our pre-construction sales offerings!

Revitalizing Main Street, Dennisport Regional Regulatory Relief Proposal Summary

On November 7, 2011 the Dennis Planning Board will hold a public hearing to receive comments on a request to the Cape Cod Commission to modify the thresholds for triggering Regional Development of Regional Impact reviews. The town is requesting the Commission increase the thresholds within the Dennisport Village Center Zoning Districts. The hearing will begin at 7 pm and will be held in the Large Hearing Room at Dennis Town Hall. The reasoning behind the request, the request itself, and the benefits to the Village are described below.

REASONING

Cape Cod Commission DRI thresholds, the cost in both time and money of Cape Cod Commission review and the costs of redevelopment within urbanized centers all tend to favor development within “greenfield” areas over redevelopment in urban centers. Higher thresholds for redevelopment and removing the burden of Cape Cod Commission involvement in this redevelopment, is critical to off-setting the cost of redevelopment. The state and the Regional Policy Plan both support Smart Growth development over sprawl. The requested relief will provide development thresholds in the Dennisport Village Center that will accommodate smart growth, urban redevelopment, and mixed use development that will guide growth into an area where walking, bicycling and public transportation are viable options, and development densities will provide viable, cost effective waste water treatment, and away from greenfield areas which do not support these alternatives. Chapter H and this request for relief provides an opportunity to use the Commission Regulatory scheme to promote concentrated development and provide urban center redevelopment with a financial advantage over “greenfield” development.

The Town of Dennis is seeking threshold changes for the Dennisport Village Center Areas A and B under Chapter H of the Cape Cod Commission Regulations of General Application Municipal Application for Revisions to DRI Thresholds consistent with the Cape Cod Commission Regional Policy Plan and the adopted Town of Dennis Land Use Vision Map. The two zoning districts represent the smart growth approach to planning, by bringing housing, shopping and working together in a mixed use environment. The Dennisport Village Center has been recognized as an example of Smart Growth by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and by the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Planning Association. The district promotes and requires adding a housing element to an otherwise commercial area, there-by creating the opportunity to re-create the type of village that was once indicative of the Dennisport Village Center.

The town’s rezoning of the Dennisport Village area has improved the development climate at the local level, establishing density increases to promote new investment, and providing clear guidance on moving through the local development review process. The town is looking at the Proposed Changes to Thresholds in Dennisport as an opportunity to further improve the development approval process by reducing regional permitting requirements, red tape and added costs due to the application process and simply the time involved in getting a permit approved. The town believes that the zoning implemented for this area is consistent with both the Dennis Local Comprehensive Plan and the Cape Cod Commission’s Regional Policy Plan.

THE REQUEST

In order to promote the redevelopment of this area, the town is seeking two changes to the Cape Cod Commission Development Review process. These changes modify thresholds to encourage property owners to reinvest in the village. This reinvestment will promote an improved business and environment, and improved environmental quality (septic upgrades, improved drainage, etc.).

Specifically the town is asking the Commission to modify the Development of Regional Impact review criteria in the following fashion:

• For mixed use projects increase the development review threshold to 45,000 sf provided that no commercial component may exceed 15,000 sf without triggering DRI review and provided that no residential component may exceed 30 residential units or 45 bedrooms without triggering DRI review.
• For the change of use of existing floor space, to raise the regional review threshold from the existing 10,000 sf of floor area to 15,000 sf of floor area.

This change will promote mixed use redevelopment in the village, where development costs will be significantly higher than to develop in “greenfield” areas.

As part of this request, the town recognizes that a small portion of the Village Center lies within the Swan Pond River Watershed, an area that has been identified for a “no net increase” in nitrogen loading in the Regional Policy Plan. The analysis in this report suggests that there is only one property within this watershed which might benefit by the requested relief, and that the property has alternatives to allow the location of wastewater facilities outside of the Swan Pond River Watershed. The town suggests the following condition as part of this Chapter H Approval:

• Development on Dennis Assessor’s Map 89 Parcel 28 ( 197 Upper County Road) shall locate its waste water treatment facilities on a portion of the property located outside of the Swan Pond River Watershed.

