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A framework for establishing a Cape Cod Housing Trust and Housing Land Bank is complete. Created in collaboration with consultants Outwith Studio and Utile along with land bank consultants out of Ohio, the framework provides recommendations and next steps for potentially establishing the entity(ies) based on feedback received from stakeholders at numerous meetings throughout the fall and early winter. The framework emphasizes sustainable development and the importance of community engagement in ultimately bringing the entities to life.

A status on projects currently under review by the Cape Cod Commission.

The Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration (DER)'s Culvert Replacement Municipal Assistance (CRMA) Grant Program and Training Site Initiative is seeking proposals from municipalities, local government units, and federally recognized and state acknowledged Tribes interested in replacing or removing undersized, perched, and/or degraded culverts or bridges in MA located in areas of high ecological value. The purpose of this funding is to encourage applicants to replace aging culverts with better designed crossings that meet improved structural and environmental design standards and flood resiliency criteria. Applications are due Monday, May 12 at 4pm. 

We know thousands of vehicles cross the Bourne and Sagamore bridges each day, but what about the people who don’t drive? To better understand how non-motorists are using the bridges and to plan for future needs, the Cape Cod Commission placed “eco-counters,” portable infrared sensors that detect heat to count pedestrians and bicyclists, near both the Bourne and Sagamore bridges. Data shows that hundreds of pedestrians and bicyclists traverse the canal bridges every year.  

The Cape Cod Commission is in the process of updating the 2018 Regional Policy Plan (RPP), which provides regional planning which provides regional planning policies, goals, and objectives to guide development and protect the Cape’s unique natural, built, and community resources. As part of this planning process, the Commission partnered with the Donahue Institute at UMass Amherst to conduct a resident survey designed to better understand public perspectives on local and regional planning challenges. Survey results are now available.

More than $105 million is flowing to wastewater projects across Cape Cod, marking a major investment in protecting the region’s environment and water resources. The Cape Cod and Islands Water Protection Fund (CCIWPF) Management Board voted on April 29, 2025, to award $105,497,500 in subsidies to fourteen projects across ten Cape Cod towns.

The Cape Cod Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) has released the FFY2026-2030 Transportation Improvement Program and the FFY2026 Unified Planning Work Program for a 14-day public review and comment period. Members of the public are invited to review these documents and provide comments.

The Cape Cod Commission and the Town of Barnstable are pleased to release the Barnstable Municipal Digital Equity Plan for a public review and comment period. 

The Cape Cod Commission will launch a comprehensive study to evaluate the use of tiered water rate structures as a tool to promote water conservation across the region. This effort is supported by a $44,332 Drought Resiliency and Water Efficiency Grant awarded by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. 

FFY 2025-2029 TIP Amendment #4 would remove $8,284,827 in regional target funding from the Mashpee Route 151 Improvements (Phase 2) project to reflect the current construction bid price, adjust the funding allocated to Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority budget items in FFY 2025 for facilities, vehicles, and maintenance, and remove the Harwich Safe Routes to School project from FFY 2025. View the proposed amendment at www.capecodcommission.org/mpo.