Vitality and Synergy
To the editor:
I encourage Truro town meeting voters to approve the Walsh district zoning overlay. This overlay would provide a foundation for thoughtful development of the Walsh property.
It’s an upfront prescription for the preferences of Truro’s voters: namely, providing housing for middle-income residents. Moreover, approval of the overlay would eliminate the incentives that often result in reducing the number of affordable units when housing development relies on the state’s 40B zoning override process.
The Outer Cape’s economy is now almost exclusively tourism-based. The creation of the National Seashore sealed this transition; there is no way to turn back the clock. Truro now has a unique opportunity to help attenuate the resulting housing crisis. Providing an opportunity for people with modest incomes to live on the Outer Cape is critical to creating a community that works.
While there are concerns that the Walsh development still requires environmental and engineering reviews, there is no reason to believe that a zoning overlay puts the cart before the horse. Truro is by far the least densely populated town on Cape Cod, has more than ample groundwater to support this development and still share water with Provincetown, and can be confident that heavily regulated state wastewater discharge requirements and Truro’s competent oversight will ensure that new residences do not threaten groundwater.
The Outer Cape’s vitality depends on the synergies created by seasonal visitors, maintaining rental properties for vacationers, and, most important, supporting the folks who cherish living on the Cape year-round. The Walsh property provides a once-in-a-lifetime chance to invest in the Outer Cape’s future generations. Approving a zoning overly is a genuine commitment to making that happen.
Joe Cavicchi
Truro and Arlington
Unpleasant Odors
To the editor:
I wonder how many other residents of Eastham reading “June Town Meeting to Consider $50M Sewer Loan” in the April 24 edition of the Independent found Jacqui Beebe’s comment about the proposed sewage system off-putting: “Of course there are going to be smells, but not all the time, and not every day.”
Really? The town is planning to ask us, the citizens of Eastham, to hold our noses and vote yes?
Hmmm. I agree with Beebe, a town manager whose hard work and foresight I appreciate, that “we need to work together and try to figure out how we can make this have as little impact as we can.” It seems, however, that she has already conceded that unpleasant odors are a given. Am I naive in thinking that wastewater specialists in the 21st century have the expertise to devise an efficient, well-maintained sewage treatment facility that doesn’t stink up the neighborhood?
Andrew Hay
Eastham
Natural Burial in Truro
To the editor:
Last week’s front-page article “Truro’s Voters Face 40 Articles at May 3 Meeting” reported that Community Preservation Act funds were being requested for a “new natural burial section at New South Cemetery.”
The project is not a new section at the cemetery but the creation of a new cemetery, provisionally named “Old County Natural Burial Cemetery” and designated wholly for green burials. It is to be installed on existing cemetery land adjacent to New South Cemetery on Old County Road. But it is not an expansion of New South Cemetery.
The distinction is significant. A cemetery fully given over to green burial is laid out in a way that accommodates natural topography, is lower density, conserves natural habitat, preserves the water supply, and doubles as open space. If the funding is approved at town meeting, the cemetery will be a significant innovation for Truro and the Cape.
Holly Ballard-Gardner
Truro
The writer is chair of the Truro Cemetery Commission.
A Vote for Courtney
To the editor:
I am writing to endorse Ann Courtney for trustee of the Truro library.
Ann has worked tirelessly for the past 10 years as vice president, president, and past president of the Friends of the Truro Library. She has served as liaison to the library trustees and has a strong understanding of the responsibilities of a trustee.
Ann has also served on the Truro Concert Committee for 11 years and currently chairs the beach advisory committee, where she helped secure Community Preservation funds for paddle craft storage racks at some Truro beaches. She is also working with the commission on disabilities to make the boardwalk at Corn Hill Beach fully ADA compliant and spearheaded a Community Preservation grant to fund that project.
Ann has a proven track record of strong leadership skills and advocating for the needs of the Truro community. I strongly support her candidacy.
Shawn Grunwald
Truro
Letters to the Editor
The Provincetown Independent welcomes letters from readers on all subjects. They must be signed with the writer’s name, home address, and telephone number (for verification). Letters will be published only if they have been sent exclusively to the Independent. They should be no more than 300 words and may be edited for clarity, accuracy, conciseness, and good taste. Longer pieces (up to 600 words) may be submitted for consideration as op-ed commentary. Send letters to [email protected] or by mail to P.O. Box 1034, Provincetown, MA 02657. The deadline for letters is Monday at noon for each week’s edition.
