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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLCP General Public Comments_12-06-2022Village What is your vision for the future of Barnstable for the next 10 years Barnstable Sustainable, walkable, accessible to all with emphasis on reduced use of gas in both public and private vehicles. Osterville For Barnstable, and EACH of its villages, to become a more appealing place for both residents and tourists. The new Tractor Supply Store in Hyannis does the opposite (an eyesore for visitors and for its local residents). Businesses like this should be restricted, for example, to the Independence Drive area of Hyannis. Furthermore, with plenty of empty business buildings around, new ones should be encouraged to locate in them rather than on undeveloped land. And when undeveloped land like this is at risk, Community Preservation Funds should be used. NEXT, the local housing crisis. Barnstable needs to address the current trend of individuals/developers (in state & out of state) buying homes to be vacation rentals, reducing the available housing stock for our residents. Limit AirBnB’s to homes that are owner-occupied at least 9 months of the year? No short-term rentals in our residential neighborhoods? Higher taxes on these to make them less profitable? And to increase housing options for middle & lower income residents, focus on new rental units, such as apartments & townhouses, with exteriors that “fit in” on Cape Cod, and carefully located (walk to transportation & jobs). These can more efficiently/quickly increase our housing. As I proposed above for businesses, this should never be on undeveloped land (which should be preserved). Finally, historic preservation is always important - our old architecture is partly what draws visitors to the Cape. Cotuit Clean water, better sewage management, controlled growth with emphasis on expanded lower cost housing, improved transport to Boston. Local Comprehensive Plan General Public Comment Barnstable needs to remain a small town. Being a small town is what makes this a great place to live. Large scale construction and bowing to the wishes of the ultra rich, who spend only a matter of weeks per year in our community, is not how this town should proceed. Re-open the public shooting range. Restrict the hours if needed to reduce noise. Install acoustic buffers. Increased membership costs is acceptable, having it closed is simply not in any way acceptable. When the nearby property owners complain, remind them that the range was in place before they bought their homes and that it was acceptable to them when they purchased. Work with the state government to ensure that large portions of the states infrastructure funding makes its way to the Cape. I'm getting tired of the terrible roads, terrible internet options and speeds, and the fact that cell phone coverage in certain areas is a joke. We lose calls all over Barnstable. While it is true that housing in Barnstable is hard to find for young families and persons with lower income there are fewer options here that present themselves well to the existing town residents. Large apartment complexes and condo's are not the answer. They may seem like a good short term solution but when they are built as low cost they tend to be low quality and they look very unappealing after short periods. I have seen this in other towns and cities off Cape. It is also inevitable that as soon as the property owner can increase rent, it will happen and force low income tenants out, I have seen this in the past too. A good solution is difficult to institute but if the town decided to limit the number of large construction projects (over 3000sqft) and favor unlimited development of homes at 1200-2000sqft this may help the issue. I see too many >3000sqft and huge waterfront homes going up where no one will live and not enough smaller homes being built. Resource protection is also extremely important. The town should hire trained resource monitors and advisers to track not only natural resources but industrial resources too. The Cape Cod Commission does not do enough here after construction. Resource Advisers could travel to businesses and advise on ways save energy. This is beyond what programs like Mass Save does. I have worked at companies and been in stores around the area that waste so much energy because of lazy practices. Things like leaving lights on in empty rooms, leaving door open the allow outside temperatures in, wasteful use of water, as well as many others. There should also be town water department inspectors that actually enforce water restrictions in time of drought. Over the summer I saw the big multi-million dollar homes watering their lawns twice a day while we were under extreme drought conditions. The rich should not be allowed to pay their way past restrictions, while the rest of us follow the rules and suffer the consequences. The economy on Cape Cod is very hospitality oriented which is great. We all love to go out to eat, enjoy a day trip to a great attraction, enjoy the beaches, and other Cape Cod specific things. The problem is these businesses are closing, either for good or cutting hours due to staff shortages. This affects Barnstable and the people that live and visit here. Over the summer restaurants and businesses were severely under performing and have been since March 2020. Stores and restaurants have sold, closed, or severely reduced hours. This is a drain to the economy and is also