Harwich Conservation Commission Reelects Ketchum as Chair, Advances Flood Regulations

HARWICH — July 1, 2026 — Harwich Conservation Commission reelects John Ketchum as chair and advances draft coastal flood rules. The commission voted 5-0 at its July 1 meeting to reappoint Ketchum for another year and named Rob vice chair by the same margin, completing the annual reorganization at the start of the fiscal year. Members continued an application at 18 Soundview Road for a residential addition in the wetland buffer zone after telling the applicant the plan lacked elevations, stormwater calculations, and dry-well schematics — "if you give that to a man and say go build that, he's going to say, what do you want him to do?" said one member — and set a July 9 deadline for a revised submission targeting the July 15 meeting. The commission approved 5-0 a notice of intent at 29 and 31-33 Snow Inn Road, showing a net 159-square-foot reduction in hardscape within the commission's jurisdiction, and approved orders of conditions for a boardwalk reconstruction at 17 Dunes Road and for a new home at 12 Old Campground Road, both 5-0. In a lengthy discussion session the commission worked through sections one through six of draft Coastal Resiliency Regulations adapted from a Cape Cod Commission framework, targeting local adoption this fall and a bylaw change in spring 2027 to establish, for the first time, local performance standards for construction in Harwich's coastal flood zones.