'Hopefully everyone can move on.' Court decision allows Sandwich aerial park to reopen

After battling neighbors living next to the Heritage Museums & Gardens property in Sandwich for five years, a court decision reached Tuesday will enable Heritage to re-open its Adventure Park, said Anne Scott-Putney, president and chief executive officer of the museum.

"We are absolutely thrilled. We look forward to planning next steps and to be able to serve our community again with the Adventure Park,” Scott-Putney said during a phone interview Thursday.

Ursula Price, a Sandwich resident and plaintiff in the case opposed the Adventure Park and said Thursday she was appalled by the decision.

"It’s unbelievable to me. I have no words," she said in a phone interview. "I have no comment on the judgment because that decision is so sloppy."

Ralph Vitacco, who directs planning and economic development for Sandwich, said he's always pleased when a town committee's decision is upheld.

"Zoning Board of Appeals are always very thoughtful in their decision-making processes," he said.

Court proceedings go back to 2014

The concept for the Adventure Park was initiated as far back as 2014, said Scott-Putney, but after the Sandwich Zoning Board of Appeals granted a permit for the park, neighbors including Price fought the decision and sued Heritage; Outdoor Ventures, a commercial park design firm; the town of Sandwich; and members of the Zoning Board of Appeals in November 2014 in Barnstable County Superior Court.

"All the neighbors pitched in and all of that," said Price, who lives in the Highview Condominium complex next to the museum property. At that time, plaintiffs were concerned about traffic, noise pollution and a downturn in property value, according to court documents.

Throughout court proceedings, Heritage continued to construct the Adventure Park on its 100-acre property, but in 2017 a jury-waived trial was held and Judge Cornelius J. Moriarty II ruled in favor of the plaintiffs.

At that time, the court found that the Zoning Board of Appeals acted in an "arbitrary and capricious" or impulsive manner in upholding the building inspector’s grant of a building permit to Heritage as an educational use and annulled the permit. Although the neighbors made a series of arguments as to why the permit should be overturned, including a lack of notice, it was ultimately the lack of educational value that Moriarty cited as the reason to side with the plaintiffs.

In its ruling, the court also found that Adventure Park wasn't entitled to protective treatment because the primary purpose of the aerial park was not educationally significant.

Adventure Park closes in 2018

The Adventure Park was forced to close in August 2018 due to Moriarty's ruling. According to estimates included in Moriarty’s decision, the park, which included nine zip lines and tree-to-tree bridges, brought in 35,000 climbers in 2017 and projected 50,000 total climbers in 2018.

In June 2019, a special permit was approved by the Zoning Board of Appeals for Heritage to operate an aerial park ropes course as a small-scale outdoor recreational facility. Price, and other plaintiffs from the case in 2017, filed an appeal in Barnstable County Superior Court. When the case was heard in court, eight witnesses testified and 22 exhibits were entered into evidence over the course of several days.

Plaintiffs again argued that they suffered particularized harm, relating to traffic and safety on the roadways, increased sound from the visitors to the park and, finally, diminished property values from the installation and operation of the park in their neighborhoods, according to court documents.

During court proceedings, Price testified that she enjoyed walking with her dogs on Grove Street, Pine Street and Shawme Road. The roads have no sidewalks, street signs or artificial lighting. Nancy Andrews, another plaintiff who owned a single-family home at 25 Pine Street at the time, said her home is within a short walk to the ropes course. Both plaintiffs expressed concerns, based on their experiences, that an increase in vehicle traffic for the aerial park will escalate traffic congestion and create safety concerns, according to court documents.

Heritage Museums and Gardens is at 67 Grove St.

Expert witnesses submit data in court

Patrick Dunford, a transportation engineer, was retained by Heritage as part of its application for a special permit to operate the aerial park, according to court documents. Throughout the course of three visits to Heritage, Dunford performed a site operation after improvements to access and parking at the location. He observed traffic patterns on Shawme Road, Pine Street and Grove Street. He also performed traffic counts, collected parking data and took speed measurements.

Dunford’s traffic evaluation determined that there were minimal delays for motorists and there wasn't any measurable significant impact on traffic operations in the area.

A noise and sound expert, Christopher Menge, also contributed data to the court that related to a sound study he conducted during a time when the aerial park would be at full capacity and the weather conditions were good. Menge found that there was no sound from the aerial park that effected, caused or created a nuisance to Highview Condominiums and no violation of the state Department of Environmental Protection Noise Policy.

Heather Ross of Cape Cod & Islands Appraisal Group LLC, also appeared as an expert witness for the defense. Ross conducted an impact analysis of the aerial park and surrounding neighborhoods to identify any measurable devaluation in market value due to the aerial park's installation. Ross's data concluded that there was no negative influence to neighboring property values, which could be attributed to the aerial park. The basis of her opinion, according to court documents, is that the area and neighborhoods surrounding Heritage have been developed over time to include a mix-use of residential property, parks and museums.

A judge rules in favor of Heritage and the town

In her decision, Judge Elaine Buckley said the Sandwich Zoning Board of Appeals acted within its authority when granting a special permit to Heritage for the aerial park.

Even if the plaintiffs had standing to challenge the grant of the permit by the board, which the court didn't find, the decision of the board granting the special permit for the aerial park was made on legally tenable grounds based upon sufficient evidence and was not arbitrary and capricious.

In this case, Vitacco said, justice moved slow — especially because of the pandemic. At times it was hard because he had no answers to give to community members who wanted to see the Adventure Park come to fruition.

"A great majority of people will be happy with this decision and hopefully everyone can move on," and the aerial park can become an asset for the town, said Vitacco.

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: Court rules in favor of Heritage Museums & Gardens for aerial park