Meetings Ahead
Most meetings in Provincetown are in-person, typically with an online-attendance option for both committee members and residents. Click on the meeting you want to attend on the calendar at provincetown-ma.gov for a link to an agenda and details. All meetings at Town Hall unless otherwise noted.
Thursday, June 29
- Board of Assessors, 8:30 a.m.
- Low-Lying Roads virtual workshop, 1:30 p.m.
Wednesday, July 5
- Building Committee, 1 p.m.
- Historic District Commission, 3:30 p.m.
Thursday, July 6
- Council on Aging, 10 a.m.
- Zoning Board of Appeals, 6 p.m.
Conversation Starters
Defending 6A
The towns of Provincetown and Truro, at a joint workshop on low-lying roads on June 29, will present a “preferred alternative” for the future coastal resiliency of Route 6A. Their focus is on that road from the junction of Bradford and Commercial streets in Provincetown’s East End to Shore Road in Truro.
The meeting promises to include future flood projections as well as a cost estimate for the preferred alternative.
East End Resiliency
At its meeting on June 26, the select board approved a list of town-wide goals and town manager goals that had a significant addition from the draft version: a short-term mitigation plan to reduce the risk of flooding in the parts of the East End that flooded on Dec. 23, 2022.
In that storm, an area around Howland Street, Bradford Street, and Daggett Lane was inundated with sea water, and there was also major saltwater intrusion around Suzanne’s Garden at 608 Commercial St.
The plan will include outreach to owners about how to better protect their properties — and their neighbors’ properties — from flooding.
Select board members pointed out that when a house on Commercial Street was lifted to comply with FEMA floodplain rules, a dune behind the house was destroyed, and ground level at the site became lower. That change in elevation put other homes beyond Commercial Street at greater risk of flooding.
“Maybe we need to have a bylaw that requires you to conserve ground elevation levels when you raise a house,” select board member Leslie Sandberg said. “What happened in December could very well happen again.” —Paul Benson
