Training Opportunities

As of November 7, 2007

The Commission's planning staff coordinates a variety of training seminars and workshops for Cape town planners and citizen-staffed town boards involved in land use planning and regulation.

Several times a year, the Commission works with the statewide Citizen Planner Training Collaborative (CPTC) to sponsor workshops on Cape Cod. For more information about CPTC workshops on Cape Cod, contact Chief Regulatory Officer Dorr Fox or Planner Andrea Adams at the Cape Cod Commission.

Commission staff are also available to make presentations about land-use planning to civic organizations on request. Examples include:

Introduction to the Cape Cod Commission
This presentation provides an overview of the organization and activities of the Cape Cod Commission, the planning and land use regulatory agency serving Barnstable County since 1990.
Length: About 25 minutes
Suitable audience: General public
Speaker: Cape Cod Commission staff members
Cape Residents Survey
This presentation provides an overview of the 2005 residents survey conducted by the Center for Survey Research at the University of Massachusetts-Boston under contract to the Cape Cod Commission. The study was designed to help Barnstable County shape the next version of the Cape Cod Regional Policy Plan. Residents were asked about the problems they see and anticipate in their towns and on the Cape as a whole, how the Cape should manage development, and what the priorities and tradeoffs should be between development and the protection of natural resources, among other issues.
Length: About 15 minutes
Suitable audience: Interested policy makers, general public
Speaker: Greg Smith, Cape Cod Commission Planner/Solid Waste Specialist
Smart Growth: A Vision for Cape Cod
This presentation describes problems with "sprawl" development and suggests how better planning can promote more attractive development patterns and greater open space protection.
Length: About 25 minutes
Suitable audience: General public, local officials, policy makers, students
Speaker: John Lipman, Cape Cod Commission Chief Planner/Deputy Director
Growth Management on Cape Cod: From Vision to Action
This presentation provides an overview of the Cape Cod Commission Act and regional growth management tools, including the Regional Policy Plan (RPP), reviews of Developments of Regional Impact (DRIs), Districts of Critical Planning Concern (DCPCs), and Local Comprehensive Plans (LCPs). It also describes how growth policy on Cape Cod is adapted over time.
Length: About 25 minutes
Suitable audience: General public, local officials, other planning agencies, students
Speaker: Sharon Rooney, Cape Cod Commission Senior Planner
The District of Critical Planning Concern
This presentation explains how Cape Cod towns can use the District of Critical Planning Concern (DCPC) designation as a planning tool to protect valuable resources and implement more effective local growth management policies.
Length: About 15 minutes
Suitable audience: General public, local officials, policy makers
Speaker: John Lipman, Cape Cod Commission Chief Planner/Deputy Director, and other staff members
Cape Cod Commission's Regulatory Process
This presentation provides an overview of the regulatory process followed by the Cape Cod Commission for Developments of Regional Impact (DRIs).
Length: About 25 minutes
Suitable audience: Local officials, interested policy makers, general public
Speaker: Dorr Fox, Cape Cod Commission Chief Regulatory Officer
DRI Mitigation: Better Development for Cape Cod
This presentation focuses on the benefits of the Cape Cod Commission's Development of Regional Impact (DRI) mitigation program. Mitigation may take the form of on- or off-site physical improvements or cash contributions provided by a developer to offset impacts from the development.
Length: About 35 minutes
Suitable audience: Local officials, interested policy makers, general public
Speaker: Cape Cod Commission staff members
MMR Joint Land Use Study
This presentation describes a cooperative land use planning effort between military officials on the Massachusetts Military Reservation (MMR) and the four Upper Cape communities (Bourne, Falmouth, Mashpee, and Sandwich) to minimize land use conflicts from existing and potential land use surrounding the MMR. Key issues addressed in the report included the conflicts posed by wireless communications towers and Chapter 40B residential developments.
Length: About 20 minutes
Suitable audience: Planning boards, general public
Speaker: Sharon Rooney, Cape Cod Commission Senior Planner
Exploring Cape Cod's Maritime History in its Buildings and Landscapes
This talk outlines Cape Cod's development history, linking it to specific architectural styles and building patterns, in an effort to teach people what our surrounding architecture can tell us about our past.
Length: About 45 minutes
Suitable audience: General public
Speaker: Sarah Korjeff, Planner/Historic Preservation Specialist
New Styles, New Patterns: How Late 19th Century Architecture Changed the Cape Landscape
This talk is about Victorian architecture and development patterns on Cape Cod and how they made a dramatic impact on the Cape Cod landscape.
Length: About 1 hour
Suitable audience: General public
Speaker: Sarah Korjeff, Planner/Historic Preservation Specialist
Reading Your House's History without Opening a Book
This talk explains what you can learn about a building by looking at its architectural style, location, construction techniques, and additions and alterations.
Length: About 45 minutes
Suitable audience: General public interested in history and old buildings
Speaker: Sarah Korjeff, Planner/Historic Preservation Specialist
Cape Cod's Solid Waste Overview
This presentation gives a broad overview of the Cape's solid waste and recycling infrastructure.
Length: About 20 minutes
Suitable audience: General public, from policy makers to general public
Speaker: Greg Smith, Cape Cod Commission Planner/Solid Waste Specialist
Pay As You Throw (PAYT) Waste Management
This is a case-study presentation of how PAYT works and how it can serve to save money for towns on waste disposal.
Length: About 15 minutes
Suitable audience: General public
Speaker: Greg Smith, Cape Cod Commission Planner/Solid Waste Specialist
Cape Cod Solid Waste Contracts
This presentation provides an overview of the issues associated with 30-year contracts that Cape towns have with the SEMASS waste-to-energy facility for solid waste disposal.
Length: About 15 minutes
Suitable audience: Policy makers and general public
Speaker: Greg Smith, Cape Cod Commission Planner/Solid Waste Specialist
Regional Planning Issues Associated with Solid Waste Disposal
This presentation, designed for high school students, provides an overview of regional planning on Cape Cod focusing initially on regional solid waste planning and expanding to what the Cape Cod Commission is and the work it does.
Length: About 15 minutes
Suitable audience: High school students
Speaker: Greg Smith, Cape Cod Commission Planner/Solid Waste Specialist
Chapter 40B: Overview and the Cape Cod Commission's Role
This presentation covers the basics of the Chapter 40B permitting process including the application requirements, Zoning Board of Appeals review criteria, and the decision appeals process. It also covers the impact and role of Chapter 40B developments on affordable housing creation on the Cape and also the Cape Cod Commission's role is in the 40B process.
Length: About 15 minutes
Suitable audience: Zoning and planning boards, housing partnerships, interested citizens
Speaker: Paul Ruchinskas, Cape Cod Commission Affordable Housing Specialist
Regional Transportation Plan for Cape Cod
This presentation describes the regional planning process to identify transportation-related issues and recommend improvements to the transportation infrastructure of Cape Cod.
Length: About 30 minutes
Suitable audience: General public
Speaker: Bob Mumford, Cape Cod Commission Transportation Program Manager, and other staff members
Public Transportation Planning on Cape Cod
This presentation reviews recent planning processes for transit services on Cape Cod and current activities and improvements.
Length: About 20 minutes
Suitable audience: General public
Speaker: Clay Schofield, P.E., Cape Cod Commission Transportation Engineer

Go to Planning Home Page