Meetings Ahead
Thursday, Feb. 13
- Local Comprehensive Planning Committee, 8:30 a.m., Council on Aging
- Nauset Regional School Committee, 6 p.m., Brewster Town Hall
- Zoning Board of Appeals, 7 p.m., Council on Aging
Monday, Feb. 17
- Town offices closed for President’s Day
Wednesday, Feb 19
- Conservation Commission, 4 p.m., Town Hall
Conversation Starters
Pot Shop at South Wellfleet
On Thursday, Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. the zoning board of appeals will consider an application from Cape Cod Cannabis Wellfleet to open a recreational marijuana shop at 1446 State Highway, the former South Wellfleet General Store. The business owner is applying for a special permit for a development of significant impact. One year ago, David Pike of Coral Gables, Fla., and his attorney, John Kenney, of Centerville, introduced themselves to the select board.
At the time, Pike said he was a private-equity investor who had started several companies. He told the select board he was prepared to handle traffic and safety concerns. And when questioned by Kathleen Bacon on the vibe of the shop, he said, “I’m going to create something that is clean and neat. It’s not going to look like a head shop.”
Parking Plans Afoot
In the last two decades Wellfleet’s four oceanside beaches have lost an estimated 150 parking spaces to erosion. In a town that is prized for its beach bounty, this means less parking revenue and more unhappy visitors and locals.
So the Parking Task Force II (the first parking task force disbanded years ago), established in 2018, conducted surveys and looked at the data to see if more parking is possible. The results of the study, presented at the Wellfleet Community Forum on Feb. 6, were that there is not much to do on the ocean side, with one exception. The committee recommended creation of an “app” for online status reporting that could alert beachgoers to which parking lots are full, said Dennis O’Connell, a task force member.
The committee conducted surveys to gauge possible solutions to beach parking shortages. Of the survey respondents only 16 percent said they would use a free shuttle to get to their favorite ocean beach and only 10 percent would do so for a small fee. The committee found satellite parking and shuttles would not work on Main Street either because there is no place to put the cars.
Expansion of the parking lot at White Crest Beach was ruled out because the road itself is already seen as threatened.
Ocean View Drive is only 65 feet away from the edge of the dune in places, O’Connell said.
Erosion of the ocean shoreline has been taking 2.6 to 5.7 feet of land away every year between 1995 to 2018, the study found.
At the harbor, the parking task force concluded that the grassy area of Mayo Beach could be used for expanded parking. They advised hiring a consultant to see if more parking spaces could be configured at the harbor parking area itself. That lot has 301 spaces now.
Also, the committee recommended moving the beach permit office from the marina area to free up as many as 30 spaces.
To make comments, email the task force at [email protected]. —K.C. Myers
