While APCC is not a housing advocacy organization, we recognize that the utilization of the already disturbed, underdeveloped, and underutilized portions of Joint Base Cape Cod (JBCC) provide an opportunity for redevelopment that would go a long way toward infusing enough new units of housing into the regional market to make a difference.
With the Commonwealth as the landowner, there is a chance to redevelop portions of JBCC in a way that protects a mix of new rental and ownership units from being swept up into the red-hot real estate market, maintaining true affordability and filling a much-needed void in the housing market. There is an opportunity here to plan a vibrant carbon neutral community, with heating and cooling provided by redevelopment of the wastewater treatment plant at the base to include anaerobic digestion and power provided by renewable energy. There is clearly a case to be made here that using a portion of JBCC for housing is the single most transformative step that can be taken to address the housing needs of the region with minimal environmental impact and a positive net effect on the climate.
At the same time, there is an important opportunity to implement real and permanent protections to the 15,000 acres on JBCC that comprise the Upper Cape Water Supply Reserve, which would be the most significant open space preservation project remaining on Cape Cod. The reserve protects and provides water to five Cape communities and is the largest remaining contiguous forested area outside of the National Seashore. This area deserves lasting protections and now is the time to enhance the existing protections.
The good news here is that MassDevelopment is planning to undertake a study to look at housing opportunities at JBCC. On its face this effort, initiated by current leadership at JBCC itself, is a positive step. However, upon review, it is quickly evident that the parameters proposed by JBCC are far too narrow and limited, and have been developed without any meaningful input from the surrounding communities and the general public.
APCC has told MassDevelopment that the scope for the housing study at JBCC requires revision and expansion to fully capture the opportunities at JBCC. Specifically, APCC has suggested that a broader analysis of the existing Master Plan is needed to determine the military needs that can and should continue to be met at JBCC, and to also determine the highest and best uses for the remaining land. JBCC leadership has already concluded that there is excess land at the base that does not serve military needs. What remains is to build the case for the ongoing military functions and to establish the best uses of the repurposed land.
Only if the MassDevelopment process is done with meaningful community engagement from the scoping stage to completion will the process have any credibility with the surrounding communities and have any chance of success. An open process that improves understanding of the remaining military uses of JBCC and recreates broken bonds of trust is in the interests of JBCC leadership, even if they can’t see that. A robust revised Master Plan makes JBCC less, not more, vulnerable to federal closure in future rounds of congressionally mandated base closures.
There is every reason to do this broader review and to do it well, and that responsibility now appears to fall on MassDevelopment. Before the full scope of the MassDevelopment engagement is settled, APCC calls on MassDevelopment to broaden the scoping conversation to include perspectives other than the command staff at JBCC.
APCC, the Barnstable County Commissioners, the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce, the Cape Cod Commission, and the leadership of the communities that house and abut JBCC are just a few of the key stakeholders with whom MassDevelopment must engage to have a productive process.
Current awareness of MassDevelopment’s plan is minimal and a lot of work remains to be done to build consensus on the scope of the initiative if it is to be successful.
