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Town Meeting Articles Subject of Public Forum on
April 14
Sponsored by the Bourne Financial Development Corporation
Contact: Sallie Riggs 508.457.5305
Immediate Release
The public is invited to a forum to discuss five zoning by-law articles slated for the Town Meeting Warrant on Wednesday, April 14 at 5:30 pm at the Bourne Community Center on Main Street, Buzzards Bay.
The articles relate to the Bourne Development Campus project, a green technology park for green technology companies under development by the Bourne Financial Development Corporation (BFDC). The campus is targeted to create new year-round jobs in Bourne and to generate tax revenues for the Town.
The Bourne Town Meeting is scheduled for May 3. The five articles to be discussed at the BFDC-sponsored public forum are:
1 – Two articles changing by-laws that define a technology campus as requiring access to a “limited access state highway.” The technology campus planners have been informed that the state has no plans to permit access to Route 25. An alternative is available, Route 6, with appropriate permitting, but the by-laws language needs to change.
2 – An article authorizing the Planning Board to grant a Special Permit allowing building heights of greater than 40 feet, the limit currently set by residential zoning. Greater height is required to accommodate high ceilings and equipment used in alternative technology development and research.
3 – An article authorizing the Planning Board to grant a Special Permit reducing or eliminating currently required 200 foot setbacks on the technology campus property. The 200 foot setback would remain around residences and environmentally sensitive areas. Reducing the setbacks could add as much as ten acres for project development, generating a greater return to the Town.
4 – An article agreeing that the access road to the campus would be a public way if built to Town specifications. This article would position the BFDC to apply for federal and state grants to fund the campus’ access and internal roads, a possible savings of $2-3 million of the project cost.
The Bourne Development Campus project is located on a 117-acre parcel in Bournedale which is currently leased by the Bourne Development Campus LLC from the Panhandle Trust. The Bourne Development Campus LLC is a partnership between the BFDC and the owners of land in Bournedale. The lease includes 160 acres mainly on the southeast side of Route 25.
The green technology campus project has earned the endorsement of the Bourne Board of Selectmen and such legislative leaders as Congressman Bill Delahunt and State Senate President Therese Murray, and is included in the county’s Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) which is ratified by the federal Economic Development Agency.
Bourne Financial Development Corporation Endorses
Bourne Projects in Draft Regional Transportation Plan
For immediate release: 3/26/07
Contact: Sallie Riggs 508 457-5305
Or sriggs@bfdconline.org
The Board of the Bourne Financial Development Corporation (BFDC) has endorsed a number of transportation projects included in the Cape Cod Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Draft Cape Cod 2007 Regional Transportation Plan’s list of recommended projects.
The Board’s statement, voted unanimously at its recent meeting:
“The Bourne Financial Development Corporation Board of Directors has reviewed the list of transportation projects and their priority rankings published in the Cape Cod Metropolitan Planning Organization’s draft Cape Cod 2007 Regional Transportation Plan. The Board notes that ten of the 23 projects on the list are in the Town of Bourne and, if implemented, would have a positive impact on the quality of life of its citizens and on the ease with which goods and services can be accessed within the Town.
“These projects, for the most part, would also make substantial contributions to the safety of those traveling to and from Cape Cod and, by easing congestion in the Cape Cod Canal region, would create economic and quality of life benefits to the whole Cape and southeastern Massachusetts.
“The BFDC Directors highly recommend those projects for inclusion in this and other regional transportation plans and in the state’s TIP.
“It particularly notes that two of the three projects given highest priority by the Town’s Local Comprehensive Plan are included on the Commission’s list. The Board urges decision-makers to include in the planning and implementation of the elimination of the Bourne Rotary and the re-design of Sandwich Road the re-configuration of MacArthur Blvd. (Route 28 between the Bourne Bridge and the Otis Rotary) using the state-owned land east of the northbound lane.”
The list of recommended projects located in the Town of Bourne as ranked in the report are:
- A median barrier on Scenic Highway
- Improvements at the Bourne Rotary, both short-term and long-term
- Improvements to the Route 6 westbound ramp at Exit 1
- Passenger rail service
- Canal Area ITS (Intelligent Transportation Systems) for real time information
- Sandwich Road Parkway
- Otis Rotary area improvements
- Buzzards Bay Transportation Center
In reviewing the draft planning document, the BFDC Directors compared the ranked projects with those included in the Town’s Local Comprehensive Plan:
Highest Priority Actions for Transportation
- Replace the Bourne Bridge Rotary with a conventional highway interchange
Responsibility: Board of Selectmen and Massachusetts Highway Department
Estimated cost: $50 million, funded by State and Federal programs
Time schedule: 2010
- Reconstruct Sandwich Road between the canal bridges into a divided parkway
Responsibility: Board of Selectmen and Massachusetts Highway Department
Estimated cost: $35 million, funded by State and Federal programs
Time schedule: 2015
- Revive the plan to build a new northbound MacArthur Boulevard and convert the existing southbound lane to a two-way local service road.
