Chamber News

Brewster Chamber & Town Planning Board collaborate to improve buisness

By Kyle Hinkle, BCC Executive Director

In late July, representatives from the BCC and the Town Planning Board sat down to discuss issues impacting businesses. The reason for the meeting was to identify mutual goals the two organizations could work on together. When all was said and done, three key initiatives rose to the top:

Make the permitting process more “user friendly” for everyone.
Define what ‘business development’ means for Brewster, and where and what kind of growth would be most productive.
Update sign bylaws to eliminate contradictions and redundancies.

“User Friendly” Permitting: When it comes to making the permitting process more user friendly, the good news is the planning bylaw passed in May 2011 that allows for a Staff Review of projects. The bylaw was approved by the state in early August and the Planning Department is ready to implement the process.

Now, instead of having to go back and forth from one department to another (and in some cases multiple times!) you will be able to meet with a collective board of Town department representatives who will discuss the steps – and permits – needed to get your project done. A simple application form helps to identify those departments needed for your review, and you can appear before the group more than once to assure everything is in order.

How is the BCC involved in this? We have a potential new business – our “guinea pig” – that has agreed to start this process with a BCC Board member tagging along. Town Planner Sue Leven wants to see this succeed and is willing to accept feed-back from our team to consider adjustments in how this works. And soon BCC will have the forms needed as downloadable files on our website. If you are contemplating a permit-able change for your business and would like to give this a try, let us know!

‘Business development’ in Brewster? YES! But if you don’t define what ‘business development’ means, it’s easy to let “things” get out of hand, which is what Brewster voters are so fearful of. The economic development section of the Town’s Comprehensive Plan was written in 1997 based on survey results collected in 1991, which means the data was out-of-date before the ink was dry!

What kind of businesses “fit” with Brewster? One vision I have is that Brewster is the known as the Professional Hub of the Lower Cape. It’s already home to numerous arts and cultural, technical, legal, financial, energy and other professionals with offices and studios in antique homes that don’t require expanded parking lots or special septic systems. And we have medical, dental and veterinary professionals, personal services including massage therapy, spa services and yoga that are in “gently used” spaces. All of these types of businesses employ local people who in turn frequent the local restaurants, markets and retail stores, adding to the success of the local economy, feeding tax dollars into the (local!) town coffers.

Brewster doesn’t have a traditional “village center,” yet Village Center concepts such as apartments over store fronts, community parking lots and sidewalks can still be employed through mixed use zoning, another business development tool that needs to be explored. Where might this be? Underpass Road is a natural “first place” to start.

Sign Bylaws: STOP the ‘circular reference’! If you use Microsoft Excel software you know that term – it’s the error message you get when a formula can’t be resolved because it is contradictory! Brewster’s current sign bylaws are fraught with contradictions: if one law says ‘yes’ dig a little deeper and you will find another that says ‘no’ and (guess what!) vice versa.

Signage for businesses has been the bane of the BCC’s existence for years, particularly the temporary sign bylaw that bans their use anywhere in Brewster. Over the past few years, BCC has tried in vain to implement a change in that bylaw. But it’s much more complicated than just fighting city hall – state laws supersede local ones. A large area of Brewster is inside the Old King’s Highway Historic District (OKHHD) and zoning inside that area is overseen by the Historic District Committee, which answers to the County Historic District Commission and in turn, to the State.

Frustrating? You bet. We might not be able to get temporary signage approved INSIDE the OKHHD, but somewhere there is a middle ground and the BCC, along with the current Planning Board, is determined to find it!

We’ll keep you posted on all of this as progress is made!