HARWICH — The conservation commission approved two requests for determination of applicability relating to floodplain issues for two recreational projects along Route 28 last week. The projects include a 36-hole mini-golf course adjacent to Bud’s Go Karts and expansion and a snack shack for The Trampoline Center across from the A&W Root Beer restaurant. There will be additional site plan review permitting ...

HARWICH — The conservation commission will hold a public hearing tomorrow morning (Friday, Jan. 16) on proposed changes to the town’s wetland protection and water-dependent structures bylaws as it works on preparing articles for the annual town meeting. “The goal is to be able to allow the commission to more consistently apply the bylaws,” Conservation Administrator Amy Usowski said this week. The focus is ...

HARWICH — The term “Complete Streets” brings up some uncomfortable memories for town officials who were involved in the planning process to improve road conditions along a section of Route 124 several years ago. The project had been approved for construction under the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) and the funding would have been provided by state and federal agencies. But one of the conditions, comp...

HARWICH — The planning board will be acting on a site plan review special permit for a major solar photovoltaic facility at two locations at the Cranberry Valley Golf Course. The arrays are expected to generate 282 kilowatts of power annually. The project is proposed by Greenskies Renewable Energy, which was the successful bidder on a package put together by the Cape and Vineyard Electric Cooperative, the orga...

HARWICH — “It was a final piece to a land conservation puzzle we’ve worked on for 23 years,” Harwich Conservation Trust Director Michael Lach said this week of the trust’s purchase of a one-acre parcel in the Coy’s Brook/Herring River Watershed. Lach said over those 23 years the trust has managed to purchase and preserve 28 acres in the watershed, establishing the Coy’s Brook Woodlands to preserve water qualit...

HARWICH — The historic district and historical commission has imposed a one-year demolition delay on the demolition of the historic structure located to the west side of Holy Trinity Church grounds in West Harwich. The Victorian-style house was constructed in 1914 and has been used as a rectory and more recently as the church’s thrift shop, but it has been vacant for the past five years. Spokesperson for the d...

HARWICH — There are plans to develop a 36-hole miniature golf course on the land adjacent to Bud’s Go-Karts on the corner of Route 28 and Sisson Road. The proposal was scheduled to go before the conservation commission on Wednesday night because a portion of the property is located in the floodplain. The section of Route 28 from Sisson Road to just west of Brooks Road has become the town’s center for summer re...

HARWICH — Selectmen have agreed to hire Robert Lawton as acting assistant town administrator. Lawton has previously served as interim town administrator and as interim assistant town administrator in the past. Lawton served as town administrator in Yarmouth for 32 years and he has often been referred to as the dean of town administrators on the Cape. Lawton served as interim town administrator in Harwich from ...

HARWICH — It was a tumultuous year for Harwich, with Mother Nature firing a tornado across its boughs in July and political winds eroding the foundation of its government. The costs associated with the town’s comprehensive wastewater management plan also overwhelmed town officials and taxpayers. But there was also a little sunlight through the clouds with the announcement by Standard and Poor that the town’s f...

HARWICH – As The Chronicle's Helping Neighbors campaign draws to a close, the response, pushing the program's total fundraising for the Family Pantry of Cape Cod over the years to more than $1 million, was cause to celebrate. “This year the results were terrific,” said Family Pantry Director Christine Menard. The money raised will provide more than 278,000 meals for Cape families in the new year, she said, hel...

HARWICH — There is a lot of activity taking place in Harwich Center, with a couple of new businesses emerging and the construction for the new convenience store and apartments in the former gas station expected to get underway in the next month or so. To continue to foster the revitalization of the village, the Harwich Center Initiative Committee has asked selectmen to extend its tenure for another year and co...

HARWICH — The selectmen and finance committee got a preview of the capital outlay committee's seven-year capital plan last week. The public will have an opportunity to hear the plan details at a hearing Monday. The grand total for the seven years is $85,275,420, and a large portion of the capital expenses are driven by wastewater projects scheduled for FY 23, at $17.4 million, and FY24, which carries a cost of...