LCPC Meeting Minutes

Meeting date: 
Thursday, May 5, 2016

 

Local Comprehensive Plan Committee

Thursday, May 5, 2016, 2:30 PM

Wellfleet Town Hall – 2nd Floor Conference Room

Members Present: ATA Brian Carlson, Chair, Jay Horowitz, Paul Lindberg, Elaine McIlroy, Jan Morrissey, Nancy Rea, Suzanne Thomas, Jennifer Wertkin, Martha Wilson

Members Absent: Mac Hay, Janet Lesniak, Mary Beth Rodman

Others Present: Ben Ganyon

Chair Carlson called the meeting to order at 2:30 PM.

Approval of Minutes

Thomas made the motion to approve the Local Comprehensive Plan Committee (LCPC) Minutes of March 3, 2016 as amended; Morrissey seconded; the motion passed 9-0.

Discussion and Review of the Community Survey results.

The Committee reviewed the LCP 2016 survey results to-date.

Impressions of the public comments on the 2016 LCP Survey:

  • Many responses.No real surprises.Validates what Committee had thought.
  • Misconceptions about the meaning of “economic development.”
  • Lack of clarity on the meaning of the term “livable.”
  • The definition may have changed since the last LCP was published.
  • Balance between preserving the good and creating opportunity
  • Wellfleet is a community of home owners, very few renters
  • Wellfleet needs to develop more cohesive sense of community between the year-round residents and seasonal residents.There seems to be a sense of us and them.How can we foster a stronger bond between the two groups?
  • Community housing work force housing/affordable housing concept may be understood, but terms can be confusing.
  • Public parking is a problem in town.
  • Bathroom facilities are inadequate at the Harbor.

The current survey is considered closed for the purposes of the LCPC, but will remain open for additional public comment.

Ideas for 2016 Survey:

  • post on website

Ideas for the next survey:

  • Goal should be more specific.
  • Limit open-ended questions as they are difficult to analyze, or find other ways to group them.
  • Cluster the data in order to find out what groups or responses may be linked.
  • Include an option to identify self as employed year-round in town
  • The survey was based on the existing LCP.Priorities need to be updated to reflect gaps in current survey/LCP
  • The arts were not represented, certainly not as a priority.
  • Climate change
  • Certain demographics were under represented, perhaps due to electronic nature of survey and access to notification.Focus groups may help capture more responses.Ways to access commercial shell fishermen, tradesmen, and other business owners should be identified.
  • Recognize the importance of the Harbor and its economic significance.
  • Refine understanding of economic development

Ideas for LCPC

  • Add representatives from the arts, shell fishing, non-resident taxpayers

  • This project should come from the bottom up (grass roots).

  • Use AmeriCorps volunteers to survey taxpayers face-to-face.

  • Be sure that every member of a regulatory board receive a copy of the LCPC

Discussion and Review of the Vision/Mission Statement of the LCPC

To clarify the mission statement Morrissey proposed the following:

“Maintain Wellfleet as a year-round livable community for people of all ages and all social, cultural and economic backgrounds and preserve Wellfleet’s historic character and natural assets as a rural coastal village.”

It was suggested that “livable” be left out, and that “preserve be changed to allow for a more dynamic sentiment.

McIlroy suggested that the LCP goals be generated first, then the mission statement be drafted from them.

Next Task:

Chair Carlson will divide priorities into four categories and assign committee members to a study group for each category.  Each study group will report back to the LCPC at the next meeting regarding what they gleaned from public comments and how that can be used to shape the LCP.

The next LCPC meeting is June 1, 2016, in the Town Hall 2nd floor Conference Room at 2:30 PM.

Adjournment

McIlroy moved to adjourn; Morrissey seconded; the motion passed 9-0.

The meeting was adjourned at 3:57 PM.

Public Records of May 5, 2016:

  1. LCP Survey Summary dated 4-29-16