In June, the Home Builders Association of Cape Cod won a major victory when a judge ruled that the town of Barnstable had improperly used a special designation that allows communities to temporarily freeze building and permitting. The designation would have affected all seven villages in Barnstable, including Marstons Mills, where the property pictured above is located.

At a time when homebuilders on Cape Cod are confronting issues like affordable housing, building restrictions and wastewater management and treatment, the association that represents their industry has undergone significant changes to strengthen its position.

Since the beginning of the year, the Home Builders Association of Cape Cod has doubled its membership, and in the summer hired a full-time staff member to oversee daily operations. The group has also reached out to other regional organizations – including the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce, the Cape Cod & Islands Association of Realtors and the Cape Cod Commission – to have a greater voice in the regulatory process.

And in June, the association won a major victory when a judge ruled that the town of Barnstable had improperly used a special designation that allows communities to temporarily freeze building and permitting.

“We made a concerted effort to professionalize this organization,” said Elizabeth Kovach, HBACC president.

The effort began early last year when a strategic planning committee was set up. Committee members held a series of planning sessions through the summer of that year and decided that two of the top priorities would be to hire a full-time executive vice president and to expand membership.

In July, the association hired Robert Johnston as its new executive vice president to oversee the association’s West Yarmouth office. A professional executive with more than 30 years of experience running trade associations, Johnston used to work for groups much larger than the HBACC. Prior to joining the Cape Cod association, Johnston was the executive vice president of the Home Builders Association of Greater Chicago for nine years. He had also served as the chief executive officer of builders’ associations in Maryland, Pittsburgh and Palm Beach, Fla.

This is not the first time that the HBACC has had a full-time executive working for the organization. Several years ago, the association had a full-time executive and more members, but with the recession in the early 1990s, the group’s budget was significantly slashed and the staff position was made part-time, explained Kovach.

“I really looked at it as a challenge,” said Johnston about joining HBACC. Johnston said he was quickly impressed by the group’s leadership. After he was hired, Johnston immediately set to work establishing an office and accounting system. Now, Johnston wants to focus on expanding membership services.

About the same time that the association was interviewing candidates for the full-time position, the homebuilders received notice that they had won a lawsuit against the town of Barnstable and the Cape Cod Commission. The association had sued when the entire town of Barnstable was designated a District of Critical Planning Concern early last year.

The designation, which is typically reserved for regions of critical environmental, historic and cultural significance, allows communities to temporarily halt permitting and building within the designated area to address planning and growth management.

The homebuilders argued that the town-wide designation was improperly and illegally used because the designation is intended for a specific targeted area – not an entire community. Further, they maintained that by using the DCPC to enact a zoning bylaw building cap, the town was restricting property rights that were otherwise available to landowners during a zoning change. They also feared that more towns would follow Barnstable’s example and seek town-wide DCPC designations.

“To simply blanket the entire town as a District of Critical Planning Concern, we felt, was wrong,” said Kovach, who started her two-year term as president in July. “It really took away property owners’ rights.”

A judge in Barnstable Superior Court agreed with the homebuilders. Meanwhile, the Cape Cod Commission has asked the judge to review and amend his decision.

“We’re really in limbo right now to see what’s going to happen,” said Kovach, a partner at Windswept Custom Homes in East Dennis.

Open Dialogue

Despite the lawsuit, the association recently worked with the commission in sponsoring a workshop about subdivision design that is sensitive to environment. The workshop, which took place in September, highlighted examples of successful conservation subdivision development – projects that minimize environmental impact and protect open space.

Kovach said that the association may be conducting another seminar in conjunction with the Cape Cod Commission soon.

“We feel it’s important to keep the dialogue open with them [CCC],” she said.

In addition to working with the commission, the HBACC was recently invited to be a member of the Business Roundtable, which is a committee of the Association to Preserve Cape Cod. The roundtable is developing a program to promote better regional and local approaches to growth management.

One of the critical issues that the roundtable is examining is infrastructure development wastewater management and treatment on the Cape. The HBACC wants to examine the various wastewater management treatment options that are available, including decentralized waste treatment systems, said Kovach.

Kovach explained that most homes on the Cape have individual septic systems, but in some areas it might make sense to have a decentralized waste treatment systems serving several homes in a development.

“Instead of setting aside land strictly for open space and conservation, we would like to explore using that land for decentralized waste treatment systems,” she said.

With almost 200 members, the association has also focused on issues like smart growth and mold. In February, the HBACC joined with the Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve to present a smart growth workshop. On Wednesday, the association, along with Fairview Millwork and Velux Roof Windows, will host an educational seminar on mold.

“We are encouraging our members to work with other associations, agencies, department and organizations on the Cape to be part of the dialogue,” said Kovach.