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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLCPC General Correspondence1 Maldonado, Kaitlyn From:David Kelly <kellypgh@gmail.com> Sent:Thursday, May 16, 2024 8:54 AM To:Barnstable LCP Subject:Open House I am in support of the Barstable Watch request for a more seriously designed community education and feedback opportunity. Committee Proposes 10-year Strategies for Housing, Land Use Natural Resources, Infrastructure & Seeks Community Feedback on Post It Notes -- David M. Kelly email: Kellypgh@gmail.com phone: 772-539-9770 508-420-1727 1 Maldonado, Kaitlyn From:peter hansen <phansen123@hotmail.com> Sent:Thursday, May 16, 2024 2:01 PM To:Barnstable LCP Subject:LCP Open House Review Dear LCP Committee Members, Thank all of you for your service to the Town of Barnstable. I understand the time and commitment that community service demands and appreciate all that you contribute. I currently serve as a Water Commissioner for COMM; as President of the Osterville Village Association, and on the Board of Save Greater Dowses Beach. Today, I am writing in my personal capacity, as a lifelong resident of this community. Recently I attended the LCP Open House meeting in Osterville. The process frustrated most people there. Osterville residents came to hear about what they were being asked to comment on. They heard none of that. They came to talk about their views but were discouraged from that. Time and again, they were told to stop talking, to get up and to write down their concerns on small squares of paper (Post-It-Notes). It was uncomfortable to watch a room full of people who came expecting to learn and engage feel the need to say out loud 'we want to be heard' and then get up and leave without touching the little papers the Chair kept directing them to. My opinion on this process was that it reminded me of a third-grade class. I believe you need to go back to each village and have a normal public comment session. There were also comments that the recommendations were too vague. Maybe that was intentional in order to minimize objections, but it was not helpful to people who want to understand what is on the table and share their comments. The Land Use chapter had no maps. You can't ask comments on use without telling people on what land. Would recommend to redo that altogether with maps. Many people in the room expressed interest in the Village Plans to help them in being informed on a town plan. There was again mention that the choice not to have Village Plans was made without Council imput. As the son of a Councilor, and a person who has followed town government closely for decades, I have to say it is very out of step to have such an important decision made by staff without community conversation about it, and without Council imput. The lack of village planning is made more concerning by the vagueness, the lack of maps, and the call for developing and redeveloping our villages. I've lived here my entire life and have never heard people express interest in redeveloping the village where I live. The constant message I hear from locals is to keep Osterville the way it is. I have seen the Cape Cod Commission's interest in redeveloping villages with those themes now showing up in the drafts. I urge you in the strongest terms to listen to the people, not to the Cape Cod Commission that made its recommendations distant from the people, or to a consultant. I'll close by sharing with you that at a subsequent community meeting, there was discussion of the need for stepped up public awareness about this planning process and its importance to our future, similar to the public awareness that citizens have brought to the need to protect our environmentally sensitive beaches and village centers from large-scale energy infrastructure. The need for this was confirmed by a very low turn-out 2 in Hyannis. I am committed to helping to raise awareness as this moves along. Please let me know how I can be of assistance. Thank you. Regards, Peter Hansen 1 Maldonado, Kaitlyn From:Bob Schulte <bob.a.schulte@gmail.com> Sent:Thursday, May 16, 2024 2:05 PM To:Barnstable LCP Cc:Bob Schulte Subject:Comments on Process for Draft LCP Chapters Dear LCP Committee Members and Town Planning & Development Staff, I am writing with some general comments on the process being used for development of the LCP, but they also apply to the development of and review of the four draft chapters released to date. As 30-year residents of Centerville, my wife and I (along with many of our friends in Centerville and other Barnstable villages) are extremely concerned that the village-specific concerns of our fellow residents are truly being heard and considered by the LCP committee and Planning & Development staff. From the very start of the process, citizens have expressed concern with the decision by the Planning & Development Department to abandon the longstanding use of a "bottoms up" approach which included the development of "village plans" that would form the basis of an overall plan for the Town. Instead, we were told a "top down" approach would be used because the Town and the Planning & Development department had decided that was what they wanted. My wife and I were unable to attend the Centerville presentation on the draft chapters (which someone who did attend told me had approximately 15 people in attendance - hardly representative of the village of Centerville) and instead attended the Osterville presentation. Unlike the emails we received and information on the LCP website, there was neither a presentation of the draft chapters nor any willingness of the LCP committee members or Town staff present to engage in any discussion or answer any questions from the public about either the LCP process or the draft chapters. All we were instructed to do was leave questions on post-it notes and put colored stickers on charts. As a matter of fact, there weren't even full maps provided which illustrated the areas to be impacted by some of the proposed changes and on which residents were supposed to provide comments on the post-it notes. We were told maps would be provided the next time. How in the world can we be expected to comment on the proposed changes without maps of where the changes would be implemented?? The overwhelming dissatisfaction with the process and lack of willingness by the LCP committee members to answer questions from the public was clearly evident in the comments and mood of the attendees. At the end of the evening, my wife and I were speaking with one of the Centerville representatives on the LCP committee who had attended. We were expressing our concern to her about the use of a "top down" approach for the process and we told her that we felt the unique village concerns of residents were being overlooked. I made a comment to her that I thought that sentiment was clearly evident in the questions and comments being asked by the residents in attendance. She looked at us straight-faced and said, "Well, what do you expect, this is Osterville. These people don't care about anyone but themselves." 