Preserving the Heart of Hyannis Village
The Mission of Save Twin Brooks is to enhance the quality of life for our community by preserving and protecting the green space, watersheds, natural resources and habitats of the Stewarts Creek Salt Water Marsh and Joshua’s Brook. Our vision for this land is to connect our community by safeguarding this space for recreation and education that serves the needs our of residents.
Restoring the Twin Brooks and Protecting our Water
The health of our village is intrinsically tied to the health of our waters. The nearly 40 acres of the Twin Brooks site form a critical ecological buffer for our entire local water system. Every environmental stressor on this land ripples downstream, affecting everything from backyard habitats to the waters of our ocean — Nantucket Sound.
Save Twin Brooks is dedicated to reversing decades of environmental strain by championing science-based restoration efforts. By focusing on the interconnected health of our streams, soil, and tidal flows, we are working to:
Protect Critical Watersheds: Safeguard the highly sensitive habitats of the Stewarts Creek Salt Water Marsh and Joshua’s Brook from the threat of dense development and runoff.
Revitalize Natural Flows: Restore essential salt-water tidal flow to the ecosystem, naturally reducing the spread of invasive Phragmites and allowing native flora to thrive.
Bring Back Native Ecosystems: Re-establish a vibrant environment where local wildlife and vital benthic (bottom-dwelling) aquatic life can recover and flourish.
Ensure Cleaner Beaches: Improve water quality downstream at Keyes Beach, ensuring our community’s coastal spaces remain safe, clean, and beautiful for generations to come.
Why Salt Marshes Matter!
If you grew up along the Massachusetts coast and were fortunate to spend summers on Cape Cod, you may have experienced exploring a healthy salt marsh. There is the special smell– very organic, and discernably salty! There is the unique squish of the thick, saturated soil, comprised of many feet of accumulated peat and networks of plant roots.
Perhaps you have observed fiddler crabs darting about and ducking into little hiding holes. The tide comes in and goes out, bringing fresh nutrients and sediment to the salt marsh, enabling it to grow each year. Animals who live here are habituated to the tides and finding food. They can survive submerged, and they can survive in the air, as long as the cycle continues. Salt marshes are essential coastal habitat that sustain diverse birds, crustaceans, fish, and countless other wildlife. Some more amazing super powers of salt marsh are carbon sequestration, and coastal storm surge protection.
Over time, the surface of a salt marsh builds and accumulates upwards. According to an article in Mass Wildlife Magazine (No.1, 2026) by Annalee Tweitmann entitled “Carbon on the Coast; Why Salt Marshes Matter,” salt marshes offset about 10 percent of annual greenhouse gas emissions in Massachusetts. For all these important reasons, and especially with sea levels rising globally, we at Save Twin Brooks, Inc. are assisting the Town of Barnstable to restore the Stewart’s Creek salt marsh.
Ever since Ocean Ave. was built in the late nineteenth centure, its ecosystem function and biodiversity have been damaged by tidal stricture, invasive plants, and excess nutrients. Now the trend across Massachusetts is to restore these essential wetland ecosystems, and State of Massachusetts environmental departments are providing significant funding for towns to get to work. We are looking forward to someday ensuring that future generations of kids get to visit Stewart’s Creek salt marsh and observe all the amazing smells and sights found here. We hope you will join us in this important endeavor!
Sea Level Rise: What Does the Future Hold?
One of our goals is to raise public awareness about sea level rise on Cape Cod and its potential impact around Stewarts Creek Salt Water Marsh. Placement of critical infrastructures and development need careful consideration.
Consequences of sea level rise include increased intensity of storm surges, tides, flooding, and damage to these coastal areas. According to glaciologists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the Massachusetts Climate Change Adaptation Report, the climate change impact on Cape Cod could result in the Cape and Islands being partially submerged in 50 years.
