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EASTHAM/MID-CAPE HOSTEL | ||
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Petition Drive Reveals Hostel Support By Derek Burritt EASTHAM - After hearing that the youth hostel in town will close Sept. 15, Ken Fishman said, "not in my back yard." Ironically, it was this sentiment by abutters to the 40-year-old hostel on Goody Hallet Drive that led to its closure. The nine-year resident of Governor Prence Road was inspired to start a petition, and with the help of three other citizens, 400 signatures have been collected to date in favor of the hostel remaining open. Fishman's solicitation method was no more complex than simply standing at local gathering spots around town with a clipboard and paper. He and his volunteers were at the beaches, both post offices in town and the transfer station. Fishman estimates he spent up to eight hours collecting and his volunteers contributed up to three hours a piece. On Tuesday, Fishman dropped off the petition at Town Administrator Sheila Vanderhoef's office. Later that day, Vanderhoef said she plans to present the petition to the selectmen, although she's unaware of anything the board can do since the matter is a zoning issue. Fishman says his purpose in starting the petition is to raise awareness of the issue and to let Town Hall know that this isn't just an issue between Hostelling International USA and the abutters - it also involves the townspeople. This show of support for the hostel wasn't evident at any of the public hearings, which saw audiences primarily made up of abutters speaking out against it. Fishman admits he didn't attend any of the hearings leading up to the hostel's closing because he "didn't believe it could happen." While Fishman has stayed at the hostel in Truro, also owned by Hostelling International USA, he says his emotional response to the issue stems from the experiences his brothers and sisters had 30 years ago as teenagers on trips sponsored by the non-profit. These outings, which involved groups of young people bicycling around New England, provided "magical instances that added so much to their young lives." In fact, Fishman says his sister recently took her children to Nantucket to show them the hostel she stayed at as a young woman. Fishman didn't want one of these institutions on Cape Cod to be shut down in his town. At an Aug. 9 public hearing at Town Hall, the zoning board of appeals upheld Building Inspector Frank DeFelice's June 20 decision that the youth hostel must "obtain a special permit/variance ... to continue operating" in a residential zone and then denied the hostel's request for a special permit to do so. Unless Hostelling International USA can overturn the board's decision in court or receive a variance, its door will remain closed after Sept. 15. While picking up the formal, written decision of the zoning board at Town Hall on Aug. 27, attorney Meyer Singer, representing the hostel, said he's working with Deborah Ruhe, executive director of Hostelling International USA, on how best to proceed. dburritt@provincetownbanner.com
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