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The Cape Cod National Seashore Federal Advisory Commission met for the first time in more than five years on April 8, 2024 at the Seashore’s Salt Pond Visitor Center in Eastham. While the official charge of the Advisory Commission is to consult with the Secretary of the Interior on matters relating to the development of the Cape Cod National Seashore, including matters of acquisition by condemnation and zoning regulations, it also serves as a liaison between the Seashore administration, the towns within its borders, and the community at large.

Each year, the Cape Cod Commission receives funding through the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Living Communities (previously the Department of Housing and Community Development) to provide technical assistance to towns in our region. The District Local Technical Assistance (DLTA) program helps municipalities with sustainable development and encourages partnerships to achieve planning and development goals that align with state and regional priorities.

Stakeholder engagement is a critical component of planning processes, helping to build consensus on impactful recommendations and create actionable plans. Stakeholder engagement to inform the Cape Cod Freshwater Initiative continued in March, with the launch of a process to engage diverse perspectives in working groups organized by groundwater lenses.

A status on projects currently under review by the Cape Cod Commission. 

Spring is here, and along with all the other typical signs of spring, Association to Preserve Cape Cod (APCC) staff and volunteers have resumed the Cape Cod Regional Pond Monitoring Program.

This Regulatory Update provides a status on projects currently under review by the Cape Cod Commission. Visit www. capecodcommission.

Cape Cod leaders from various sectors, including business, education, nonprofit, and government, came together at the Cape Cod Museum of Art on March 5 for the Cape Cod Economic Summit, a day designed to inform development of the next economic development plan for the region.

The Cape Cod Freshwater Initiative is a science-based, information-driven planning process that engages stakeholders and enables action to protect and restore Cape Cod’s freshwater resources. It began in 2021 with an update to the Cape Cod Ponds Atlas. Since then, the team has been working to collect the data needed to make informed management decisions in our ponds and to better understand how they are changing from season to season and year to year.

During its meeting on March 22, 2024, the Cape Cod and Islands Water Protection Fund Management Board voted to adopt a new model for providing subsidies to projects listed on the Clean Water Intended Use Plan (IUP), beginning with projects listed on the 2023 IUP. Fund disbursements will shift from a principal forgiveness model to one that provides a portion of the 25% subsidy over the loan term. Subsidy payments are made when principal payments on the loan are due.

This Regulatory Update provides a status on projects currently under review by the Cape Cod Commission. Visit www. capecodcommission.