Preventing ‘Outsize’ Buildings
To the editor:
Re “ZBA Asks New Owners and Abutters to Compromise on Big House” [April 27, page A4]:
Attorney Ben Zehnder, representing property owners who propose to replace an existing house with a much larger one, complained that multiple hearings on the case before town boards had cost his clients time and money.
The lot in question is in an area of critical environmental concern, with about a half acre of upland and an acre of marshland. If the clients and their architect had proposed a plan for rebuilding that was similar in scale to neighboring houses and more appropriate for a sensitive area, far less time, money, and emotional stress would have been involved, and the current appeal would not have been made.
I urge Eastham voters to approve the proposed zoning changes (Article 7, Parts A to H, but especially Part 7D, Residential Lot Intensity) on the warrant for the May 6 town meeting. Although this change is too late to affect this case, it may help to prevent future outsize proposals.
Joanna Buffington
Eastham
Wisotzky for Moderator
To the editor:
After last week’s Truro town meeting, I am writing to thank Monica Kraft for her many years of service to the town and to encourage my fellow Truro residents to support Paul Wisotzky as a write-in candidate for town moderator in our election on Tuesday, May 9.
Paul has served the town of Truro in a multitude of positions, including his current roles as vice chair of the conservation trust, member of the Walsh Property Community Planning Committee, and governor’s appointee to the Truro Housing Authority. I have known Paul to be kind, fair, and dogged in his pursuit of ensuring that all individuals have an opportunity to voice their opinions and concerns without fear. I believe he would make a fantastic moderator, working to ensure a strong and vibrant Truro, where all members of the community have a say in shaping our future.
Mara Glatzel
Truro
Are Dogs to Blame?
To the editor:
Re “Wiley Park Sustains Damage From Overuse” [March 16, page A7]:
The Eastham Conservation Commission and Open Space Committee have been promoting the narrative that unleashed dogs are the cause of the erosion at Wiley Park and therefore a leash law is needed to protect the land. In response, Eastham residents have offered many alternative solutions, among them smarter signage, increased education of both visitors and locals, and blocking off areas targeted for regeneration.
It would make sense for the town to implement some of these less drastic steps and monitor their impact before jumping straight to repealing the right of dog owners to responsibly walk their pets off leash — especially as Wiley Park is the only place dogs can be off leash in our town between June 15 and Labor Day, when the town closes beaches to dogs.
But first, town officials should be absolutely certain that off-leash dogs straying off marked trails is actually the cause of the erosion. At the April 13 listening session, Steve Smith, a former member of the conservation commission for 10 years, offered a persuasive alternative explanation for the erosion, as did other speakers.
Is the narrative we’re hearing based on factual analysis or simply anecdotes?
Mindy Baransky
Eastham
You Keep Using That Word
To the editor:
In your April 6 Letters section, Tom Burns correctly pointed out that around here northeast storms are known as “no’theasters.” The term “nor’easter” may be used elsewhere but doesn’t apply locally.
I lived in Provincetown when it was a fishing town, and I’m not sure what it is now. But the proper term remains no’theaster, so it was distressing to see the incorrect term used in Sam Pollak’s April 13 article “Meet the Man Who Is Mulching Duck Harbor.” Let’s see the Independent get it right from now on.
Chuck Leigh
Provincetown and Truro
