Yarmouth holds second public meeting on local comprehensive plan; residents weigh wastewater, housing, Route 28 and coastal resiliency

The Town of Yarmouth held a second public meeting on its local comprehensive plan update, led by Town Planner Cathy Williams and consultant Jeff Bagg of BSC Group. The meeting, held in person at the Yarmouth Senior Center with an online Zoom option, reviewed key issues including the municipal wastewater program, water quality and PFAS treatment, housing shortages and second‑home pressures, Route 28 redevelopment and coastal resiliency, and invited facilitated small‑group feedback on priorities and a growth policy.

The meeting matters because the local comprehensive plan (LCP) will guide Yarmouth’s decisions on capital projects, land use policies and priorities over the next decade and must be adopted at town meeting and certified by the Cape Cod Commission to guide regional coordination. Jeff Bagg said the LCP process is important because the town has already done a great deal of preparatory work and now needs public input on priorities: "We had about 38 seats set out in this room, so we have a packed house," he said, noting both in‑person and online participation.

Presenters walked through existing conditions and near‑term actions. Cathy Williams summarized water resources concerns — contamination from septic systems, stormwater and fertilizer; PFAS levels at multiple wells; and the need for effluent discharge sites as the town proceeds with a phased municipal wastewater program. Williams said the town is under construction on phase 1 of an eight‑phase wastewater program, that two wells already have PFAS treatment and…