YARMOUTH COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
(excerpts)

This first excerpt is from the Town of Yarmouth Comprehensive Plan as passed by the Town Council in March, 1993. Copies of the complete original document are available in Yarmouth's Merrill Memorial Library.

Public Access and Recreation Plan

In the Fall of 1987, the Town of Yarmouth placed as a top concern the provision of open space and recreational lands in the face of rapid development. In January 1988, the Town Council appointed a Public Access Recreation Committee to research the need for publicly owned land for recreation, water access, scenic views and open space.

The result of the committee's task was a comprehensive study of existing parks and recreation facilities entitled "Public Access and Recreation Plan, Town of Yarmouth," September 1988. The study includes an inventory or Existing Open Space and Recreational Facilities, including: Parks and Active Facilities, Water Access Facilities, and Unused and Under-utilized Town Land. It also includes listings of acreage for Existing Recreation and Public Access Facilities, the Recreation/Athletic Inventory, and the Facility and User Inventory.

The overall goal of the Plan is "to provide recreational opportunity and public access to the water and open spaces for the residents of Yarmouth." The six general goals are:

1. Provide general public access to the water;
2. Establish a linked public trail system;
3. Secure open space in new developments;
4. Protect significant natural views;
5. Expand active recreational facilities, and
6. Establish a Town forest.
   

The Plan includes specific recommendations to implement the plan. For example, the project priority list for funding over the next few years includes:

1. Access to water
   • Purchase Blanchard Property
   • Improve Royal River Town Landing
   • Improve Sandy Point Beach
   • Purchase Land for Parking - Littlejohn's Landing
   • Purchase Land at Madeleine Point
2. Pedestrian Trails
   • Purchase Elizabeth Hunt Easement
   • Purchase Mill Point Apartment Easement
   • Develop Trail from Bridge Street to Route 88
3. Recreation
   • Purchase and Develop Ball fields behind North Road Park
   • Purchase Sandpit Area Lot
   • Purchase Hillside Property (Map 44, Lot 4 (5 acres only))
4. Town Forest Land
   • Develop Hamill Tract Plan
   • Purchase 115 Acres near Hamill Tract (map 17, Lot 11)
   • Purchase 15 Acres off Vaill Road (Quarry)
   • Purchase Remaining 57 Acres Hillside Road (Map 44, Lot 4)
   • Purchase 41 Acres, Gilman Road (Map 5, Lot 29)

Source: Public Access and Recreation Plan, Town of Yarmouth, September, 1988, p. 23.

Public Access

Yarmouth has a fairly large number of public access points to the ocean and rivers. These access points include:

• The Town Landings at Channel Road, Prince's Point, Cousins Island, Madeleine Point, Littlejohn Island
• Larrabee's Landing, Grist Mill Lane, Yarmouth Water District Land, and the Royal River Park on the Royal River
• Pratts Brook Park (The Hamill Tract)
• Cousins Island Beach at Sandy Point, and the Tinker Nature Conservancy Land on Cousins Island
• The Town Landfill which has access (both visual and physical) to the Cousins River.

Summary

Yarmouth offers diverse recreational opportunities for passive and active uses. The overall recommendation of the "Public Access and Recreation Plan" was to acquire as much land for these purposes as possible in order to maintain the quality of life which Yarmouth residents are accustomed. Acquisition of additional recreation and open space areas can be financed privately, through bond issues, through the general fund, through easements, through State purchase, or other mechanisms described in greater detail in the Plan.

As Yarmouth grows, it is likely that there will be increased demands on the existing facilities. Not only will parks and access be important, but the need for new playing fields and recreation areas will also increase. In March 1989, a $1.5 million bond referendum was passed for the acquisition of public access and recreational properties in Yarmouth. In June 1990 the Town Council voted to purchase 32.2 acres of land on North Road adjacent to the 55 acre Hamill parcel, which was dedicated to the Town in 1986, although the actual transfer has not yet occurred. In the spring of 1991, the Town purchased an additional 91 acres adjacent to the Hamill and Whittemore tracts to form a continuous tract of nearly 200 acres of Town-owned property stretching from Granite Street almost to North Road. Camp Sauci [sic, should be Camp Soci - 1996 edit] (5 plus acres on Cousins Island was also acquired at that time. The Town is continuing to research the feasibility of acquisition of other properties for water access and town forest uses. The Town is also using its Capital Investment Plan to prioritize the provision of new recreational facilities to address recognized deficiencies.

This second excerpt is from the Town of Yarmouth's Public Access and Recreation Plan (1988) as appended to the Comprehensive Plan. Copies of the complete original document are available in Yarmouth's Merrill Memorial Library.

1. General Public Access to the Water

A. Boat Access

The objective is to provide the citizens of Yarmouth with adequate access to the river and ocean to pursue either commercial or pleasure boating. The present access points include landing on the Royal River, the Town Landing off Princes Point Road. Littlejohn Island, Cousins Island dock and Madeleine Point.

All of these access areas possess their own limitations but it is the Committee's recommendation that the Town, concentrate on improvement and augmentation of them rather than establishment of new access points. Obtaining adequate parking near Town-owned waterfront parcels or facilities is the key to gaining deep water access for Yarmouth residents.

Cousins Island Dock and Blanchard Lot - The best deep water access point presently owned by the Town is located at the end of Wharf Road. The Town owns and maintains a dock where there is a good mooring area but no parking or float for Yarmouth residents.

For more information, call CTC at 207-846-3700 or send e-mail to: ctc@nlis.net.

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