Choose Granite Countertops in Dennis, MA for Elegance and Durability

A non-profit building a homeless shelter in Dennis can move forward with its plan after the town’s zoning board declined to rescind the project’s building permit Monday night, capping months of acrimonious meetings between the developer and town officials.

The Dennis Zoning Board of Appeals, in a unanimous 5-0 vote, upheld the findings of The Cape Cod town’s building commissioner and town counsel, who determined last year that the shelter project fell under a state law that exempts uses like education from many local zoning regulations.

Hyannis-based Housing Assistance Corporation is converting a former nursing home in Dennis into a transitional shelter for 79 families and consolidating three existing shelters in other communities. Residents would be required to participate in an educational program to teach life skills like money management and obtaining permanent housing, according to the non-profit.

“I think it is well within an educational purpose,” zoning board member Elisa Ridley said before the vote.

Related: Attorney general’s office voices support for proposed Dennis homeless shelter

Last year, Dennis’s building commissioner and town counsel determined the project fell under the state’s Dover amendment because of the educational program. In July, a building permit was issued for the project, and renovation work has been underway.

The state Attorney General’s office also weighed in with a letter to the zoning board last week that supported the shelter project.

The process involving the project in Dennis has been marked by a series of acrimonious public meetings between the non-profit’s representatives and the town’s planning board. In recent months, planning board members raised concerns over issues like the project’s scope and traffic impact, and argued that town boards should have greater say in the shelter.

Paul McCormick, Jr., the planning board chairman, told the zoning board Monday that the primary use of the shelter was housing, not education, and the Dover amendment shouldn’t apply.

“The applicant has relied on legal and political pressure, rather than to provide any factual basis on how education is the primary purpose of this project,” McCormick said.

The non-profit’s lawyers have criticized the planning board for allowing participants in a earlier public hearing to spread misinformation about the project, such as it would provide housing for undocumented immigrants, which the organization has denied.

Its lawyers have also criticized two planning board members for failing to disclose apparent conflicts of interest in the project. The board members have denied the claims.

Related: Allegations of conflict of interest roil debate over Cape shelter for homeless

At Monday’s meeting, the zoning board appeared swayed by statements from town officials, including Town Counsel Amy Kwesell, that the state law applied to the shelter.

“The primary purpose is to have these people move on from the shelter and get secure housing, secure employment,” Kwesell said.

The shelter still needs approval from the Dennis Board of Health to operate.

Alisa Magnotta, chief executive of Housing Assistance Corporation, applauded the zoning board’s decision.

“At every step of the way, we have acted in good faith, in turn expecting a good faith outcome. We will now proceed with confidence with our renovation,” she said in a statement.

Dennis voters gave their final approval Tuesday to the first phase of a $248 million wastewater plan at a special election following unanimous approval of the plan a week before at a special town meeting.

The unofficial results from the election were 1,150 yes to 212 no, representing 10.24% of the town’s voters, Town Clerk Terri Bunce announced by email. The ballot approval was required for the Proposition 2 ½ debt exclusion question.

“I’m very thankful for the landslide vote,” Select Board Chair Chris Lambton said in a phone call after the results were released. “The people of Dennis make me proud. They respect the environment, and they always have."

“It was a lot of hard work. The hard work actually begins now,” Lambton said, as the project will be phased in over the next 40 years.

The town’s Wastewater Implementation Committee’s program was designed to address wastewater management needs, protect drinking water sources, protect freshwater ponds, and restore valuable saltwater estuaries, according to its executive report.

The Phase I plan, developed over the past 23 years, will include the design, permitting and construction of a wastewater treatment plant off Theophilus F. Smith Road, construction of a sewer collection system along the commercial planning district on Route 28, residential areas along Bass River and both sides of Route 134.

By approving the projects now, the town will be able to save more than $100 million from 0% financing and 30% debt forgiveness through the Massachusetts State Revolving Fund and the Clean Water Protection Fund.

“The wastewater team has done an exceptional job securing cost-saving measures while prioritizing environmental stewardship,” Town Administrator Elizabeth Sullivan said in a press release. “We are on the brink of implementing a project that will protect our waters and provide long-term savings for taxpayers.”

Wastewater plans are mandated for all towns on the Cape under state regulations, issued by the Massachusetts Department of Environment Protection, to address elevated nitrogen levels, primarily from septic systems, and to prevent excessive nutrient-loading of local water bodies. Several Cape towns have responded to the mandate with similar projects, either completed or started, such as Yarmouth’s, which is currently under way.

Dennis residents can find information about the approved project on the town’s website, on the public access TV channel and other public sites. The information includes maps and a list of all the addresses that will be in Phase I.

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