difficult to fix. Perhaps the town should look to assist those businesses. If a business has had to cut hours, turn away business, lay off employees or reduce its size in anyway the town should assist with a refund of taxes for that period to help increase available funds which might help the business get more help or increase pay to retain employees. This can be a partial refund or allow future taxes to be postponed or eliminated for a preset time frame. Proposing new taxes on large chain stores or increasing them would be a good idea as well. Stores like Best Buy, Harbor Freight, Dicks Sporting Goods, etc, should be paying more local taxes since a large portion of the money made in those stores is taken out of the local economy. These can be temporary taxes or permanent. Barnstable needs to be more than the Cape Cod home for big box stores, big apartment/condo complexes, hotels, and other mega businesses that detract from the small town feel. The less Barnstable looks like a small town, the less it actually is a small town. Cotuit Barnstable Just a comment: I would like to see the Swap Shop at the Town Dump reopen. I was told that a new structure to house it is required. Am wondering if anyone is working on that. The Swap Shop was very popular and an asset the community. Very sorry it is closed. Hyannis An (business) environment where people can earn a great living through the economic development of opportunity - similar to the Falmouth WHOI Model. Barnstable too should share in the opportunities that a Blue Economy offers - yet to date we do not. No longer can Barnstable rely on primarily lower income service and tourist jobs - we must expand our horizons. This would be congruent with the Strategic Plan and offer residents a better life. Economic Development is essential and must be broader than simply real estate and building development which increases the wealth of a select few. Prof. Alan Feltham Former Chair, Town of Barnstable BEDC Hyannis I want to live in a healthy, safe, culturally diverse, friendly/welcoming community that is attractive and provides at minimum: (not in order of priority) -adequate infrastructure and resources, such as clean, safe water; sewers; utilities -adequate, affordable, varied housing to meet the different needs of its residents, -well-equipped and adequate in number fire, police and emergency personnel; -high-quality educational schools/programs pre-k thru Senior continuing ed; -wide variety of opportunities for recreation spanning youth-Senior population; -governed by a representative, transparent and accountable town government, -timely access to primary, preventive, emergency, rehabilitative AND mental Health care -preserve the historical and aesthetic "charm" of Cape Cod that makes Barnstable what it has been...maintain and enforce guidelines on zoning, signage, encourage commercial cooperation in development of malls, etc. -preserve precious open space and undeveloped land -plan for potential climate change, eroding coastlines, etc. -BEWARE of out of town developers Cotuit An inclusive community that caters to both the wealthiest and the poorest among us. WORKFORCE HOUSING We are a community that ensures that future development is "reasonable" (no mega high rise developments, better zoning laws) but that is also dedicated to solving the workforce housing issues by (a) getting a better handle on need (b) holding developers accountable to deliver units, per laws (no exceptions)... I would advocate that 10% would be the floor... NO WAIVERS. We need to get a handle on this. Further, I believe that Barnstable should become both more accountable as well as a stronger advocate for clear, measurable workforce housing goals and deliverables *and reporting progress to the community* on a regular basis (some kind of reporting metrics dashboard should be established and maintained publicly). WATER QUALITY I hope for Barnstable to be a model for Cape Cod in solving the water quality crisis with grants, public/ private partnerships, innovative tests and laws/ regulations that not only preserve the quality of our water today but turn around the dead waters, such as Santuit Pond. Barnstable Beautify the downtown, increase usable open spaces and parks, increase pedestrian and visitor interest, add a major museum or attraction, increase winter attractions and business, ease congestion, and improve connections to other towns and off- cape hubs via biking, rail, and more Barnstable To see Hyannis made into a safe and updated tourist destination: no homelessness, low crime, newer lodgings, updated restaurants, etc. Hyannis has the ocean and all the basics right there to make it like another Naples, FL. Yet it also has a lot working against it. I live here and never go there--don't feel safe. Hyannis Widespread bicycle, pedestrian, and public transportation infrastructure. Strong enforcement of traffic laws. Greatly reduced light and noise pollution. Along with the ocean and ponds, one of the things which drives tourism is Cape Cod's older architecture. Zoning regulations for development of residential and commercial buildings should enforce external styling that employs and pays tribute to historic Cape Cod. Strong, widespread, and proactive enforcement of town code. Ban the sale of nips and single use alcohol containers. Town Department of Public Works collection of trash and recyclables rather than individuals bringing same to transfer station. Ban use of most fertilizers, weed killers, and other poisons