Snow Inn Redevelopment Deemed Consistent With LCP

 HARWICH – The Cape Cod Commission hearing on the redevelopment of the historic Snow Inn scheduled for last Thursday was postponed to provide additional time to review comments filed by the town on the proposed project’s consistency with the Harwich Local Comprehensive Plan and zoning. 

 The commission’s subcommittee, which is conducting the review of the project as a development of regional impact, was scheduled to discuss the comments on Tuesday (Jan. 27). Its recommendations are expected to be presented to the full commission at its Feb. 5 meeting.

The project put forward by Wychmere Harbor Real Estate, LLC calls for the reconstruction of the inn, established in 1892, increasing the number of hotel rooms from 32 to 72 and adding a restaurant and lounge. 

 In the letter sent to the commission Jan. 21, Director of Planning and Community Development Christine Flynn wrote that the Snow Inn redevelopment plan is consistent with the town’s 2000 local comprehensive plan (LCP), the latest plan adopted by the Cape Cod Commission. The plan was updated in 2011, but it was not approved by the commission. The town is now finalizing another update of the LCP, which will be presented to town meeting in May.

 Even though the project is significantly larger than surrounding buildings and is near Wychmere Harbor, Merkel Beach and several FEMA flood zones, the project has been designed to meet FEMA and the new Massachusetts building code, Flynn found. The project is in an area that is already developed and is consistent with the coastal resources section of the building code, she wrote.

She also noted the benefit of the relocation of the onsite wastewater management facility that will be designed to reduce the overall nitrogen impact to five parts per million in the Wychmere Harbor watershed, adding that the new location is at the highest elevation on the property for greater separation from groundwater.

  The project, she said, also proposes to reduce impervious surfaces and will meet the state Department of Environmental Protection’s stormwater management best practices.

 Economically, the project is estimated to create 25 new year-round jobs, according to Flynn. The Massachusetts Division of Employment and Training has listed the Wychmere Harbor Beach and Tennis Club as one of the top 10 largest employers in the town with 92 employees, she said, adding that it’s also one of the top 10 highest property taxpayers and generates room tax revenue for the town.

In her findings, Flynn wrote that the project proposes transportation and parking measures to mitigate traffic impacts by providing satellite services to employees and clients and encourages walking and bicycles as alternative modes of transportation. 

The company also has a strong record of providing housing for seasonal and year-round employees, she wrote.

Even though the project is significantly larger than surrounding buildings, the project has been designed to reduce the building’s scale and massing with a coastal aesthetic, she wrote.

The inn proposed a sidewalk along Snow Inn Road to improve safety. According to Flynn, it is a public road and the town has not prioritized a sidewalk there. However, she cited several off-site sidewalk projects under consideration, such as upgrading the sidewalk along Bank Street to connect Harwich Center and Harwich Port; placement of a sidewalk on the north side of Route 28 from Doane Road to Shaw’s Market; improving the north side sidewalk in Harwich Port; and having the Wychmere Beach Club provide five parking spaces to access Merkel Beach.  

 Funding assistance to the town’s sidewalk fund would be welcomed, she wrote.