A highly contested plan to build a 312-unit apartment complex at the former Twin Brooks golf course in Hyannis received approval last night from the Cape Cod Commission.
Commissioners of the regional planning agency voted overwhelmingly, 13 to 2, to approve an agreement with developer Quarterra for the Emblem Hyannis apartments.
Dozens of people spoke passionately for or against the project. Testimony focused on how to balance the need for housing on Cape Cod against the virtues of open space and conservation.
Commission chair Harold Mitchell, who represents Sandwich, spoke in support.
Most Hyannis residents don’t deny the Cape is in dire need of housing.
But a proposal to build a 312-unit apartment complex on the site of the Twin Brooks Golf Course has drawn significant opposition, not only from neighbors but residents across town.
Many say they worry the complex would worsen traffic near the already troublesome West End Rotary, burden town infrastructure and contribute to the further degradation of Stewarts Creek and nearby wetlands, which feed into Keyes and Eugenia Fortes beaches. They also worry it won t do much to alleviate the crush of demand for year-round housing on the Cape.