BENEFITS TO THE VILLAGE

The proposed non-residential threshold changes represent, under a theoretical full build-out scenario, 41,596 sf of non-residential development. The threshold increase would create the opportunity for a more vibrant Dennisport Village Center. This floor space represents the development potential across 14 parcels which theoretically expand by over 10,000 sf of non-residential floor space. While a few of these parcels could theoretically exceed 15,000 sf, most of the lots benefit by being allowed to modestly exceed the 10,000 sf threshold by one or two thousand square feet.

The proposed residential change would allow an additional 117 units of housing (33 in the core and 84 in the surrounding area) to be constructed in the village without Commission involvement. Of these 117 units, at least 30, and probably more, would be deed restricted affordable. Of the 33 units in the core, given the exemption provided to the building at the corner of Route 28 and Hall Street, most of these 33 units would be exempted even without the proposed change.

Finally, the change of use provisions provide an opportunity for most buildings in the district to change their use under the strict interpretation of a “change of use” used by the Cape Cod Commission without triggering regional review.

Dennisport Chapter H Regulatory Review Relief UPDATE

I had a very productive meeting with the Cape Cod Commission on Thursday September 8th regarding the request for regulatory relief under Chapter H of the Commission’s Implementing Regulations.  At this stage we are ready to ask the Commission to modify its review standards for development projects in the Village of Dennisport.

The specific relief being requested is:

• For mixed use projects increase the development review threshold to 45,000 sf provided that no commercial component may exceed 15,000 sf without triggering DRI review and provided that no residential component may exceed 30 residential units or 45 bedrooms without triggering DRI review.
• For the change of use of existing floor space, to raise the regional review threshold from the existing 10,000 sf of floor area to 15,000 sf of floor area.

There is one parcel of significant size in the village center area located such that is splits two watershed areas, one which is considered nitrogen sensitive, the Swan Pond River Watershed. In order to ensure that redevelopment of the village center does not adversely affect this watershed, and since there are alternative locations for the site’s waste water, I am suggesting the following condition of approval of the Chapter H relief request be considered:

• Development on Dennis Assessor’s Map 89 Parcel 28 ( 197 Upper County Road) shall locate its waste water treatment facilities on a portion of the property located outside of the Swan Pond River Watershed.

The next step are:

• September 15, 2011 review the document one more time with the Dennis Economic Development Committee and request they ask the Planning Board and Board of Selectmen to endorse the increase in Development of Regional Impact threshold changes.
• Planning Board holds an advertised public hearing on the request – presently targeting late October or early November.
• Board of Selectmen vote to endorse the request – targeting late October or early November.
• Submit to Cape Cod Commission – targeting before Thanksgiving.

The full report can be found at this link: Dennsiport Chapter H Relief Request.

More Census Population Information

I just completed doing a comparison of Census Population shifts between 2000 and 2010 at the smallest Census geographic level, known as the block level.  This was a bit of a challenge as these small data areas actually changed dramatically between the two censuses and many boundaries did not remain the same.  After working with correlation tables provided by the Census Bureau I can provide the following map which illustrates where we grew and where we lost population.

As I noted here, the Town of Dennis lost 1,766 year-round residents between 2000 and 2010.  The map illustrates that the population loss was spread out pretty evenly through out town, with every village having areas with fewer year-round residents.  The map also identified an under-count in the 2000 Census, the Eagle Pond Nursing Home does not appear to have been counted by census takers in 2000, thus what appears to be a dramatic 117 person increase in population in an Industrial Zone although only four new homes were constructed within this Census geographical area in this time period.

Some of the changes are pretty obvious to the trained eye, there are neighborhoods with older, and more recent, subdivisions which started building new homes, accounting for population growth in these areas.  Other changes are more subtle, a shift between seasonal and year-round housing having some neighborhoods with more people and others with fewer people on Census Day.

The next step is to do the same analysis for the actual housing stock.