BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll announced a $4 billion housing bill called the Affordable Homes Act on Oct. 18. In addition to new funding for […]
TOWN MEETING
Monday’s Provincetown Warrant: Heavy on Housing
A land purchase and two short-term rental regulations lead the agenda
PROVINCETOWN — There will be 14 articles in the town meeting booklet on Monday, Oct. 23, but only a few of them are likely to provoke much discussion at town […]
AQUACULTURE
Future Clam Diggers Seed Provincetown’s West End Flats
Volunteers spread tiny hatchery clams for a recreational harvest
PROVINCETOWN — About 20 recreational clammers gathered on Oct. 6 to experience a clamming day in reverse. Instead of walking out to the flats empty-handed and gathering up a dinner’s […]
VESPERS
Evening Light
CHAPTER 91
Provincetown’s Tidelands Have Unusual Protections
‘Public benefits’ are the law, but the process for securing them is slow
PROVINCETOWN — This town has stuck out from the tip of Cape Cod like a sore thumb since at least the early 1900s, when Portuguese immigrants and an influx of […]
REGULATIONS
Rules Proliferate as Provincetown’s Pedicab Fleet Grows
There are 38 licensed pedicabs today, up from 10 in 2019
PROVINCETOWN — If you have tried and failed to engage a local in conversation, the best trick is still to ask for restaurant recommendations — even the flintiest of townfolk […]
DUNE SHACKS
Del Deos Accept 5-Year Permit for ‘Frenchie’s’
Other shack dwellers get short-term extensions as leasing proceeds
PROVINCETOWN — Just two days before the federal government was expected to enter a shutdown caused by Republicans in Congress, the National Park Service signed a five-year special-use permit allowing […]
THE HOUSING CRISIS
Short-Term Rental Rules Won’t Dent Vacation Home Market, Study Finds
But some limits and deed restrictions could protect the community
PROVINCETOWN — A year after the select board first discussed the need for a study on potential short-term rental regulations, researchers at the UMass Donohue Institute turned in its 60-page […]
DUNE SHACKS
As Leasing Deadline Nears, a Glimpse Into NPS Reasoning
‘Have some confidence in the process,’ Carlstrom told one family
PROVINCETOWN — The National Park Service’s effort to write new 10-year leases for 8 of the 18 dune shacks in the Peaked Hill Bars Historic District on the back shore […]
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK
Everyday Gay Stories
Two weeks ago, a contingent from the Independent made our first visit to the National Gay and Lesbian Journalists Association’s annual conference, which was held in Philadelphia the weekend after […]
HOUSING
Town Meeting to Consider New Short-Term Rental Measures
Boards address ‘misinformation’ in email from taxpayers’ group
PROVINCETOWN — Eight of the 15 warrant articles being prepared for an Oct. 23 special town meeting are related to the town’s ongoing housing crisis. They include a $2-million purchase […]
PUBLIC HEALTH
As ‘the Crud’ Hits the Cape, New Covid Shots Are Approved
A summer affliction that isn’t Covid rears its head
PROVINCETOWN — For many people on the Outer Cape, summer ended this year as it often has in the past — with a wicked case of “the Crud.” Towns full […]
NLGJA
Award Winner
TAX POLICY
Provincetown Ups Residential Tax Exemption to 35%
Overall, the residential tax rate will go from $5.32 per $1,000 of assessed value to $5.58
PROVINCETOWN — At its annual tax classification hearing on Aug. 28, Provincetown’s select board voted unanimously to increase the town’s residential tax exemption to the legal maximum of 35 percent. […]
SHORT-TERM RENTALS
A Stuttered Rollout for the Community Impact Fee
Early returns were low, but summer receipts will be arriving soon
At their spring town meetings in 2022, voters in Provincetown and Wellfleet adopted a “community impact fee” on investor-owned short-term rental properties: a 3-percent surcharge on bookings. According to the […]
