Eastham Commission Approves Emergency Orders for Two Eroding Brownell Road Properties

EASTHAM -- May 12, 2026, Eastham Conservation Commission votes to demolish one bluff-edge home and conditionally approve relocation of a second on Brownell Road. The commission voted 5-0 Tuesday to grant the town emergency certification to demolish the condemned dwelling at 157 Brownell Road, where property owner David Mood has defied a February 5 dangerous-structure order and an April 17 Barnstable Superior Court injunction; DPW Director John Ruffley said work, estimated at roughly three days, will include full foundation removal and backfill with clean sand. In a second 5-0 vote, the commission conditionally approved an emergency certification for attorney Ben Zender's clients at 153 Brownell Road to demolish the northerly section of their house and roll the main structure 44 feet back from the coastal bank using hydraulic beams, contingent on the owners depositing into escrow a contractor-quoted sum sufficient to fully remove the structure should they fail to file a required notice of intent within 30 days. Separately, Conservation Agent Alex Bates reported that a proposed $2,525.48 settlement with a chronic violator at 150 Old State Highway was rejected, sending the case to trial, and commissioners authorized Bates to contact an abutting property owner suspected of cutting upward of eight mature black tupelo trees on Eastham Conservation Foundation land near 30 Sander Lane.