The Narrative Begins: 19 November 2009

On 19 November 2009, the Dennis Town Planner convened a meeting of his Economic Development Committee to hear input from owners of cottages and RVs along Old Wharf Road in Dennisport. This is a partial (but literal) transcript and excerpt [30:55-33:33] from the archived Town video of that meeting.

“Control over future land use.

“I think this is the big thing that this committee was looking at. Ah, right now, as I’ve said several times, hotels are a ‘Yes’ in this zoning district. And, ah, that means that the Town cannot say ‘No’ if it complies with the z- minimum requirements of zoning we don’t have a lotta control, say, ‘Gee, what you’re showing just isn’t the right fit for the Town of Dennis.’ 

“So y’know trying to put out a vision like a hotel that might be on one side of the street and maybe a waterfront conference facility that might be on the other side of the street and y’know open sandy beaches ah is an idea saying y’know y’know thirty years fifty years from now ah if there is a transition, what would you we like it to look like ahhh wouldn’t be as I’ve seen in some ah recent reports out of Hingham and other places ah a high-density housing development that puts a wall of single-family homes on the south side of Old Bass River- oh uh Old Wharf Road and uh then that’s possible, because zoning allows fourteen housing units on Chase’s Ocean Grove. Ah, so they could cluster and put all those housing units on one side of the street and totally wall off the water if someone decided that was the only economical way to use the property.

“Another option is, this is a Hingham project, forty-six housing units on the waterfront is a 40B. Ah, there are homes selling for 1.6 million alongside homes selling for 170,000. Ah, and, y’know things happen and we’re just like we’d like to have more control over what happens in this area if something were to happen. And actually that control may actually scare some people away who don’t want to have to live to the Town design standards.

“So, that’s why we’ve called for fewer by-right uses in this district and placing many of the current by-right uses under special permit authority. Ah, we’re looking at the existing land uses, the lawfully pre-existing structures are grandfathered. So, cottage colonies, the RV parks will remain as long as the property owners allow the use to remain. And that’s why I keep saying, if you guys become your property owners y’know you’re going to allow yourself to remain. Ah, structures that are constructed or expanded without proper permits and zoning relief do place a lawfully pre-existing status in jeopardy. So, ah, what I’m saying is, ‘Don’t do anything without proper permits, because then y’know someone could come in and order your building removed because you’ve surrendered your grandfather rights if you don’t do things the right way.”