Cape Cod dune residents outraged shacks are now up for lease
PROVINCETOWN - The National Park Service is taking open applications for the dune shacks near Provincetown. The problem is, some of those spots have been inhabited by families for generations, and now they are fighting to maintain the locations they have invested time, money, and memories into.
"Not only have I been coming here as a kid, but this is where the story of me kind of started," says Andrew Clemons. His family has been caring for their dune shack since the 1970's, "My Dad's friend Andy said, 'I think this is my shack. If you help me dig it out, I will let you live in it. 50 years later we are still out here."
The property sits inside the Peaked Hill Historic District. There are currently 19 shacks between Provincetown and Truro. Only one of the shacks is privately owned, the rest are governed by the National Park Service. Clemons says they took the properties by eminent domain in the 1960's. In the 1980's they began demolishing them. The Park Service says the intention was to clear them all, but a grassroots effort saved the shacks in 89'.
"A lot of the people who stayed after all of these years are the ones who have the actual deed to their property," said Clemons. His family can trace their lineage back to a deed.
For generations the Clemons have sunk money into the property by building a shed, an outhouse, and paying legal fees to battle the Park Service to keep their home. Clemons says they were on a 25-year lease, but when that ran out, the Park Service put them on a yearly lease. Now, the Park Service is putting eight of these shacks up for public bidding, and the Clemons' home is one of them. This isn't new; however the application process has just begun. Applications must be in by July 3. Park reps say dune residents have known this was happening since the framework went into place in 2011. The bids are 10-year leases to the most qualified applicants. They are beginning open house showings on June 15th.
"Imagine opening the door to strangers who are here just to see if they want to bid on your house. It's pretty insulting," said Clemons. "I have never known a life without this place. My dad took me for the 'man-to-man talk' by the dunes to tell me about the birds and the bees. You are not applying for an empty shack, you are displacing a family that has been here for 30, 40, 50 years by applying and moving in."
Park reps say the shacks will not simply go to the highest bidder; however "financial capacity" is an application criterion that will be taken into consideration. This includes both future and past investments into the properties. Additionally, there are five other criteria including experience, property use, and improvements and maintenance. These are all aspects that in theory should give Clemons a leg up on the competition.
"You are applying for a full-time job, and if you are not ready for that, you might not know you aren't ready for that, and it might be too late. The wicked winds of the Atlantic will shift the dunes around, and the house will be buried if you aren't constantly shoveling in the offseason," explains Clemons, "I think they are in for a rude awakening if they think they are moving into a nice, little conveniently situated summer encampment."
The Park Service says the goal of the proposal is to provide clear direction and consistency for park managers, dune residents, and advocates.
"It has been a legal conversation, and a legal battle from 1961 up until today, and this is the proof that we haven't figured it out. It completely ignores all of the meetings we have had over the years to how these places should be run. It ignores the traditional cultural caretakers who have been over the years taking care of these places," believes Clemons, "Turning historical places into an Airbnb and displacing people is just wrong."