James White has been building houses on the lower end of Cape Cod for 30
years, so you might expect him to oppose anything that might limit his
access to land.
But when it came time for him to vote Nov. 3 on the proposed Cape Cod
land bank, upping his property taxes by 3 percent so the town can buy
open space, he gladly voted for it. “I was all in favor of it,” said
White, owner of D&W Contractors Inc. in Wellfleet. “It’s time we started
slowing the building down somehow.”
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Most Cape voters agreed — enough to hand the land bank a victory so
resounding it surprised even its most ardent supporters. It passed even
though voters had defeated a similar measure in January. And it passed
with broad support from the real estate industry, which fought furiously
against the first proposal.
But between January and November, the sides formed a unique alliance.
The result is being hailed as an historic compromise for the good of
Cape Cod.
“There was an element of surprise, even within the conservation
community, at how well the vote went,” said Christine Dolen,
administrator for The 300 Committee Inc., a nonprofit land trust which
helps the town of Falmouth preserve land. “I think (the groups) put
personalities aside for the good of the Cape.”
The land bank revival began soon after voters soundly rejected a
proposal to assess a 1 percent tax on all real estate sales. The levy,
which exempted the first $100,000, would have been assessed on the
seller, rather than the buyer.
Opponents argued that the levy targeted a small group — those selling
property — and would burden elderly homeowners. Voters agreed.
But after the vote it was clear to many on both sides that the Cape
needed another way to preserve land. A coalition formed from the
factions of the first debate. It was called People United for a Cape Cod
Land Bank, headed by James Trainor, co-partner of Bay Village Realty
Better Homes and Gardens on the mid and lower Cape, and Sue Nickerson,
executive director of the Association for the Preservation of Cape Cod.
Working with Yarmouth state Rep. Tom George, who conducted public
meetings in all 15 towns, a group of about 125 people culled together a
proposal everyone could agree with. Rep. Eric Turkington authored the
bill, which permitted each town to decide if it wanted to participate or
not.
All 15 towns approved the measure — by an average of 58 percent. The yes
vote reached 71 percent in Orleans.
“We were always for the land bank, what we were not for was a transfer
tax,” said Trainor, referring to Realtors’ opposition to the first bill.
“I think the reason people voted for it is that the environment on Cape
Cod is the economy — there’s no major industry.
“The people of Cape Cod voted to raise their own taxes to protect the
environment,” he said.
