Editor:

Yes, Harwich needs more affordable housing. 

The state “suggests” that any new housing development have at least 10 percent available as affordable units, the rest as open market value pricing (to compensate the developer).

A developer, Mid Cape Church Homes, Inc., has submitted plans for a development in North Harwich to our planning board. It’s called Pine Oaks Village 4 (POV4), I believe. The proposed site for the 200-plus units is near the corner of Main Street and very busy/dangerous Queen Anne Road, on a rise a few hundred yards from the Herring River.

When one normally thinks of a village, one imagines pleasant tree-lined streets, neighborhood schools, independent neighborhood grocery and other convenient shops, small businesses for job opportunities, maybe a library, sidewalks for convenient access to all of this and for a safe stroll in the evening. Well, the site chosen for POV4 has none of this. Queen Anne Road is anything but safe. POV4 is miles from almost all village aspects.

Another very serious flaw of this site is that there is no town septic line anywhere nearby. And what I gather from the town’s website is that a septic treatment facility plan, only as a request for funding, may not be until 2030. To propose single home septic tanks for each of the 240-plus units is of course absurd (and illegal, I imagine), so the alternative might well be that the developer must provide an effective septic-treatment facility on site. This must be one that removes nitrogen compounds from the septic water to protect the Herring River and the downstream Harwich West Reservoir from algae blooms and cyanobacteria toxins.

One last problem that I’ll mention is that in the developer’s proposal, I understand, states that if the affordable units are not rented within a reasonable length of time (reasonable to whom?) the units can convert to open-market pricing. If the board allows this waiver, the “affordable housing” can become a sham to simply get a development of full-priced units.

Please, Harwich. Show up at the planning board meeting Sept. 17 at 6:30 p.m. at the community center to voice your disapproval of this proposed development.

Dr. James Fyfe
Harwich

Editor:

I am so grateful to Kevin McLain, executive director of the Chatham Orpheum, for giving me the opportunity to host two events benefiting Cape Cod Alzheimer’s Family Support Center of Cape Cod and N.A.M.I., the National Alliance of Mental Illness. Dr. Lisa Genova gave so generously of her time with the keynote address for the Alzheimer’s event and leading the panel as moderator for the N.A.M.I. event. Lisa’s brilliance is extraordinary; her books have had a profound impact on all of her readers, allowing us to understand the depths of myriad subjects. Thank you to Brian Beneduce, Jackie Lane, Frank Frederickson, Stephanie Briody, Bruce Bierhans and Diane Nash for enriching our community. You are deeply appreciated.

Kim Roderiques
Chatham

Editor:

With the Hawthorne Inn now for sale, the town has a rare chance to solve two problems at once: summer parking shortages and unsafe congestion on Shore Road. Every summer, cars line both sides of the street, creating hazards for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians.

If the town purchased the property, it could be converted into public parking with paid public access to the beach and dune conservation. This would improve safety, reduce the summer chaos, and generate steady revenue. Most importantly, it would make this part of Chatham’s shoreline accessible to everyone. 

Nicholas Heaney
Chatham

Editor:

Harwich is at a pivotal point. The charter commission is rewriting the town’s rule book. The work of this commission shapes the very foundation of how our local town government operates, from where decision-making resides to the level of transparency we expect from our leaders. This document, once completed and approved, acts as a community constitution, and rewriting and reviewing it is no small task.

The decisions made by our local town government impact every resident in Harwich. The charter details responsibilities and duties, and I’ll just mention a few: authority of the select board vs. the town administrator; the impact and degree of development; taxes levied and town fees; entertainment and liquor licenses; preservation and conservation; and town committee makeup and structure. This is why public input is essential. A charter should reflect the values, needs and priorities of the community as a whole. Residents know where our government works well and where it falls short.

A fair and transparent government only happens when citizens help shape it. This is the time to make sure the charter reflects all of us, not just a few. Don’t sit this one out. The commission meets weekly and all are invited to attend and have their voices heard. I invite the public to attend every Thursday evening beginning at 6:30 p.m., but please check the website for location as it sometimes changes, or email Charter.Commission@Harwich-ma.gov.

