Harwich to ask voters to adopt new local comprehensive plan under Article 27

Town planner Christine Flynn said Harwich will present its new Local Comprehensive Plan (LCP) for formal adoption under Article 27 at the upcoming town meeting, a step the planning team and regional partners see as key to guiding growth and protecting natural resources.

"The local, comprehensive plan is a really important planning document," Flynn said, adding that it "provides guidance for future growth and development" while balancing economic development, transportation, housing, water quality, natural resource protection and infrastructure needs. Flynn said the Local Planning Committee, chaired by Joyce McIntyre, spent three and a half years on the plan and received more than 1,300 survey responses that informed the document's priorities.

The plan's public-engagement findings identified two critical concerns: affordable housing and protection of water quality, Flynn said. She described the community response as "robust" and said the LCP aims to reflect the town's vision, goals and character when guiding future proposals and permitting.

Town Administrator Jay McGrail and Flynn said the decision to adopt the plan at town meeting was made early in the process to ensure community buy-in and to satisfy policy requirements from regional partners, including the Cape Cod Commission. Flynn said adopting the plan at town meeting was part of the planning process from the start.

Emily Mitchell, the town clerk, said the full plan is too long to print in the warrant but is available on the town website and that paper copies will be placed in the town clerk's office before town meeting so voters can review the document before voting on Article 27.

The next formal step is the vote at town meeting on Article 27, when voters will have the opportunity to adopt the Local Comprehensive Plan.