Responsibility: Board of Selectmen and Planning Board
Estimated cost: $20 Million, funded by State and Federal programs
Time schedule: 2015
Second Priority Actions for Transportation
- Install a median barrier the full length of Scenic Highway along the canal
Responsibility: Board of Selectmen and Massachusetts Highway Department
Estimated cost: $15 million, funded by State and Federal programs
Time schedule: 2010
From the Town’s Local Comprehensive Plan voted at Town Meeting 2006 and available on the Town’s website
Notice of Meetings
The Board of Directors of the Bourne Financial Development
Corporation generally meets on the second Wednesday of every
month at the Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical School on Sandwich
Road. Meetings begin at 7:40 am and last about one hour.
Guests and Members are welcome to attend.
Bourne Development Corporation Selects
Economic Development Consultants
For immediate release: September 8, 2006
Contact: S. Riggs, 508 457-5305, sriggs@bfdconline.org
The Bourne Financial Development Corporation announced today
that it has selected RKG Associates, Inc. of Durham, NH to
conduct a market study, density analysis, and fiscal impact
study for Main Street Buzzards Bay.
The studies are the first step in a comprehensive planning
process for the business district of Main Street, Buzzards
Bay in the Town of Bourne.
RKG Associates staff will begin work on Monday, September
11 by meeting with the Main Street Steering Committee of
the BFDC, walking the area and talking with business owners
on Main Street, reviewing the Town’s Local Comprehensive
Plan and past Main Street studies, and conducting the first
in a series of interviews of Town leaders and residents.
The study process includes at least two meetings with the
general public which will be scheduled for early October
and near the end of the project in early November. The final
report is expected to be complete by the end of the year.
The Main Street Steering Committee of the BFDC is a collaboration
of the Buzzards Bay Village Association, the Cape Cod Canal
Region Chamber of Commerce, the Cape Cod Commission, and
representatives of the Town’s Planning Board and Local
Comprehensive Plan committee, with the Town Administrator
and the Town Planner participating ex officio. The
comprehensive planning process involves building on earlier
studies and gathering data with the help of planning professionals,
and then creating a re-development plan with accurate information
about potential markets, appropriate mixes of commercial
and residential uses, the fiscal impact on the Town, and
solutions to infrastructure issues such as wastewater management,
flood zone requirements, and traffic/parking.
The planning is being funded through public sources: $250,000
from the Commonwealth’s FY07 budget, $25,000 in the
Town’s budget voted by Bourne Town Meeting, and a grant
from the Cape Cod Commission for $20,000. The whole
planning process is expected to cost at least $500,000 over
several years.
The state funding was secured by Senator Therese Murray
(D-Plymouth), chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee,
who led the process in the Senate and supported it through
Conference Committee.It was initiated by Representative Susan
Williams Gifford (R-Second Plymouth district which includes
Buzzards Bay) with the support of her House colleagues Jeffrey
Perry (R-Fifth Barnstable district which includes parts of
Bourne) and Matt Patrick (D-precincts 5 and 6, Town of Bourne).
“Senator Therese Murray and her staff have been very
supportive of our efforts,” noted John Harding, President
of the BFDC Board of Directors. “She understands the
value of planning based on the kinds of facts and accurate
information that professional planners can bring to the process.”
“We are also grateful to Representative Williams Gifford,” Harding
continued. “She saw the value that these funds could
play in starting the process of comprehensive planning for
Main Street Buzzards Bay.”
Currently developers and potential investors in Main Street
Buzzards Bay face a series of challenges: the Village is
rapidly running out of wastewater management capacity, much
of the area is a flood zone, and questions about density
of development and viable mixes of commercial and residential
need answers.
The goal of the planning effort is to revitalize Main Street
Buzzards Bay with both commercial and residential development
resulting in a compact, pedestrian-oriented downtown that
serves as a destination for both residents and visitors.