Louis Urbano
Harwich

Editor:

I enjoyed reading this year’s very informative edition of “Second Summer,” but I was mystified as to why, in Amy F. Tagliaferri’s article discussing local events, Ms. Tagliaferri found it necessary to identify the religion of one particular performer. I was startled to read in her article that the Atwood House was going to feature “Jewish-American violinist Ilana Zaks.” Ms. Tagliaferri mentioned numerous other performers in her article, but apparently did not find it necessary to identify each of their religions. Why did she find it necessary to identify only the religion of a performer who happens to be Jewish?

Ellen Goldman
Chatham

Editor:

We are now living in a Trump-centric nation. All his decisions revolve around monetary gains for himself, his family and his mega donors. His family has reaped billions since his second presidency and yet U.S. farmers are nearing bankruptcy as their crops have been substituted in favor of other nations' crops such as soybeans and rice, all because of tariffs. Farmers who voted for Trump have been totally misled by empty promises and are in jeopardy of losing their farms which have been in their families for generations, only to be bought by corporate farms for pennies on the dollar. Wake up, America!

Edward Fried 
West Chatham

Editor:

Having grown up in a rural town similar to our Cape towns, specifically to Harwich, I learned at an early age to walk on the left side of the road facing the on-coming traffic. (Actually, my mother and I walked a half mile on such a road to the main road where the city bus stopped to take me to kindergarten and delivered me safely back where my mother stood waiting to walk me home on the other side.)

That was decades ago and there were fewer cars, but the rule has not changed. And, as far as I know, joggers classify as pedestrians. These days about 50 percent of the walkers and joggers I encounter are unaware of this rule. Not only do they walk on the wrong side with approaching traffic at their backs, but they do it with babies and toddlers in strollers, man’s best friends, and sometimes two or more abreast! And some even walk at dusk with shadows, dark clothing, dark hats and black dogs! 

Pedestrians have a responsibility for their own safety. Most of them are drivers themselves so they know of what I speak. We all need to be aware of the increased risks of walking on the same side as unseen traffic at our backs. Not only can the approaching traffic not be seen but it cannot be heard because walkers are engaged with their listening devices or chatting on their phones. 

We have another rule about giving cyclists a four-foot clearance. When I learned to drive it was customary to afford pedestrians the same courtesy. On a two-lane road facing oncoming traffic we were taught to slow down until it was safe to go around the pedestrian. Sometimes it seems drivers get as close as they can get whether there is anyone coming the other way or not. We live in a walking town. Let’s be courteous to each other, slow down and, above all, avoid harming each other.

I also encourage town safety boards and local police forces to step up awareness and enforcement of this simple, old rule. If I see you on my road in the wrong place, be assured I will politely suggest you cross over and thank you for making us all safer by doing so. 

Gerie Schumann
Harwich Port

Editor:

I am a homeowner and resident on Stepping Stones Road in Chatham and I live directly across the street to the small parcel of land where the affordable (or attainable) homeownership is planned for eventual development. While I am an advocate of affordable housing, I do not appreciate the way this story is unfolding along Stepping Stones Road. 

Select board member Shareen Davis seems to suggest that the goal for development is to build the most number of “units” into the smallest amount of land (barely two acres) because “density is not an issue as most of the homes in the neighborhood are modest,” and therefore this type of housing would not be out of place in the neighborhood. While this comment is not entirely true (and somewhat offensive) as many of the homes are on half-acre lots (or more), it points to the bigger question of what the board and affordable housing trust is trying to achieve for home ownership for the working middle class in Chatham. Is the goal to meet the state criteria for attainable housing and to build “units” into very tight spaces with little regard for the people who will eventually live or even own here? We need an engaged dialog here, and this does not seem to be a good start.

