Chapter 7 - INSTITUTIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS 



Cape Cod Aquifer Management Project Final Report Page 77 



7 .A General Observations/Conclusions 



7.4.1 Local Abilities 



During the course of this project, CCAMP members have observed a clear 

 lack of ability at the local level to adequately manage the intense devel- 

 opment pressures created by overwhelming Capewide growth. The current 

 institutional framework that leaves municipalities with the principal res- 

 ponsibility for making well-informed and effective land-use decisions is 

 not working. Poorly sited and inappropriate land uses, whether landfills, 

 septage lagoons, underground storage tanks or local businesses that util- 

 ize hazardous materials , threaten fragile groundwater supplies in all 15 

 Cape towns. This is compounded by the fact that groundwater resources and 

 contamination sources do not respect town boundaries , as sources of contam- 

 ination in one town are often found in the wellhead protection area of 

 another town's water supply. 



7.4.2 Lack of Comprehensive Land-Use Planning 



Most Cape towns have allowed zoning determinations to precede planning 

 decisions and now are facing the consequences of haphazard growth. By not 

 first considering and identifying the resources for protection, towns have 

 allowed zoning to proceed blindly with no master plan for resource protec- 

 tion. One of the best examples is the Town of Barnstable, where commer- 

 cial zoning for its industrial park was established over the prime re- 

 charge area for several of its major public water supplies. Like Barn- 

 stable, most Cape towns have allowed zoning to proceed independently of 

 protecting present and future water supplies. Unfortunately, this has put 

 most Cape towns in the untenable position of being "programmed" for growth 

 and beyond the capacity of their environmental infrastructure. Although 

 much work has taken place recently to alter zoning through the establish- 

 ment of groundwater-protection districts, this often results in a "catch 

 up" effort that must deal with existing, non-compatible land uses. 



Further impediments to comprehensive planning are the Massachusetts 

 Zoning Act (Massachusetts General Laws (MGL) Chapter 40A) and the Sub- 

 division Control Law (MGL Chapter 41) which make it very difficult for 

 municipalities to change their zoning to reflect the recent environmental 

 awareness and need to protect groundwater. A two- thirds vote at a Town 

 Meeting is required to adopt or change a zoning bylaw. This process is 

 extremely difficult due to the strength that special interests can 

 generate at a Town Meeting. It has forced several Cape towns into 

 promulgating public -health regulations (which do not require a town 

 meeting) that establish specific resource protection measures in 

 particular areas and situations. This Zoning Act contains many time 

 clocks that place an undue burden on planning boards as they attempt to 

 introduce zoning articles at Town Meeting. Most articles are defeated on 

 a strictly procedural basis. 