on lwans and in gardens. P.S. Thanks for the opportunity to comment. Barnstable To maintain its historical significance, to improve transportation in order to lessen traffic, to maintain population level in keeping w/protection of land/water sources, to support initiative to widen two existing canal bridges. Hyannis Better regulations on occupancy outside storage vehicles. Better appearance and more shops not restaurants. Hyannis Vibrant / modernized Main Street. I’d like to see the Main Street buildings improved and those that are vacant / aging re-purposed. Too many notable vacancies. The liquor store draws too many vagrants. WATER USE MANAGEMENT Develop an incentive program for large (consumer, not commercial) water users to dig their own wells for irrigation. GOING GREEN I believe that the town has an opportunity during sewering to install water gardens that can also help to mitigate runoff. BETTER CIVIC/ SERVICE PARTICIPATION PIPELINE Currently, our District (7) suffers from relatively low civic participation and is challenged to recruit participants with diverse skills, experiences etc. My vision for the Town of Barnstable is that we dedicate resources and efforts to become an exemplary town of civic participation from all walks of life/ constituencies. POLICE/ FIRE RECRUITMENT As with many towns across the nation during this post-COVID era is suffering from understaffed fire, rescue & police personnel. I would like to see the Town of Barnstable address this issue proactively, from providing affordable housing to recruits to developing a cadets-type program either through Cape Cod Tech or on their own to develop (hopefully) a pipeline of recruits, as before. WORKING WITH PROXIMATE TOWNS Further, I hope that Barnstable will engage in active ongoing collaborations with abutting communities. Personally, as a resident on almost-dead Shoestring Bay, which is fed by basically dead Santuit Pond in Mashpee (with a large percentage of homes on the pond without even septic tanks at this time!!!), I have not seen much in the way of collaboration to address these issues, which is worrisome, as water flows in and out of towns. I understand that Yarmouth currently does not have a Water Treatment plant, which is dumping into Hyannis. PUBLIC/ PRIVATE ROADS STANDARDS This is an issue that seems primed to address as part of the 30 year sewering program. I hope Barnstable to be able to sort out the Public/ Private roadway standards (requiring private roadways be held to a standard that allows for safe *at speed* driving for emergency vehicles (which is not the case on parts of Santuit Rd, for example)). New regulations/ laws needed. COMMUNITY SPACE For Cotuit, I hope we can establish a location somewhere where we could have a clearer gathering place where the village can congregate on occasions other than Christmas in Cotuit... perhaps a bandshell by the library or space at the elementary school or something... no clear space really does that (that is not religiously affiliated). Cotuit (continued) Barnstable To clean up Ocean Street to North Street, as these streets are priceless to the town of Barnstable, as you can see in The Historical time of Hyannis. HYANNIS should be The Place on THE MAP, instead to the off season people we are a laugh upon. We could be so much better than Nantucket and SHOULD BE, as we don’t have to catch the ferry in bad weather….. The town should buy the old movie theater on MAIN STREET gut it…..rent it out as market, music, weddings….. Save the water front of Hyannis as it is Historical and PRICELESS and should be on The Map places to go! The Kalmus Beach should have a Town High End Trailer Park of 50….$200-$300 a night. Bringing in some jobs for the disability…. We need to bring more High End things for people to spend their money on so The Town of Barnstable will be wealthy again, as those people are leaving the big cities… Cotuit Public sewer sooner rather than later. The elementary school renovated into a community center for young and old including an open gym Barnstable Attended meeting this week at St Mary’s Church. Lots of great ideas, however, control of PARKING issues should be addressed before any plans are put in place. Cotuit Maintain the small village atmosphere that it has during the off season. More bike lanes or multiuse paths for major roadways such as Putnam & Main. The town doesn't own a wide enough roadway to add bikelanes everywhere but the major higher speed roads extend well beyond the current pavement. If biking felt safe, we could cut the car traffic in town, especially in the summer when it it at its worst. Barnstable In regards to community planning, the most logical long term plan for Barnstable (specifically Cotuit) is to utilize the elementary school as a community center. The first step would be to allocate tax dollars to help assist with asbestos remediation. Once this is achieved a planning committee can set out to program the space. What is needed in the area is a space for events, youth sports, technical help, community garden, a dog park etc. Once planned I strongly think the community and businesses would be very willing to make donations to help achieve this goal. Marstons Mills Test form and the 100 character minimum - The Power of Community Quotes "There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about." – Margaret J. ... "The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members." – ... “Alone, we can do so little; together, we can do so much” – Helen Keller.