Why can’t the folks who are running the town on behalf of all of us engage with the very people who would like to own a home, and then potential homeowners might be able to participate in a meaningful way so they can own equity in their own community? Let's give an opportunity to our firefighters, police officers, teachers, and nurses and build “units” that are appealing and ones that individuals who work in the community would actually like to live in and own equity in their home. It seems reasonable that potential plans realistically and honestly consider the factors such as topography of the land that will affect the number of units a developer can reasonably fit into the space; these are not necessarily “restrictions” but factors that need to be discussed now with all potential developers so they can come up with a realistic plan.

Please let's do a better job at planning in this early stage and not just pass it off to bigger problems down the road. 

Dorothy Hopton
Chatham

Editor:

Are you concerned about housing, affordability, water quality, overdevelopment, open space loss, species declines, drought, severe storms, or climate change — or all of the above? If so, Sierra Club’s Cape Cod and Islands Group encourages you to review the draft update to the Cape Cod Regional Policy Plan (RPP) which addresses concerns like these across Barnstable County. 

The RPP is the county’s land use and resource protection plan, guiding local comprehensive plans developed by individual towns as well as regional regulation of large developments. Prepared and implemented by Cape Cod Commission, the updated RPP is available for public comment through Sept. 24 at www.capecodcommission.org.

We recommend your RPP review begin by comparing today’s concerns both to the RPP’s vision, which imagines the Cape’s future "as a place of vibrant, sustainable and healthy communities and a protected natural environment,” and to the commission’s updated growth policy for 2026 and beyond, which states: “Growth should be focused in centers of activity and areas supported by adequate infrastructure and guided away from areas that must be protected for ecological, historical or other reasons. Development should be responsive to context, allowing for the restoration, preservation and protection of the Cape’s unique and finite resources while promoting economic, environmental, and community resilience." 

These are welcome additions to the current growth policy, which was approved in 2019. But does the draft RPP provide the course corrections needed to achieve the future vision? Under the Cape Cod Commission Act of 1989, the commission is required by state law to protect “unique natural, coastal, historical, cultural, and other values that are threatened by uncoordinated or inappropriate uses of the region’s land and other resources.

Please join Sierra Cape Cod in submitting RPP comments that urge the commission to focus regional planning and regulation on promoting resource protection and sustainability, rather than development and growth. Even a single-sentence comment can help in saving Cape Cod’s future. 

Chris Powicki,
and members of the executive committee of Sierra Club’s Cape Cod and Islands

Editor:

It is my sense that the zoning board of appeals feels quite challenged at the moment as it tries to marry its responsibility to support codes created in the past by Harwich citizenry with the consequences such a large development as Pine Oaks Village 4 will bring forth. Their job has been made all the more difficult by the 40B process foisted on us by a few neighbors and sellers of land who chose to be stewards of state funding opportunities at the expense of local control. These sellers and petitioners have taken away our local ability to deliberate. They have given away significant town power. They have created a selfish power grab in the guise of selflessness, all at the expense of local oversight.

Be they the sellers of land or advocates of more housing, surely a 242-unit project is not one they would envision for their own back yards. At the recent planning board meeting, the town planner expressed her opinion that the project would “improve some traffic issues on Queen Anne Road” and “serve the broader needs of Cape Cod.” The town planner is certainly not serving my broader needs. It is likely, however, that increased traffic will not be a significant enough cudgel for the ZBA to flatten PO4. And the peer review process which supports project development is but a joke. My hope lies with the conservation commission, which is in a position to support all the expense and hard work the town and the HCT have put in to date in order to revive the Herring River estuary. The clear cutting of a major swath of woodland, the ensuing runoff from large roofs and large parking lots that will feed the headwaters of the river only cheapen all the efforts and hard work that are making the river clean. Let's hope that concern for Herring River will help the ZBA preserve that last bit of rural character we have in Harwich. We do not need to provide “the big bedroom” for the Lower Cape at the expense of our water quality.

Matt Sutphin
Harwich

Editor:

The Chase Park Croquet Club wishes to thank The Cape Cod Chronicle and Tim Wood for its coverage of all our events.

We also wish to thank the Chatham maintenance workers for helping us maintain our fine field.