The Town’s Local Comprehensive Plan includes the revitalization
of “. . . Main Street in Buzzards Bay in accordance
with an accepted comprehensive plan.” No such comprehensive
plan currently exists, however, nor can one be created without
significant research into questions of density, fiscal impact,
appropriate residential and commercial mixes, and the exploration
of options to solve infrastructure problems.
Bourne Financial Development Corporation
Releases RFPs for Buzzards Bay Planning Studies
For release: July 14
Contact: Sallie Riggs 508 457-5305
The Bourne Financial Development Corporation today released
two Requests for Proposals to identify planning consultants
to assist in data gathering as the first step in a comprehensive
planning process for the business district of Main Street,
Buzzards Bay in the Town of Bourne. One RFP is requesting
responses from firms experienced in wastewater management
planning and the other is requesting responses from planning
professionals who can conduct a market study, density analysis,
and fiscal impact analysis.
Currently developers and potential investors in Main Street
Buzzards Bay face a series of challenges: the Village is
rapidly running out of wastewater management capacity, much
of the area is a flood zone, and questions about density
of development and viable mixes of commercial and residential
need answers.
The wastewater management planning is designed to identify
potential sites for expanding the wastewater disposal capacity
for the Buzzards Bay Village and to begin a planning process
for the region north of the Cape Cod Canal. The market and
density analysis is designed to identify potential market
segments that can serve residents and visitors, and to describe
what mixes of commercial and residential would be economically
viable. The study will also analyze what the impact on the
Town’s finances would be of downtown development using
three different density scenarios.
The BFDC, working in collaboration with the Buzzards Bay
Village Association, the Cape Cod Canal Region Chamber of
Commerce, the Cape Cod Commission, and representatives of
the Town’s Planning Board and Local Comprehensive Plan
committee, with the Town Administrator and the Town Planner
participating ex officio, is taking the first step
in a comprehensive planning process. The process involves
building on earlier studies and gathering data with the help
of planning professionals, and then creating a re-development
plan with accurate information about potential markets, appropriate
mixes of commercial and residential uses, the fiscal impact
on the Town, and solutions to infrastructure issues such
as wastewater management and traffic/parking.
The planning is being funded through public sources: the
Town and the Cape Cod Commission have already committed almost
$50,000. The MA FY07 budget recently signed by Governor Romney
includes $250,000 for the studies, and a request is in to
the Cape Cod Economic Development Council for additional
funds. The whole planning process is expected to cost at
least $500,000 over several years.
The state funding was initiated by Representative Susan
Williams Gifford (R-Second Plymouth district which includes
Buzzards Bay) with the support of her House colleagues Jeffrey
Perry (R-Fifth Barnstable district which includes parts of
Bourne) and Matt Patrick (D-precincts 5 and 6, Town of Bourne).
Senator Therese Murray (D-Plymouth), chairman of the Senate
Ways and Means Committee, led the process in the Senate and
supported it through Conference Committee.
“Senator Therese Murray and her staff have been very
supportive of our efforts,” noted John Harding, President
of the BFDC Board of Directors. “She understands the
value of planning based on the kinds of facts and accurate
information that professional planners can bring to the process.”
“We are also grateful to Representative Williams Gifford,” Harding
continued. “She saw the value that these funds could
play in starting the process of comprehensive planning for
Main Street Buzzards Bay.”
The goal of the planning effort is to revitalize Main Street
Buzzards Bay with both commercial and residential development
resulting in a compact, pedestrian-oriented downtown that
serves as a destination for both residents and visitors.
The Town’s Local Comprehensive Plan includes the revitalization
of “. . . Main Street in Buzzards Bay in accordance
with an accepted comprehensive plan.” No such comprehensive
plan currently exists, however, nor can one be created without
significant research into questions of density, fiscal impact,
appropriate residential and commercial mixes, and the exploration
of options to solve infrastructure problems. The release
today of the Requests for Proposals from planning professionals
is the first step in developing that plan.
Copies of either RFP may be obtained by calling BFDC Executive
Director Sallie Riggs at 508 457-5305 or contacting her at
sriggs@bfdconline.org or in our Links
& Documents section.
The Bourne Financial Development Corporation is a 501(c)(3)
organization, established by vote of Bourne Town Meeting
and an act of the legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
in 2000. Its mission is:
. . . to promote the common good and general welfare
of the town of Bourne and to improve the living standards
of its citizens by fostering the improvement of employment
and educational opportunities.
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