Yarmouth Planning Board advances Local Comprehensive Plan draft, sets review timeline

The Town of Yarmouth Planning Board on May 21 reviewed Draft 2 of the town’s Local Comprehensive Plan and agreed on a compressed schedule to send a draft to the Cape Cod Commission and to release the plan for public comment this summer. Planning Board Chair Joanne Crowley convened the meeting and turned the presentation over to town staff and consultant Jeff Bagg of BSC Group.

The plan team described structural changes in Draft 2 designed to make the document easier for residents to use and for reviewers to certify. Jeff Bagg said the new draft separates water resources into three sections — wastewater, water supply and freshwater/saltwater systems — and moves detailed, ongoing projects into a targeted action plan. “If we could get comments by May 30, I think that would be helpful for us,” Bagg told the board, asking members to submit written comments to staff for incorporation into the next draft.

Why this matters: the Local Comprehensive Plan (LCP) is intended to guide land-use decisions, infrastructure investments and targeted actions for the next decade. The Planning Board’s schedule and the Cape Cod Commission review timing will determine when recommendations become eligible for implementation or for inclusion in capital and regulatory decisions.

Most important decisions and deadlines - The board and consultants agreed to a timeline that, if met, would send a draft to the Cape Cod Commission by about June 11, allow roughly…