Downtown Redevelopment – In It For The Long Haul

In 2004 we rezoned Dennisport to restore some of its old luster.  In 2007 we made similar changes to West Dennis to promote reinvestment in that village as well.  Some have asked “why haven’t we seen any changes since these rezonings?”  I like to remind people who ask those questions, that when we proposed the [...]

Cape Cod Commission Growth Zone Relief

The Cape Cod Times had an article today that you all should familiarize yourself with, Cape Cod Commission reform proposed.  The article highlights a discussion between the Assembly of Delegates and the Cape Cod Commission on the idea that the Commission should reduce its review role in certain development areas that meet the rigid criteria [...]

Impacts of Vacant Property

Here is an interesting article regarding the hardest hit areas of the country by the current economic crisis.  While the article focuses on housing, the same can be said about commercial vacancies.  A couple of choice quotes:
“Empty housing feeds upon itself.”
“The drop in property values lead to fewer buyers, which lead to more vacancies.”
Just something [...]

Strong Villages – West Dennis To The Tens

Continuing the discussion of the Power of Ten and how it applies to Dennis, I will next turn my attention to the village of West Dennis.  West Dennis provides a number of activity centers, both public and private.  The discussion of West Dennis will start in the heart of the village, and work its way [...]

What Makes a Strong Village?

As I look over our planning efforts and the future efforts on the Local Comprehensive Plan, one thing that comes to mind is what makes our villages strong? Similarly, we can ask, how can we improve our villages that are not so strong? The Project for Public Spaces had one such discussion, and [...]

The Commercial Zoning Districts of Dennis – Part 2 The West Dennis Village Center Zoning Districts

It started in the late 1990’s with the restoration of the West Dennis Graded School. This building has become the focal point of community groups from the Girl Scouts to Weight Watchers. It continued with the creation of an accessible playground by the Dennis Committee on Disabilities adjacent to the village center. Next the town [...]