Connie Loomis
Chatham

Editor:

They did come! One hundred and two of them. They came wearing braces, using canes and walkers, being assisted by relatives or friends, but they came.

Not only did they come, but they came to their old alma mater, the old Orleans High School (now the Nauset Regional Middle School) thanks to the generosity of the Nauset Regional High School Committee, which provided access to the school and the janitorial services needed for 100-plus old people.

A special thanks to The Cape Cod Chronicle for providing reporter Nick Christian to cover the event and take photos.

The food was provided by caterer Mary Bakas of Mary’s Fine Provisions from Chatham, whose team excelled in the quality and distribution of everything.

For the alumni of the now defunct Orleans High School, it was nothing short of historical. You can do the math to determine ages of attendees but there were representatives from classes as far back as 1951. Being able to re-acquaint yourself with "kids" you went to school with, or even old flames, brought back so many memories.

This event would not have been possible without the brainchild of Barbara Neese Fulcher and her committee consisting of Carole Toomey Flint, Pam Crosby Ryder, Susan Gill Thompson, Mary Mayo Deschamps, Harriet Knowles Martin, Janice MacArthur Rich and Carol St. Aubin. Thanks to you all!

Pete Norgeot
Orleans

Editor:

There are few words to describe how it felt to drive by 162 Shore Rd. in Chatham to see only the skeletal remains of the front wall of what was an iconic historic house. The previously approved plan to restore it seems to have been violated. The results are shocking. 

“A society is defined not only by what it creates, but for what it refuses to destroy,” said John Sawhill. This property owner and builder have failed to respect this truth. The town of Chatham has lost again. It is time to Protect Our Past.

Ellen Briggs, founder, president
Protect Our Past
Chatham 

Editor:

I write today not just as a concerned citizen but as someone who appreciates a good chuckle and the tireless efforts of our select board — those brave souls who devote themselves to the great and winding adventure of town management. I recently read the letter “Do The Job Or Resign” (Sept. 11), and while I respect her steadfast commitment to identifying every pothole, paperclip, and perceived slight in our fair town, I feel compelled to offer a counterpoint.

Let’s address the elephant in the meeting room: compensation. The select board, compensated the princely sum of $166.67 a month, manages to keep the wheels of local government spinning, even when those wheels occasionally look suspiciously oval. In a world where you can’t buy a lobster roll and a parking permit for less than $200, their “salary” is about enough to cover one dinner out — if you skip the appetizer and politely decline dessert.

To say these folks don’t work enough is like saying the Cape Cod sun “could be a little warmer.” Have you seen the length of those meetings? If they charged by the minute, they’d rival streaming services — except with fewer plot twists and a lot more talk about zoning regulations. These individuals voluntarily subject themselves to the joy of public comment (and, sometimes, public lament), all for the privilege of deciding if the gazebo needs a fresh coat of paint or if the library cat should be given a key to the town.

The writer claims they don’t work hard enough. I’d challenge anyone to try wrangling the budget, fielding phone calls from residents convinced their neighbor’s garden gnome is a security risk, and then making time to nod sagely at every mention of “traffic calming.” It’s a marathon — on a merry-go-round. If they were paid by the hour, their monthly stipend would buy them a cup of coffee at the local café, assuming they bring their own mug and promise to leave before the lunch crowd arrives.

As for the writer’s reputation as one of our most enthusiastic commentators, I say let’s celebrate it! Every town needs someone who finds fault with the speed of the recycling truck or the existential threat posed by seagulls on Main Street. Still, let’s spare a thought for the select board members, who greet each critique with the patience of saints — and, if you look closely, the glazed look of people who have heard the phrase “in my day…” one too many times.

So next time you see a select board member, shake their hand, buy them a coffee (with cream — let’s splurge!), and thank them for keeping the town afloat on the modest salary of a Netflix subscription. They may not be perfect, but they’re ours. And that, dear editor, is worth more than $166.67 and a lifetime supply of the letter writer’s suggestions.

Tom Clarke
West Chatham