Eastham Select Board Appoints Survey Board for Two Eroding Brownell Road Homes

EASTHAM -- February 10, 2026, Eastham Select Board votes to convene a board of survey for two condemned Brownell Road properties teetering on an eroding coastal bank. The board voted 3-0 Tuesday to appoint Rich Waldo, the Orleans DPW director and an engineer, to the three-member review panel, joining Building Commissioner Basil's own appointee, Rich Bryant of Cape Associates. Conservation staff reported that 153 Brownell Road lost roughly 8 feet of coastal bank in the most recent storm and now sits as close as 5 feet from the cliff edge. The owner of 157 Brownell Road, a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania resident, has not responded to three phone calls, multiple emails, or three attempted in-person service visits from a process server. Staff warned the public to stay away from both properties, noting the base of the bank is severely undercut and invisible from above, and that wave action alone, without a storm, can trigger collapse.