Brewster will hold a virtual community forum on the future of the former Sea Camps properties on Thursday, the third of four sessions ahead of a vote expected to be put before the annual town meeting.
The forum will start at 6 p.m., focusing on scenarios for the redevelopment of the former day and overnight camps, which include the 66-acre Pond Property at 500 W.H. Besse Cartway and the 55-acre Bay Property at 3057 Main St.
“The majority of the virtual forum will be a presentation by the design team and town staff to explain the plans in progress for both properties,” according to a flyer about the event town leaders issued.
Voters at a special town meeting in September 2021 overwhelmingly approved buying the Sea Camps from the Delahanty family, which closed the camps in 2020 after decades in business. The Pond Property was bought for $6 million and the Bay Property cost $20 million. Both purchases were ratified at a special election in October of the same year.
“The properties offered opportunities for significant public benefits, including conservation of land, coastal dunes, and wetlands; habitat and drinking water protection; beach access; a home for a community center; extensive recreational amenities; and community housing,” according to the town.
Potential plans residents will hear about at the Thursday forum were formulated in recent months with comments from the community, gathered at previous forums and through surveys.
Town leaders also plan to highlight “important town context about a potential community center, housing and municipal uses up for consideration on the properties.” After the main presentation, participants will be assigned to virtual breakout groups to give their thoughts and ask questions.
Written comments will also be accepted by email after the forum.
In October, some of the conceptual plans were shared during a joint meeting of the Select Board and the planning committees assigned to each property. At that time, a community center, housing, municipal uses and potential partnerships were discussed.
“Resident input at the forums and through the surveys has demonstrated strong interest in the idea of reusing buildings on the Bay Property as part of a community campus,” according to the town. “However, residents have also expressed interest in many activities and programs that may not be accommodated by only renovating existing structures.”
Seasonal housing for workers is among the ideas for the Bay Property, while some have raised concerns about how housing development on the Pond Property could affect the environment.
Town leaders are suggesting that some year-round, deed-restricted housing should be developed on at least one of the properties. This would avoid the town having to buy more land in the future to meet the state’s requirement for towns to attain, at minimum, 10% affordable housing stock.
There is also interest among residents in partnering with Mass Audubon at both properties and with the Brewster Conservation Trust at the Pond Property.
According to the town, planning committee and Select Board members agree that the Pond Property plans “should include an area designated for conservation that covers at least 60% of the parcel, recognizing that further conversations with Brewster Conservation Trust would be needed to clarify their specific interests in terms of potential future uses of the property.”
The town is working with Reed Hilderbrand Landscape Architects on the planning.
A fourth and final public forum to present a final comprehensive plan for the properties is expected to take place early in 2024, followed by a vote on the plans at the May town meeting.
For more information, visit the project page at www.brewster-ma.gov/cape-cod-sea-camps-properties
To attend the fourn, find the meeting link online at www.tinyurl.com/SeaCampsZoom11-30
Meeting ID: 822 2004 4021Passcode: 778811
To submit comments, email [email protected] (Bay Property) or [email protected]v (Pond property)
Heather McCarron writes about climate change, environment, energy, science and the natural world, in addition to news and features in Barnstable and Brewster. Reach her at [email protected], or follow her on X @HMcCarron_CCT
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