HomeMy Public PortalAboutTA Report 10.07.19Town of Brewster
2198 Main Street
Brewster, MA 02631-1898
Phone: (508) 896-3701
Fax: (508) 896-8089
MEMORANDUM
TO: Select Board
FROM: Peter Lombardi, Town Administrator
RE: Town Administrator Report
DATE: October 7, 2019
Open Space Acquisition Grant Award
Late last month, the Town was notified that we have been awarded $377k in LAND
grant funds through the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental
Affairs (EEA) for the purchase of 24 acres of conservation land off Slough Road. The
Brewster Conservation Trust (BCT) has also gifted $75k to the Town for this property
and will hold its conservation restriction. As a result, $452k of Community Preservation
Act funds that Town Meeting approved for this acquisition can be returned back to the
CPA to be used for other similar purchases in the future. When taken in concert with
an abutting 27 acre property that the Town purchased in 2018, the Town has secured
51 acres of wooded upland located in an important public water supply and habitat area
for a total cost of $429k. Our thanks to The Compact of Cape Cod Conservation Trusts
and BCT for their longstanding and continued partnership with the Town’s Open Space
Committee and others in working to protect our priority open space assets.
Coastal Resiliency Planning Grant Award
As part of this same round of grant announcements, the Cape Cod Commission was
awarded $145k through the EEA’s Planning Assistance Grant Program to create a model
coastal resiliency bylaw that will lay out potential land use strategies for local
governments to better regulate development along our vulnerable shoreline. The
Commission will partner with Brewster and three other Cape towns to evaluate our
existing local bylaws and regulations, research best practices, and develop
recommendations. This project provides a unique opportunity to consider and advance
the use of zoning measures to promote more resilient practices along our coastline.
This project is consistent with the priorities outlined in the Coastal Management Plan
(Phase I) as well as the Select Board’s FY20-21 Strategic Plan. Once this initiative is
completed, the Town can then evaluate the extent to which any such bylaw would need
to be modified to fit our particular needs, with a goal of potentially bringing something
to Town Meeting thereafter.
Office of:
Select Board
Town Administrator