Who Is Really Planning Cape Ann's Future?

To the Editor,

Across Cape Ann, our communities are busy planning for housing.  Manchester is updating its Housing Production Plan (HPP).  Gloucester’s HPP is called Housing Compass.  Essex is working on “Welcome Home Essex,” and Rockport is weighing changes under its Seasonal Community designation.

These local planning processes take time, taxpayer resources, and resident participation.  Cape Ann deserves an answer to a simple question: How can our communities responsibly plan for their futures when Beacon Hill keeps changing the rules mid-stream?

This legislative session, the House passed an economic development bill (H. 5562) with a "by-right" rule allowing up to 30 units per acre on qualifying religious properties.  The Senate countered with a bill (S. 3178) to automatically allow duplexes on single-family lots statewide. Right now, these massive changes are being negotiated behind closed doors in a conference committee.  This matches the 2020 playbook, when the state used House Bill 5250 to bury the MBTA Communities Act inside a giant spending package.

To protect our communities, state-level zoning procedures must change. We must require Beacon Hill to file future zoning changes as separate, standalone bills rather than hiding them in spending packages.  The Legislature must also establish public notice and hearing procedures that mirror MGL 40A requirements.  Finally, the state must provide grants for compilation engineering studies-Comprehensive Growth Assessments to map water, sewer, roads, schools, and emergency apparatuses to fully understand future taxpayer costs.

Christina Delisio

Manchester-by-the-Sea

(Editor’s Note: Christina Delisio is the Republican candidate in the 2026 race to represent the 5^th Essex District in the Massachusetts House of Representatives.)