Save the Hostel
From the August 29, 2007 version of the Cape Cod Times

That sign north of the Orleans rotary may have to be reworded: "Welcome to Eastham - except for youth groups, backpackers and low-budget explorers." Barring some unforeseen development, the hostel that has been quietly operating for some 40 years nearby will close permanently on Sept. 8 - not because of a change of ownership or unsafe buildings or noise complaints, but because of an unintended zoning violation. A little history here. The hostel was once a cottage colony, Smith's Seashore Shelters. Since the mid-'70s, it's been the Mid-Cape Youth Hostel, leased by Hostelling International.

The cluster of buildings is hidden in dense woods off Goody Hallett Road: seven cabins with 46 beds in all and a building with kitchen/dining room and bathrooms. It's summer only; in July and early August it is "pretty full," the managers say. Liquor is banned; 10 p.m. is "quiet hour." Cyclists arrive from the nearby rail trail; youth groups arrive by van and sometimes bus; others drive in. For $20 to $30 they get a bed, a breakfast and a place to fix dinner.

As low-cost motels disappear, many consider hostels an affordable way to visit Cape Cod. Hostelling International has one in Truro and is working to establish one in Hyannis. For years, the Eastham hostel had been "grandfathered" as nonconforming use in the residential neighborhood. When the last private owner, Jacqueline Duffek, gave the land to the Eastham Conservation Foundation in 2000 with the condition that the hostel should continue, she changed a lot line, reducing the lot from 2.8 to 2.4 acres.

Last spring Hostelling International decided it was time to replace the aging cabins, which are hot little boxes, with one efficient building. It sought a discussion with neighbors but met misinformation and hostility, according to the regional manager.

One of the neighbors discovered the lot line issue. The building inspector, the town counsel and finally the Zoning Board of Appeals agreed that the law was clear: the change created a new lot and the hostel had lost its grandfathered protection.

The hostel then sought a special permit to continue operating and the ZBA denied it, 3-2, ruling that "the dimensional nonconformity... is not in harmony with the general purpose and intent" of the zoning bylaw.

Is that the last word? A variance would be very difficult, the hostel lawyer says. A court appeal is possible, but the company is averse to spending scarce funds on lawsuits.

Ironically, if the company had laid low on the reconfigured lot for another three years, it could have again claimed grandfather protection. And if the Eastham zoning bylaw set a two-acre minimum for camps, say, rather than four acres, the hostel would be legal.

Some Eastham residents are upset about closing a hostel, and perhaps a community discussion will develop. It would indeed be sad to let the hostel, which has served the town and its visitors well for many years, fall silent without a community rescue effort.