Cape Cod YMCA presents site, permitting and wastewater plan; asks town for discharge credit discussion

Representatives of the Cape Cod YMCA updated the Select Board on a long‑running plan for a new aquatic and wellness center on a subdivided parcel owned by the Lutheran Church, reporting unanimous Cape Cod Commission approval and progress toward local permitting.

Project co‑chair Bobby Antonucci and attorney Kevin Clauer described the site plan, program elements (aquatic center, wellness center, community rooms and a partnership with the Community Health Center of Cape Cod) and an anticipated construction start in October 2025 if permitting proceeds. Clauer said the project’s proposed wastewater design flow (7,600 gallons per day) triggers constraints in the town’s Water Resource Protection District, which limits discharge per land area and would require assignment of groundwater discharge rights equivalent to roughly 17 acres to accommodate the YMCA flow under local rules.

Clauer said the team has been in preliminary discussions with town staff about assigning groundwater discharge credit from a largely unused town parcel adjacent to the high school; he characterized conversations as promising and presented a draft assignment document in the Select Board packet. He stressed an assignment would not be a land sale but rather a local allocation of subsurface discharge rights subject to municipal controls.

Board members raised questions about neighbor outreach, permitting steps (planning board, special permits and site plan review) and potential conditions for any town action. The team said permitting materials and the draft assignment document were included in the packet and that they plan to return to the board for further consideration.

Next steps: continued discussion with town staff, possible future consideration of a formal assignment or other mechanism to provide necessary groundwater discharge capacity if the town is willing to approve such a local allocation.