HomeMy Public PortalAboutDraft_Guiding_Principles_revised_v3Draft Guiding Principles
All decisions made about the future of Brewster’s public coastal areas should seek to uphold the
following community values, priorities, and desires (listed in no particular order):
• Maintain and expand the opportunities for beach-goers of all ages, inclinations, and
physical capabilities to access Brewster’s public beaches, in all seasons. Consider the
parking needs of peak summer demand as well as those of bikers, walkers, those with
limited mobility and users of wheelchairs, families, commercial and recreational shell-
fishermen, and nearby neighbors, and the safety needs of providing and balancing this
access for all.
• Protect and maintain the natural beauty, non-commercial, peaceful, quiet, spacious, and
“small feel” of Brewster’s coast and beaches, and safeguarding its long-term economic
importance for the town.
• Seek innovative and long-term solutions that work with (don’t fight) nature and build
climate resiliency today and into the future, using solutions that are based on the best
available science, that are realistic and achievable, and that are both environmentally and
fiscally sustainable.
• Protect the environment of the beaches and the whole coastal system, including habitat,
salt marshes, and other environmental services. Seek adaptations appropriate to coastal
projections that protect, conserve or enhance the ecosystem.
• Employ flexibility and adaptive planning, with continuous feedback loops – with public
input and seeking community consensus throughout – to best respond to of changing
technologies, opportunities, and scientific uncertainties.