Wellfleet voters buy Maurice's Campground for $6.5 million

WELLFLEET — After ample discussion at Saturday's special town meeting (which drew nearly 300 voters), voters approved spending $6.5 million to buy Maurice’s Campground, a 21.3-acre property that the town hopes will go a long way toward providing affordable housing. The article won a two-thirds majority vote.

Now, voters must approve the proposal at the Sept. 20 town election.

In April, the Select Board signed a purchase-and-sale agreement for the campground at 80 Route 6 in South Wellfleet. However, the deal still required the approval of voters.

In Article 6, Town Meeting voters approved the $6.5 million deal as a Proposition 2 1/2 question, which also must be approved at the town election.

In Article 7, voters approved the use of $675,000 in Community Preservation Act money to place a deed restriction for affordable housing on the property, if voters approve it at the election. The article won a two-thirds majority vote.

In Article 8, the voters approved $225,000for operational expenses through the end of the fiscal year to continue to operate Maurice’s Campground, should the town buy the property. That money is also a Proposition 2 1/2 question, which must be approved at the town election. The article received a majority vote.

As part of the agreement, the town will operate parts of the campground for six years to provide housing for seasonal residents. After the six years , the town will change the use of the campground for year-round affordable housing.

Initially, the Select Board wanted a waiver from the town's Board of Health for 35 failed cesspools at the campground so the town could operate the campground temporarily without to paying for a new septic system. However, the Select Board learned in recent days that the cesspools are under the jurisdiction of the state Department of Environmental Protection.

After buying the campground, the town may agree with the state environmental agency to lay out a plan for upgrading the septic systems.

More: Have you stayed at Maurice's Campground in Wellfleet? It's been 73 years of friendships

Only 2.5% of Wellfleet’s housing is deemed affordable housing. This is the lowest percentage on the Cape, and falls far short of the state’s 10% goal, according to the special town meeting warrant.

“Local year-round rentals are virtually nonexistent,” the warrant indicates.

Plastic water bottles

In Article 13, voters approved the expansion of a plastic water bottle ban to include non-alcoholic carbonated beverages. The article won a majority vote.

Single-use plastic water bottles have been banned in Wellfleet since September 2021. On Saturday, voters expanded this ban to include non-alcoholic carbonated beverages, such as soda, less than 21 ounces in size.

The expansion will be effective in May 2023.

Some voters were concerned about the possibility that the reduction of plastic would cause an increase in the amount of aluminum cans being bought and sold, and that aluminum has a larger carbon footprint than plastic.

However, proponents for the article said that aluminum cans are more easily recyclable than plastic.

Year-round housing

In Article 16, voters decided to change the definition of a "Cottage Colony," effectively allowing such dwellings to be used as year-round housing rather than being restricted to seasonal occupancy. However, this will not affect cottages within National Park Service boundaries.

Dwellings within cottage colonies could be used as year-round affordable housing, and restricting them to seasonal occupancy is counter productive to Wellfleet's housing needs, according to the warrant.

More: Wellfleet town meeting approves budget to stabilize municipal finances

Select Board Chair Ryan Curley said there are about 150 dwellings in Wellfleet that fit this definition.

Some voters were concerned that changing seasonal dwellings to year-round dwellings would place pressure on septic systems. Another concern was that dwellings that would be converted into year-round homes would dramatically increase in price.

To counter these points, select board members stated that septic systems would soon need to be upgraded anyways to conform with state law, and the modest size of these cottages were responsible for their lower price.

The article won a two-thirds majority vote.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Wellfleet town meeting approves purchase of Maurice's Campground