More on Who's Plan Is It

Following up on the last post, I found the following news story particularly telling, Town Meeting Will Consider Growth Management Plans. It seems that in 1996 the Town of Sandwich forwarded a plan to the Cape Cod Commission for a consistency finding. The Commission rejected the plan. The town did not adopt the 1996 plan, and took 12 more years to complete a revised plan. The question is, is this new plan really the town's own vision? Or is it a plan the town feels will meet with reional approval?

One has to wonder, it a town takes several years, and many, many hours of volunteer and town staff time to craft a local vision. Then goes through a variety of public hearings, why must it be held to the standards of another entity?

The 1996 Sandwich Plan met Massachusetts Chapter 41 Section 81D requirements. I served on the Sandwich Planning Board, which doubled as the Local Planning Committee in the late 1990's after the plan was rejected by the Commission. The plan addressed all the usual requirements. It had recommendations, some of which had already been put into action, for affordable housing, open space protection, water supply protection, solid waste, waste water management and economic development. The 1996 Plan did not meet the Minimum Performance Standards set in the Regional Policy Plan. The Planning Board was disheartened. Several members stepped down. The new Board members were frustrated. The efforts dragged on, and ultimately lagged as other issues - updated open space plan, creation of an affordable housing plan, etc. took priority.

I applaud the town for completion of a plan. I hope it is truly the town's vision. I hope that, if it is the town's vision, the town will adopt the plan regardless of Cape Cod Commission endorsement.