The Walsh Committee remains hard at work.

The plans for the Walsh property are highly contentious, with a majority of Committee Members supporting the development of 250+ rental housing units on 28 acres of developable land. This would create higher density than typical of Boston. A minority of Committee members oppose this magnitude of housing, but support numbers in the range of 60-80 units.

Community pushback based on 250+ rental units is strong, expressing concerns on wastewater contamination (potentially having acute impact on two town’s water supplies – Truro and Provincetown). Traffic, significant commercial space inclusion in a residential area, and other elements of the plan remain hotly debated.  Yet to be confronted is an underlying question:  what will the taxpayer-supported service needs of 500+ rent paying new residents do to the Town budget –  when renters do not contribute to property taxes, in other words, to the Town coffers? Who pays, and how?

 Recently, the Committee received two documents:

• The Cape Cod Commission Preliminary Traffic Study – the bottom line is that the traffic study was based on traffic taken in February 2023.  Given that Truro’s traffic in the shoulder and summer seasons increases by 8-10 times over winter traffic rates, the data and conclusions are essentially inapplicable.  The methodology and report paradigm are informative.  The Committee and the CCC acknowledge that traffic studies need at a minimum to be conducted over the summer at peak traffic periods.
• The Walsh Master Plan Design Concept– a graphic illustration of the most recent iteration of property development.

The debate will continue.