Cape Cod Commission

An overwhelming number of people feel that the Cape Cod Commission, overseen by Ron Bergstrom, Chair of the County Commission, has lost sight of the voters.

People want a voice. And they want to be heard—especially on environmental issues and projects with regional impact. It’s that simple.

The question that keeps coming up is this: what would voters need to do to step away from the Cape Cod Commission and refocus dollars—and the conversation about environmental stewardship and development—back to town officials who are closer to the voters?

Several concerns are driving this sense of abandonment:

Recently, the Cape Cod Commission has developed plan after plan by working with select, invited “stakeholders,” rather than the public who live and pay taxes here.

Voters are skeptical of the proposal for a new County “Regional Land Bank” to acquire property, along with a new tax to fund it, similar to a home sales tax. This proposal goes well beyond the County’s traditional role and would require a new state law—something the Commission has already begun planning for.

There has also been strong pushback to the declaration that local zoning is “broken,” along with consultant-produced “Model Bylaws” encouraging towns to allow duplexes and triplexes by right in single-family neighborhoods.

And the idea of rezoning and redeveloping historic village centers across Cape Cod has been met with outright disdain. The Commission refers to these as “Community Activity Centers” and proposes building them out—but many residents disagree.

More broadly, voters are uneasy with how the County is spending their money. For example, the County issued a Request for Proposals for a new office for the Cape Cod Commission. It appears a single bid came in—at 1330 Phinney’s Lane in Hyannis—in December 2025, at a cost of $2.2 million. Since then, updates have been far and few between.

To help clarify the a few issues, here are a several questions and answers:

Q: Can a town simply opt out of the Cape Cod Commission?
A: No. The process is governed by the Cape Cod Commission Act of 1989. Withdrawal requires both local and state-level action.

Q: What’s the first step?
A: A Town Meeting petition. The town’s governing body—typically the Select Board—must place a petition on the agenda for an annual or special Town Meeting. This would ask residents to vote on requesting withdrawal.

Q: What happens next?
A: A Town Meeting vote. Residents would vote to adopt a resolution requesting that the Massachusetts Legislature enact special legislation permitting the town’s withdrawal.

Q: Then what?
A: If the resolution passes, the town files a petition with the state legislature. The legislature would then need to pass a special act authorizing that specific municipality to withdraw.

Q: Can a town exit after that?
A: Yes. With legislative approval, the town can formally withdraw from the Cape Cod Commission.

Q: Is there pushback to letting voters decide?
A: Yes.

At a past meeting in Barnstable, the Barnstable Patriot reported that a member of the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors said, “Regional solutions are essential.”

The Cape Cod Times reported that former Cape Cod Commission Executive Director Paul Niedzwiecki (now with the Chamber) called putting the question to voters “a waste of time.”

In that same discussion, minutes show that Ron Bergstrom of Chatham attended and urged town councilors not to send the citizen petition to the ballot, saying, “You make decisions.”

Q: If voters want to seriously explore this, what’s a first step?
A: These concerns exist across the Cape. One option would be for residents from different towns to come together to discuss shared concerns and possible paths forward.

Or, voters could choose new leadership. That would send a clear message.