The Cape Cod Commission is a regional land use planning and regulatory agency created by an Act of the Massachusetts General Court in 1990. Through its Regulatory Program, the Commission reviews projects that present regional issues identified in the Act, including water quality, traffic flow, historic values, affordable housing, open space, natural resources, and economic development.

The Commission's regulatory powers are well defined and generally limited to reviews of large-scale developments, known as "Developments of Regional Impact" (DRIs), throughout Cape Cod (all 15 towns of Barnstable County). The Commission's authority supplements local authority. Towns refer projects to the Commission for DRI review as (1) mandatory referrals, which are required for any project exceeding specific thresholds, and (2) discretionary referrals, which towns use at their option to seek Commission consideration of specific project-related impacts. At the option of applicants, joint state/regional reviews are conducted for projects going through the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) process.