Officials, Residents Disagree on Petitioned Articles

HARWICH – With the select board and the finance committee disagreeing over petition articles calling for local regulations governing pesticides and fertilizers, the measures are likely to draw debate at the May 6 annual town meeting.

There are also differing opinions on a referendum on the need for a public swimming pool.

East Harwich resident Patrick Otton filed four of the petition articles on the warrant.

“My biggest concern is health, my health and your health,” Otton told the 10 people in attendance at 204 Sisson during an information session April 18. “I hope the petitions can address our health and the health of the environment. With the blue economy, people sit in cars for as much as six hours to come use our ponds and the waters of Cape Cod.”

The petitions relating to pesticides and fertilizers, Otton said, seek to authorize the select board to pursue special legislation that would allow the town to establish its own regulations.

“Water is what brings people here and makes us want to stay in this special place of ours,” he said. “Water is our most valuable environmental resource and the most valuable economic asset. It directly or indirectly affects every resident, property owner, visitor, and business in Harwich. Harwich has 22 ponds/lakes and 11 miles of coastline. Water is our lifeblood and it is our responsibility to keep it healthy and protect what we love.”

The purpose of the pesticide petition is to reduce toxic pesticide use in and around public and private properties. The fertilizer article seeks to ban the use of fertilizers except for commercial agricultural and residential use of organic fertilizers.

“‘Cide’ means to kill,” said Otton. “It doesn’t specify if it’s you or me.”

. Wildcare has recorded many cases of bald eagles, owls, hawks and other species that have succumbed to pesticide poisoning, he said.

Resident Gary Conroy wanted to know if Otton worked with scientific groups to make his assessment. Otton said the Cape Cod Commission and the Association to Preserve Cape Cod have a lot of information on the topics. He also said similar proposals in Orleans and Nantucket have made it out of committee in the Legislature.

But questions were raised about the impact an individual town can have in protecting resources.

“Some of these issues are important, such as environmental protection and health,” said Colin Leonard. “But we’re biting off too small a piece. We’ve got to get the county involved. You are setting your sights too low. Pollution doesn’t stop at the town boundary.”

Leonard said if Harwich has a regulation and Dennis does not, people will go there to purchase what they wish to use. He recommended Barnstable County establish the regulations for the entire Cape.

Conroy wanted to know whether the impact on the ban on fertilizers on golf courses and athletic fields has been considered.

Otton said the articles seek legislative approval to create local regulations. If the bill is approved, town committees would be formed to craft the actual regulations.

The select board voted 4-0 against endorsing the pesticide petition and 3-0-1 against the fertilizer petition. The finance committee voted 4-3 in support of both articles.

A petitioned article seeking to protect trees on lots where building is proposed did not receive the endorsement of either the select board or the finance committee. The proposed tree preservation bylaw encourages the protection of trees on residential, commercial and industrial lots by establishing tree protection property setbacks equivalent to construction setbacks.

Otton said the proposal does not prohibit a property owner from removing trees but sets size standards. If a tree with a six-inch or greater diameter within a protected zone is proposed for removal a payment into a tree bylaw revenue account would be required. The article seeks to prohibit the clear-cutting of a lot prior to building on it, he said.

“It’s ambiguous,” said Leonard, who recommended not establishing a protected tree boundary but rather establishing a percentage of the parcel in which trees would be protected. He suggested 25 percent.

Leonard said while limiting the building space on a lot by establishing the protected zone, there could be a wetland on the property requiring an additional no development setback, which may not leave enough buildable space to develop the property. He said the use of a percentage of the lot for tree protection would allow the developer to make adjustments for development.

“I don’t disagree with the philosophy of saving more woods,” said Leonard.

Otton’s fourth petitioned article is a non-binding resolution seeking voter sentiment on the town developing a swimming pool. Otton said he will amend the article to remove the word “Olympic” from the request.

“Where, when and how much it will cost are all questions that will be answered if it is approved,” he said. “There will be a study.”

“I’m going to vote against it,” said Conroy. “With the town driving it, the town will end up paying for it.” If there is interest from different groups, he said, they should raise the money and come to the town and say they need land to locate it.

Linda Cebuila said there would also be a huge cost to the town for the operation of such a facility.

Ed McManus said the YMCA has been looking at establishing a facility in the Brewster/Harwich area and was looking at the Brewster Sea Camps, but the town of Brewster has expressed its desire to develop that property on its own. McManus said he sits on a YMCA committee looking at options, adding that a portion of the Marceline former junkyard parcel is a good location. A decision by the YMCA could be made within a year, he said.

The other petitioned article seeks to address housing issues for people who earn more than 80 percent of the average median income in Barnstable County and do not qualify for rental or home ownership opportunities through the town’s affordable housing trust programs and do not make enough to afford housing in the current market, said McManus, lead petitioner.

The petition seeks authorization from the state Legislature to expand the limits for inclusion in the town’s housing programs to those who earn 200 percent of the average median income, which McManus called the “missing middle.” He said the housing market on the Cape is out of reach for many working people and families, and the attainable housing provision would allow people working in professions and town employees to qualify for affordable housing.

The petition does not require any funds and provisions can be included to restrict access to people who are living, or working in Harwich. Several towns on the Cape have enacted such home rule petitions, McManus said. The select board and the finance committee have endorsed the petition.

Otton will hold one more information session on Sunday, April 28 at 1 p.m. at 204 Sisson.