Building Partnerships
True conservation is never a solo effort; it stems from a shared vision and community trust. Save Twin Brooks is incredibly proud to be moving forward in a spirit of active, positive collaboration with key partners who share our commitment to the future of Hyannis. By working hand-in-hand with The Riverview School (the site’s owner), the Barnstable Land Trust, and the Cape Cod Compact, we are turning our shared vision into a concrete plan. Together, we are laying the groundwork to transform these 40 acres into a vibrant, accessible preserve and park space—creating a lasting legacy of environmental education and recreation for the entire community.
Power in Community — A Legacy of Action
April 29, 2025 — 32 Pleasant Lane
A proposed housing development at 32 Pleasant Hill Lane threatens the over-one-mile-long Stewarts Creek watershed, an Environmental Justice Community.
On April 29, 2025, an Order of Conditions was approved without sufficient evidence regarding watershed size and stream classification. Building on this unchecked land risks flooding, pollution, storm damage, and compromised water supplies, while threatening local wildlife and fisheries.
A formal appeal has been filed with the MassDEP Office of Appeals and Dispute Resolution, challenging the “Superseding Order of Conditions” that allowed the project to proceed. Because this legal appeal is active, all development approvals and funding are paused while state officials review the wetland impacts.
The neighborhood group and Save Twin Brooks are pushing for a permanent freeze, urging the town to buy and preserve the property as a protected wetlands area. As of June 17, 2026, the project is on hold.
February, 2021 — Twin Brooks, 35 Scudder
Keeping Cape Cod Blue & Green: The Fight for Twin Brooks
When a massive 14-building, 312-unit apartment complex was proposed for the Twin Brooks Golf Course at 35 Scudder Avenue, Save Twin Brooks knew it was time to act. Save Twin Brooks spearheaded the movement to hold off this overscale development, working alongside a neighboring business and local homeowner to challenge the project in court.
Why We Fought the Project
Our presentations to the Cape Cod Commission laid out a clear, factual case against the proposed complex:
- To Preserve Vital Open Space: This land was the last green open space in Hyannis. Keeping Twin Brooks green protects our local environment, natural habitat, wildlife, and community character.
- Oversized for the Cape: A massive, 14-building complex simply does not fit the architectural or environmental scale of our community.
- The “Affordable” Illusion: Out of 312 planned units, only 31 were designated as truly affordable.
- Marginal Economic Benefit: The long-term economic gains did not justify the permanent loss of this open space.
Our Legal & Grassroots Strategy
Our advocacy wasn’t just passionate — it was strategic and legally grounded.
Legal Action: When the Commission approved the project, we filed legal action, demonstrating that the Commission failed to follow its own governing statute and Regional Policy Plans.
2024 — A Community Victory
Thanks to the overwhelming support, donations, and voices of our community, we achieved the ultimate goal: The agreement for Quarterra to buy the Twin Brooks Golf Course was officially terminated in February 2024.
2025 — Riverview School Purchases 35 Scudder
Shortly after abandoning their development plans 2024, the site was sold to The Riverview School in 2025 ensuring a brighter, more community-focused future for 35 Scudder Avenue. The Riverview School provides a caring community for adolescents and young adults with complex language, learning and cognitive disabilities. The site will be used for its Friends Together Program.
We have found Riverview School open and considerate of the mission of Save Twin Brooks, and we take heart in their avowed commitment to recreational spaces and public-use areas, in addition to housing and vocational opportunities. We look forward to continuing working with the school and organizations such as the Barnstable Land Trust as this project takes shape.
For a complete timeline, click here.
2026 — The Way Forward — the Restoration of Stewart’s Creek Salt Marsh Estuary
Save Twin Brooks is at a crossroads—transitioning from saving the Twin Brooks Golf Course to restoring Stewart’s Creek Salt Marsh Estuary.
If you would like to help by donating 1-3 hours a month, please let us know.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT
Without a doubt, your support contributed to:
- bringing our community‘s and its elected leaders’ attention to the ill-conceived massive apartment complex, and its negative impact on nature, traffic and Cape culture
- appealing the Cape Cod Commission’s approval of the housing project at 35 Scudder.
Please Help by Volunteering your Time.
We need volunteers. If you can donate 1 or 2 hours a month, please click here.
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