Editor:

During the Aug. 20 Chatham Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) hearing on the Meetinghouse Road Chapter 40B proposal, ZBA Chair David Nixon offered a revealing glimpse into the mindset steering one of Chatham’s regulatory boards. Beyond a quasi-judicial officer publicly abandoning impartiality to derail an affordable housing project, Nixon exposed a cynical blueprint for managing our community into extinction.

Mr. Nixon dismissed the need to build housing for young families, flippantly declaring that our school population is "for the history books" and suggesting Chatham send its remaining children to neighboring towns via school choice because it is cheaper. This willingness to outsource our youth betrays a grim reality: a town that intentionally exports its children, families and workforce ceases to be a living community — it becomes a resort with a zip code.

Let us be entirely clear: our school enrollment isn't plummeting because of a lack of children on Cape Cod, but because of a catastrophic lack of homes in Chatham for their parents to live in. Who has been on the frontline of this erasure? The very board Mr. Nixon leads.

Operating under flexible zoning rules, the ZBA has routinely granted variances and special permits that allow modest homes to be replaced by sprawling, multi-million-dollar summer retreats. These properties are then permanently locked out of the year-round housing supply and priced light-years beyond the reach of our local workforce — lost forever as year-round housing for families, seniors, or young adults.

Having actively participated in the "mansionization" of Chatham, the ZBA chair now throws up his hands, declares our schools a lost cause, and uses declining enrollment as a cynical justification to deny the housing that could help restore them. Ironically, Mr. Nixon accuses Pennrose of having “no heart” and “no soul” — and being driven strictly by a balance sheet.

If our appointed officials view public schools as an unnecessary expense and working residents as an inconvenient burden, they are trading our authentic community for a shallow veneer — reducing Chatham’s rich history to a mere caricature of itself. It's time for leadership to protect the year-round fabric of our town rather than managing its liquidation.

Karolyn McClelland
South Chatham

Editor:

The way the RTE works is very simple: If you can vote for members of the select board, you benefit. If you can not vote for members of the select board, you are screwed.

Larry Medford
Houston, Texas

Editor:

I am writing to express the support of myself as the executive director of the Harwich Chamber of Commerce and our executive committee and board for the proposed Snow Inn development plan. Since last year, we have appreciated the development team’s willingness to listen to community feedback and make thoughtful adjustments that reflect the needs and priorities of Harwich.

This plan clearly reflects months and months of genuine collaboration with neighbors, town officials, and emergency services. We believe the redevelopment will benefit Harwich Port and the Harwich community on multiple fronts, including: 

The local economy – The project will expand year-round and seasonal jobs, generate significant local tax revenue, and support Harwich’s long-term economic health.

Improved traffic – Staggered event times, expanded valet service, off-site employee parking, and collaboration with Harwich Police on signage and traffic-calming will reduce congestion and improve safety.

The local environment – A new wastewater treatment system and low impact

development practices and elevated building design which will better protect

Merkel Beach, Wychmere Harbor and nearby properties.

We respectfully urge all of our local Harwich boards and commission that the team from Wychmere will be in front of to approve the Snow Inn redevelopment proposal.

Cyndi Williams, executive director
Harwich Chamber of Commerce

Editor:

For many years the Harwich Housing Committee has worked to help the town address its housing needs. Today that work is more important than ever — and the committee itself is in jeopardy .

The housing committee is on the verge of being terminated because of a lack of membership. There are currently two active members, leaving the committee one member short of the quorum needed to conduct business. As a result, the committee cannot function.

This is particularly concerning because the committee has been focused on workforce/attainable housing, an increasingly critical issue for Harwich.

Affordable housing receives much of the attention when we talk about the housing crisis, and rightfully so. But attainable housing is another important piece of the puzzle. Teachers, nurses, municipal employees, first responders, young families and local business employees are among those who increasingly struggle to afford to live where they work. If we want Harwich to remain a vibrant and diverse community, we need to address the availability of housing that working people can realistically afford.

If you have an interest in housing or simply a sense of urgency about the future of housing in Harwich, please consider volunteering. You don't need to be a housing expert. You need only a willingness to participate and help find a solution.

Applications are available from the administration office at Harwich Town Hall. If housing matters to you, please step forward

Arthur Bodin
Harwich
The writer is a member of the Harwich Housing Committee.

Editor:

Although no longer a Chatham resident, I receive weekly Chronicles and follow with interest. Forty-plus years of home ownership might permit comment regarding affordable housing. In addition, I still love Chatham and feel a bit of "ownership" as a former resident.

A sidewalk issue appears to be a stumbling block for a 42-unit affordable housing project. For years, decades, this has been an issue and due to Chatham circumstances has been difficult to accomplish.

The varied expertise, desire and financials of residents surely can be utilized to realize this opportunity. Chatham has been known to suffer "analysis paralysis" for almost every project over years. Study after study tabled and when resurrected, study once again.

This has to stop now if the town actually supports affordable housing. This project must be pursued to its conclusion.

I propose town leaders, knowledgeable residents and the developers meet and work out a solution. If the issue of sidewalk "affordability" is the main problem, I will donate $5,000 for a community joint effort to ensure this opportunity succeeds.

It is time to "get off the pot" and move this project forward.

John E. Lynch
Centerville

Editor:

It was with great pleasure that I read Peter Cholakis's letter to your paper, “Kicking The Water Can Down The Road” (Sept. 17). The letter clearly covers the “water wagon” we, as Cape Cod residents, must hitch our collective mind to if we are going to preserve the pleasures of the Cape as we know them today. Recently, Falmouth made it clear that the availability trend in water is running against us. Stemming that trend requires a focus on consequences, be they big or small. To that end, Peter Cholakis points out that any change we make as an individual, or as a collective body, will have its impact on the Cape's carrying capacity. He states the need for limits. Water must be recognized as a limited resource. It must get top billing on the roster of carrying capacity concerns.

When one invites an off-Cape friend to visit, and gives him/her/them a glass of water, that has an impact on carrying capacity. To constantly nibble around the edge of this cookie we love until the cookie is gone should not be thought of as an acceptable completion of an appetite.

Matt Sutphin
Harwich

Editor:

As the select board considers the future of the T.W. Nickerson Company lease at the end of Mill Hill Lane, the town must remember why it acquired this property in the first place. In 2007, Chatham voters approved the purchase of the 30-acre T.W. Nickerson property using Land Bank funds, requiring that the town preserve the land with a conservation easement. The warrant article’s purpose included conservation land protection, wildlife habitat, drinking water protection and public recreation. A 20-year lease, later extended to 23 years, required that the wood-waste facility remove buried material and allowed it to continue to collect wood, after which it was to restore the land.

At a July 14 select board meeting, there was discussion of extending the T.W. Nickerson lease further and seeking dissolution of the Land Bank conservation status of the site. There was no discussion of the conservation merits of the property. The need for a wood-waste deposit site was as urgent in 2007 as it is today. The town and T.W. Nickerson have had 19 years to resolve this problem.

The conservation of this site provides additional protection for our wells and establishes a large continuous conservation site. The town should seek solutions that result in both the long-term conservation of this critical area and the establishment of a wood-waste facility. The conservation interests that drove this now long-ago purchase with town and state funds should be the primary concern of those making decisions.

Bob Zaremba
Chatham