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Drive-In Site -- RIVERWALK & BOARDWALK FEASIBILITY AND CONCEPT DESIGN STUDY
Updated December 23, 2019
The Town has owned the 22 acre former drive-in property at 669 Route 28 since 1985 when it was taken for recreational purposes. For many years the Town planned to develop the property as a public/private marina. However, a subsequent feasibility analysis indicated that a stand-alone marina would no longer be financially viable and the Board of Selectmen formed the Drive-In Site Utilization Committee (DISUC) in 2015 to investigate other uses for the property.
After six months of conducting outreach to businesses and community leaders, identifying policy goals and potential uses, evaluating site constraints and conducting an on-line Survey, the DISUC Committee recommended a Riverwalk Park along the Parkers River, a Boardwalk over the marsh to Seagull Beach, with the remainder of the property being used for interim uses such as concerts and community events.
To investigate and vet these recommendations further, the Town undertook a more detailed Feasibility/ Concept Design Study. The DISUC Committee, Town Staff, and consultant BETA, worked for over a year in 2017 & 2018 to identify constraints, evaluate alternatives, identify amenities and materials, outline permitting requirements and develop project costs (including design, permitting, construction and maintenance costs). A robust public participation process was included in the study to garner stakeholder input. There were a total of 20 public meetings, including 3 formal public outreach meetings where community stakeholders reviewed the presented information and offered input to assist the DISUC Committee. Various modifications and compromises were made to the design concepts to help mitigate concerns and issues identified through this process.
Ultimately, the DISUC developed the following recommendations and preferred concepts that were accepted by the Board of Selectmen.
- Retain the entire Drive-In property for Recreational Uses
- Establish Festivals and Special Events as a permanent use on the site
- Move forward with the preferred Riverwalk Park Concept Plan (see Link below)
- Move forward with Option 1C for a Looped Boardwalk Concept Plan (see Link below)
- Permit and design the Riverwalk Park and Boardwalk together and proceed with construction as funding and resources permit.
Additional information on the process, final recommendations and project costs can be found in the Riverwalk Park and Boardwalk Feasibility/Concept Design Study Report, dated August 2018, available at the Link below. This report outlined several Next Steps which the DISCU Committee and Town Staff have been actively working on including:
Riverwalk Park & Boardwalk:
- Community Preservation Act (CPA): The DISUC Committee submitted a CPA Application in October 2018 and $2.2 million in CPA funds were approved for the project at the May 2019 Annual Town Meeting to cover design and permitting and provide for partial construction funding. A supplemental CPA application has been submitted and will be considered at the Special Town Meeting in the fall of 2020.
- Land and Water Conservation Fund Grant (LWCF) Program: The CPA funds were used to leverage a LWCF grant application for $954,000. This grant application was viewed favorably and supplemental information has recently been submitted in the anticipation of a formal grant award.
- Design & Permitting Consultant: Staff is pursuing the acquisition of consulting services for design and permitting for the project.
Events/Festival Space:
- Conducted general cleanup including mowing, brush/small tree removal, relocation of stones and removal of glass and refuse.
- Removed the existing pile of organic matter/wood chips which was impacting the ability to utilize the full area for events/festivals.
- Met with a range of event organizers to garner input on needed amenities. Numerous events have been held at the property in 2018 and 2019 providing valuable feedback for future improvements for the event area.
Please note that meeting Agendas and Minutes for the Drive-In Site Utilization Committee are available at http://www.yarmouth.ma.us/agendacenter for more recent meetings and at http://www.yarmouth.ma.us/archive.aspx for meetings prior to March 2017.
For more information, please click Links below:
- Final Riverwalk Park Concept Plan and Amenities
- Final Boardwalk Concept Plan and Amenities
- Riverwalk Park and Boardwalk Feasibility/Concept Design Study Report, dated August 2018
July 24, 2018 Meeting with Selectmen
May 22, 2018 Meeting with Selectmen
052218 Final Recommendations
052218 Powerpoint (.PDF format)
April 2, 2018 Meeting
020418 Meeting Packet
Powerpoint for Public Meeting
February 13, 2018 Meeting
021318 Meeting Packet
Handouts at meeting
January 24, 2018 Meeting
012418 Meeting Packet
Draft Meeting Schedule
Concept provided by Tom Baron
December 7, 2017 Meeting
120717 Meeting Packet
September 26, 2017 Meeting with Selectmen
092017 Memo to Selectmen
Powerpoint for Selectmen's Update
September 18, 2017 Meeting
091817 Meeting Packet
Public Comments received
Drive-In Site Correspondence 050117 to 091817
August 23, 2017 Meeting
Preferred Components and Materials
Riverwalk Concept Sketch Preferred Alternative
Draft Boardwalk Options Revisions
Cape Cod Commission Interim Use Report
Rich Bilski comments via e-mail
Powerpoint for review of options
July 31, 2017 Meeting
Survey Request
Survey Request Spreadsheet
Aerial from 22 Cape lsle Drive
July 10, 2017 Meeting
Preferred Riverwalk Alternative Components and Concept Sketches
Powerpoint for review of options
Powerpoint for review of options (PDF format)
May 30 and June 7, 2017 Public Meetings
053017 Meeting Agenda
060717 Meeting Agenda
053017 Riverwalk-Boardwalk Options Powerpoint
053017 Riverwalk Park and Boardwalk Layout Options A, B, C
May 2, 2017 Meeting
050217 Meeting Packet
050217 Riverwalk-Boardwalk Options Powerpoint
March 24, 2017 Kickoff Meeting
032417 Meeting Agenda
032417 Powerpoint Presentation
032417 Meeting Notes
032417 Draft Meeting Schedule
Background Information:
09/29/15 Drive-In Site Utilization Committee Memo to Board of Selectmen w/attachment
09/29/15 Presentation to the Board of Selectmen
Riverwalk Park Concept Plan
Seagull Beach Boardwalk Rendering