Tools to Grow By: Powering Regional
Planning with Cool Interactive Tools
SNEP
Regional planning can identify solutions that go beyond political boundaries to foster collaboration on
resources, infrastructure, and protection of vulnerable special areas, communities, and ecosystems. A
unique example in Massachusetts is the Cape Cod Commission (CCC), which is authorized to set
regional policies for the Cape and review and decide upon projects likely to pose development issues
and have effects in more than one town. The CCC convenes residents and stakeholders alike around
critical challenges to plan for the best version of Cape Cod. Its strong intermunicipal coordination and
regional infrastructure enables it to protect the unique values and quality of life on Cape Cod by
balancing environmental protection and economic progress.
Having a common
understanding of the Cape's
challenges, goals, and
guard rails is paramount to
building consensus and
forming creative solutions.
Erin Perry, Deputy Director
of the CCC, says "The
Commission is charged
coordinating a balanced
relationship between
environmental protection
and economic progress.
The framework for our work
is provided by the
Regional Policy Plan (RPP)."
The RPP authority to review
impacts across town lines
enables the Commission to organize itself around a suite of interrelated systems that com
Cod - natural, built, and community systems - to form goals and objectives that guide the
planning and development.
A scenic vista on Cape Cod
prise Cape
region's
The Cape Cod Section 208 Area Wide Water Quality Management Plan is a perfect example of this
unique capability. To address the critical challenges that Cape Cod faces, the CCC works with
communities to find opportunities to synergize an economically- and socially-sound future for Cape
residents and businesses. "Regional planning and water quality are interrelated," Perry said. "Water
quality issues are often the result of a lack of appropriate infrastructure," which is also needed in
activity centers to support and spur economic opportunities.
Southeast New England Program
www.epa.gov/snecwrp

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Tools to Grow By: Powering Regional S.ISLI •: R
Planning with Cool Interactive Tools
While considering needs for more traditional sewering where appropriate, the 208 Plan emphasizes
the implementation of non-traditional strategies such as permeable reactive barriers, innovative and
alternative septic systems, and aquaculture. These strategies can go beyond water quality issues alone
to enable a more holistic approach that incorporates issues of habitat, water supply, and community
and landscape preservation.
To build support for this more holistic system, the Commission has deployed a suite of creative
communication tools and interactive planning resources that consider a range of information needs
from the general public to municipal decision-makers to technology implementers. One such tool is the
Cape Cod Coastal Planner (CCCP). a map-based communication and decision-support tool to help
residents and decision makers understand the relative factors and environmental and socio-economic
effects of implementing various proposed strategies such as those to address sea level rise, storm
surge, and erosion. Other areas addressed by Commission tools include transportation, housing,
natural resources, community design, and historic preservation. Most recently, the Commission has
responded to COVID-19 by establishing the Cape Cod COVID-19 Dashboard and Municipal Planning
Resources page to help guide communities through the pandemic.
Go Deeper: Visit the Cape Cod Commission website at https://www.capecodcommission.org/ for more
information on the Commission's resources, tools, and activities.
SNER
Southeast New England Program
www.epa.gov/snecwrp

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