2 My wife and I were shocked at this response from a sitting LCP committee member. She is certainly entitled to her personal opinion. However, in my opinion, for a member of your committee to make this blatantly biased comment to a member of the public in a public forum is the kind of action that should disqualify her from being a representative on the committee. She certainly doesn't represent my view/attitude toward my fellow residents of the other villages of Barnstable!! While I understand the need for and applaud the efforts and the many hours spent by the LCP committee members to undertake this process, there have been many questions, concerns and recommendations from the public regarding the process being utilized by the Planning & Development department and the LCP Committee. It's not too late. I ask you to really listen to the concerns expressed by citizens and modify the process so that it is fair and represents the voices of Barnstable's citizens and doesn't simply reach the preordained conclusions desired by the Planning & Development department and its consultants. Regards, Bob Schulte Centerville, MA Here's an interesting article about roads vs streets. ‘Stroads’ Cause Traffic Problems. An Urban Planning Critic Offers Solutions. - WSJ Rt 28 should probably be considered a road - designed to move people / cars along quickly. So with that in mind maybe not better to make every little shopping plaza along Rt 28 into a mini-village center. Unless you want to increase and encourage access from the back for local traffic, pedestrians and bikes. For example, the two side by side plaza's in Centerville - first they should be connected so people can drive from one to the other w/o having to go back out onto Rt 28, and also encourage access from Camp Opechee Rd and Richardson Rd. Thanks. Tara N Lewis 77 Brezner Lane Centerville, MA 1 Maldonado, Kaitlyn From:Anne <anne.o.schulte@gmail.com> Sent:Thursday, May 16, 2024 7:13 PM To:Barnstable LCP Subject:LCPC Comments All, Thank you for the opportunity to make some general comments about the LCP process. Kudos to you all for taking the Ɵme to aƩempt to do this. It’s a huge job. It seems to me that you could have saved yourselves some Ɵme and iniƟal effort if you conƟnued the tradiƟonal method that the past few LCP commiƩees have employed and started by asking for village associaƟon input and their thoughts, comments and ideas and then have those ideas work their way UP the chain of command. I realize that by working top down it most likely suits your purposes more so and thus the desire to have the Planning Department vigorously involved from the get go. If you have listened at all to the feedback I have heard (and I am sure you all have, too), your process was extremely flawed. You adverƟsed that the village meeƟngs you presented would all involve a presentaƟon and discussion. At the one meeƟng I aƩended (in Osterville - not my village but I could not make the night of Centerville’s), NONE of this happened. It seemed like the Wild West…people wanted to ask quesƟons and learn more but instead were repeatedly told, “write your quesƟons or thoughts down on a liƩle sƟcky. Really?!? You were dealing with a room of adults - not second graders. The process was insulƟng. It was also insulƟng that the Planning Department got up at the last LCPC meeƟng and touted the robust engagement all the village meeƟngs drew. Again….Really?!?!? Check your numbers and I think you will find that less than 1% of any village’s populaƟon showed up. Those that DID show up, didn’t leave feeling any beƩer informed. Believe me, as someone who volunteers a lot in this town, I fully know how difficult it is to get people to turn out and par Ɵcipate. Sending noƟces home in backpacks doesn’t seem to be doing the trick. Most people do not subscribe to the Cape Cod Times. Most people do not aƩend Town Council meeƟngs. I am not sure what the answer is to get more people to parƟcipate but I will say that other than aƩending a meeƟng on my own, that I found out about on my own, I have never ever been approached or come across an LCP commiƩee representaƟve who has asked how I feel. Never seen anyone at the BACC, I’ve never dropped off a flyer to a Meals on Wheels client to whom I deliver. I have never come across anyone trying to engage with me at BJ’s or Stop and Shop. I know you have indicated that commiƩee members have been out and about in the community the past two years but WHERE is all the engagement and interac Ɵon happening? I am not a hermit and don’t live under a rock but I feel like unless I take the iniƟaƟve, I am not seen or heard. And when I do speak out (or write) I do not feel acknowledged. I think another flaw in your process was how at a recent LCP meeƟng, two siƫng members of the commiƩee were able to speak during public comment - at length - without being cut off. Any “regular” member of the public is cut off aŌer three minutes. Why did they deserve special treatment? And finally, releasing draŌ chapters 24 hours before the first village meeƟng….whether real or perceived, the percepƟon is that this was done on purpose so that people could not be informed and prepared before the mee Ɵng. I guess that ends up being a moot point as no actual discussion was involved anyway ገጉጊጋጌግጎ. I realize my comments have all focused on process rather than specifics but unƟl process is resolved, it leaves me with no trust in the “system” as it now exists. Thank you for taking the Ɵme to “listen.” Anne Schulte Centerville 2 Sent from my iPad