The fight to stop a Sandwich adventure park from opening continues. Here's what we know.

SANDWICH — About eight Sandwich residents gathered around a rustic wooden table at Carlo DiPersio's home Thursday to discuss Heritage Museums & Gardens plans to re-open its Adventure Park in April 2024.

On the table lay a small wooden model that DiPersio said mimicked a structural portion of Heritage's Adventure Park, plus legal printouts and photos.

"I feel what they are putting up there is absolutely dangerous," said DiPersio to the group. "They are continuing to violate certain laws."

Judith Goetz, director of marketing, communications and sales for Heritage confirmed by email on Thursday that Heritage announced plans to re-open the Adventure Park in its Wednesday, Nov. 8 newsletter.

Goetz said Heritage wouldn't provide further comment to the Times.

The Sandwich adventure park has been in court since 2014.

A group of Sandwich residents, which includes DiPersio, have been against the Adventure Park since its inception and have been in and out of court with Heritage; Outdoor Ventures, a commercial park design firm; and the town of Sandwich since 2014.

Heritage was ordered to close the Adventure Park in 2017, after a jury-waived trial was held and Judge Cornelius J. Moriarty II ruled in favor of the plaintiffs. In September, Heritage won a Barnstable County Superior Court ruling, which said Heritage could re-open its Adventure Park.

DiPersio told the Times that he was dismayed to see Heritage officials surging ahead without the necessary permits and certifications, leaving unprepared neighbors without recourse.

"We've been in Superior Court over this twice and spent about $250,000 trying desperately to protect ourselves," said DiPersio.

Are there permits blocking the Adventure Park's opening?

While the Sandwich Historic District Committee issued Heritage a Certificate of Appropriateness on Dec. 12, 2019, it was only valid for one year, said Brendan Brides, building commissioner for the town.

This limited validity is echoed in Section 6, Limitations, paragraph five, of the Old King’s Highway Regional Historic District Commission Bulletin, said Brides. In part the Bulletin states that “All certificates pursuant to this Act shall expire one year from the date of issue.”

But because of what Brides calls "the litigious impediments," that Heritage has encountered since the certificate was issued, Brides said it's his opinion that the certificate issued by the Historic District Committee in 2019 continues to be valid.

In an email to Richard Claytor of the Horsley Witten Group, a sustainable design firm working with Heritage, Brides said he based his decision on another passage of the Bulletin, which says: ”or upon the date of expiration of any building permit issued as to the work authorized by said certificate, which ever expiration date shall be later.”

It's Brides interpretation that the wording of the Bulletin allows for more time if an applicant makes every effort to fulfill legal requirements that hindered or prevented the building permit.

Brides made the decision to allow for a time extension twice before, he said, for the Sandwich Boardwalk construction project; and for a house located on 295 Phillips Road.

Now that Heritage officials have the approval they need to apply for a building permit, "the clock is ticking," said Brides.

"There are no impediments in their way. They’ve got to get moving," said Brides.

DiPersio says people will be unsafe at the Adventure Park

In a letter dated Oct. 25, DiPersio warned the Sandwich Board of Selectmen about structural dangers surrounding the Adventure Park. The town, he said, is putting the lives of children at risk.

DiPersio told the Times that the construction included metal hardware that was drilled into the trees to support Adventure Park platforms. The hardware, he said, can impact the health of the upper tree canopies, which could cause branches to die and fall to the ground.

DiPersio's photos of the Adventure Park's platforms, which were taken during the summer of 2023, show timberlock bolts, screws, and nails going through the trunks of several trees.

"They claim they have no hardware going into the trees. And that’s absurd," he said. "If a kid gets hurt up there, you will have lawyers here from Philadelphia, New York and Boston to get their piece of the $30 million that they’ll sue this town for."

Brides said DiPersio showed him the images, and agreed that metal hardware going through trees could be problematic. But the bolts in the photos, he said, could be attached to trees that are supporting starting platforms. The trees have already been cut, he said, and are driven into the ground as piles.

"I have to go over there (Heritage) and check on that," he said.

How high is a story?

DiPersio also takes issue with the height of the Adventure Park's structural elements. According to Massachusetts Building Code 780 CMR, no building or other structures related to an outdoor recreation facility shall be constructed or placed on a lot with an area less than 80,000 square feet. Such structures shall be single story, shall be compatible with the surrounding neighborhood and shall not exceed 500 square feet. DiPersio provided building code paperwork to the Times.

For Brides, it's clear what a story is when builders are constructing a house. But for an application for an outdoor structure like the Adventure Park, there's a certain amount of interpretation involved.

"They (Heritage) would be building in accordance with the building code. The question again sits with me. And that's to define what a story is," he said.

If that's how Brides interprets the law, said DiPersio, then he needs to explain why.

"The state building code takes precedent over all other codes throughout all 351 towns in the state," he said. "The only reason you can change a building code is to make it tougher."

Neighborhood group says it won't give up

As members of the informal neighborhood group talked about the Adventure Park project, they strategized next steps. While DiPersio doesn't anticipate that the group will bring Heritage back to court, the group will hold Heritage accountable to state and town laws and building regulations.

"If anyone had a place like Heritage doing this on their street, they would be going nuts," said DiPersio. "We are not going to give up our neighborhood. We are not going to give up Pine Street."

Rachael Devaney writes about community and culture. Reach her at rdevaney@capecodonline.com. Follow her on Twitter: @RachaelDevaney.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Heritage Museums to open Adventure Park in 2024. What's the pushback?