Mayflower beach parking lot plan sinks

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By Cynthia Mccormick
cmccormick@capecodonline.com
August 10, 2011DENNIS — Selectmen decided Tuesday night not to create a new parking lot near Mayflower Beach, but they plan on extending town-owned beach front at what residents consider a little bit of paradise.

Fierce resident opposition to the town's proposal to purchase bayside property by Mayflower Beach on Horsefoot Path and add a residents-only parking lot caused the selectmen to nix the parking lot idea Tuesday night.

Instead they voted to limit a possible purchase to 200 feet of privately owned beach front that would connect town-owned Mayflower and Horsefoot Path beaches.

"I think we have to go back to the table," Selectman Sheryl McMahon said. She said she didn't think the originally negotiated purchase of 2.74 acres of beach, dunes, and land for a new parking lot would get the necessary two-thirds approval of voters at town meeting.

The five selectmen voted unanimously to go back and try to renegotiate a reduced land purchase with Paul Tinsley and Horsefoot Path Realty Trust.

The selectmen had started off the evening with bigger plans. Selectman Paul McCormick said he wanted them to sign a purchase and sale agreement to pay $4.6 million for the property at 5 Horsefoot Path. The purchase was intended to protect the area from housing development, secure beach front and create 50 to 55 parking spaces for residents.

"The beach doesn't become available that often," McCormick said.

Tentative plans called for putting the purchase to voters at a Sept. 26 special town meeting to be followed by a ballot referendum on Sept. 27.

But after hearing complaints about out-of-control traffic, overwhelmed restrooms and public drinking at Mayflower Beach, the selectmen had a change of heart.

About 200 people showed up at the meeting, which had been moved to the Dennis Senior Center to accommodate the crowd. And out of the many people who made public comments, only three individuals spoke in favor of the 2.74-acre purchase.

The biggest complaints concerned traffic and boorish behavior by the crowds that throng Mayflower Beach, named to this year's top 10 beach list by Parents Magazine.

The beach parking lot fills up quickly, and cars end up turning around in residents' driveways or driving the wrong way down one-way streets, residents said.

The beach itself gets so crowded, especially during high tide, that there is barely passing room on the sand and people choose to relieve themselves on the dunes rather than wait in long lines at the restrooms, they said.

Visitors drink on the beach and hypodermic needles have been found in the dunes, they said.

The weekend traffic is so bad, Sue Gierej of South Dennis said, it takes her less time to drive to Hyannis than to visit her brother at his beach house by Mayflower.

Before encouraging more visitors the town should do something to stop tour buses from dropping off loads of tourists at Mayflower who don't pay parking or any other fees, resident Paul San Clemente said.

The selectmen said they hadn't realized a designated drop-off zone was creating such havoc.

The price for the nearly three-acre parcel was also a sticking point for residents, who questioned why the selectmen were willing to pay $4.6 million for property that had changed hands for $2.7 million last June.

Didn't they find the "massive appreciation odd?" Wendy Cicchetti asked.

Dennis Town Administrator Richard White said the town was not aware of the sale last year. He said the town's appraisals will be made public soon.

"Ninety-nine percent of the people are against it in our neighborhood," Rose Austin said. "Most of these are year-round residents."

Richard Renaud was one of a few people who spoke in favor of the town's purchase, saying the Mayflower area was a jewel that needed to be preserved for the public.

Despite its problems, he said. "It still remains one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen in my life."

After the selectmen voted to try and purchase just the beach frontage, Renaud said he would have preferred to see the town try to protect the dunes and adjacent land, too.

But "half a loaf is better than nothing," he said.

The selectmen hope to have something to report about the renegotiations when they meet in two weeks, McCormick said.



What a freakin` jungle!! I`d not attempt to go there unless I was being paid big bucks for the frustration/aggravation. Since that day will never happen, I`ll stay in my own world til the tourists leave. They pay big bucks to come here. I hope native Cape Codders and vistors alike are enjoying their summer !

I cringe every time the Times and others promote small beaches like _________ and _________ and __________.

I generally like the tourists (LOUD NYY fans excepted) but I keep the small local beaches small and local.

#10 for the week