New Regional Policy Plan approved

Mar 28, 2019

An updated Cape Cod Regional Policy Plan that seeks to better align regional and local planning and balance the environment and economy went into effect February 22, 2019. The new plan was approved by the Cape Cod Commission in December after an extensive public comment and hearing process throughout the fall of 2018. The Assembly of Delegates approved the plan on January 23, 2019, after its own public hearing process, followed by the Board of Regional Commissioners the following week.

The updated plan focuses on the systems that make up Cape Cod – natural, built, and community – to improve integration between planning and regulation. The plan’s growth policy recognizes the importance and interdependence of these systems and the need to balance the impacts and functions of each to sustain the Cape over the long term.

The plan’s goals and objectives derive from the values and purposes of the Cape Cod Commission Act, correlate with the region’s three systems, and serve as the foundation for regional planning and regulation. They help to guide and plan for the future, and reflect the agency’s responsibility for balancing the protection of the region’s resources with appropriate development and economic growth.

The plan update also recognizes the many different and unique places in the region and identifies Placetypes to serve as the conceptual and contextual framework to guide development. For the first time the Regional Policy Plan includes Regional Performance Measures to be tracked over time, helping to illustrate progress toward the regional vision. The plan also emphasizes the role and importance of capital facilities and infrastructure planning at the regional level, in addition to the development of a regional housing strategy and further climate resiliency planning.