Land Use Planning and Zoning

APCC actively promotes utilization of a host of planning tools that can assist local and regional efforts to shape our communities and protect our natural resources. The Cape Cod Commission Act provides Barnstable County with tools not available to Massachusetts communities in other counties.

One of the most effective tools available to Cape Cod enables an area in one or more towns to be designated as a District of Critical Planning Concern, or DCPC. A DCPC provides a temporary time out from development while new zoning and other regulations are drafted to better protect a resource or resources in need of special protections. APCC has been a strong proponent of the DCPC tool. In particular, APCC worked extensively to support DCPCs in Barnstable, Sandwich, Harwich, Dennis and Brewster that have helped protect water resources, critical habitats, coastal regions and the unique character of those communities.

In addition to our support of the DCPC, APCC works with communities for the adoption of other planning tools, including strategic local zoning changes that direct growth away from sensitive natural resource areas and into revitalized mixed use town centers.

Transfer of Development Rights programs can help with these efforts by selling the right to develop in natural resource areas and transferring those rights in exchange for more development in village centers targeted for growth.

APCC also advocates for Natural Resource Protection Zoning, a planning tool that is just beginning to be used in Massachusetts. In 2009, APCC was instrumental in the successful adoption of NRPZ in the town of Brewster’s water protection DCPC, making it the first community on Cape Cod and only the second in Massachusetts to utilize this important land use tool. NRPZ combines low densities with compact patterns of clustered development so that a larger percentage of the most environmentally significant land is left undeveloped. Combined with other techniques, such as Low Impact Development, which manages stormwater runoff, these planning tools can play a crucial role in helping protect the Cape’s land and water resources.