Cape Cod Commission, Massachusetts (1990)
Topics: Environment | legislation
The Cape Cod Commission was created in 1990 by an Act of the Massachusetts General Court and confirmed by a majority of Barnstable County voters. In the wake of an unprecedented growth boom in the 1980s, the Cape Cod Commission Act found that Cape Cod had “unique natural, coastal, historical, cultural and other values which are threatened by uncoordinated or inappropriate uses of the region’s land and other resources.” The Commission is a regional planning and regulatory agency that reviews and regulates Developments of Regional Impact (DRIs), and recommends designation of certain areas as Districts of Critical Planning Concern. The Commission protects groundwater, encourages neighborhood businesses, and restricts development which harms the character of the Cape, including new malls. Unplanned growth brings traffic jams, mounting trash and water quality problems. The state law gives the Commission authority to prepare and oversee the implementation of a regional land-use policy plan for all of Cape Cod, to recommend for designation specific areas of Cape Cod as districts of critical planning concern, and to review and regulate developments of regional impact, which is defined as, “a development which, because of its magnitude or the magnitude of its impact on the natural or built environment, is likely to present development issues significant to or affecting more than one municipality, and which conforms to the criteria established in the applicable standards and criteria for developments of regional impact.” The Commission can adopt regulations establishing minimum criteria for local comprehensive plans, and revoke the certification of a municipality’s local comprehensive plan if the municipality fails to make its development by-laws consistent with said plan within the time allowed under this section.
