Housing A Major Focus of Joint Planning Session

 HARWICH – Housing was the main focus of a joint session of the select board, planning board and local planning committee held to review the updated local comprehensive plan, housing production plan and the open space and recreation plan. 

“The goal of tonight is to convene as a community and really focus on the ideas contained in the plans,” said Joyce Mcintyre, chair of the local planning committee at the start of the Jan. 7 meeting.   

The local comprehensive plan (LCP) is a policy guide that serves elected officials, board members and residents and relates to the town’s land use development, economic development, infrastructure and natural resources protection, said Town Planner and Director of Community Development Christine Flynn. 

The plan focuses on protection of water and natural resources, social diversity, strong community values, cultural identity, and recreational appeal. “We prioritize preserving the tranquility and outdoor appeal that define our town’s ambiance, responding to concerns about climate change, and the impact of human development on our environment,” the vision statement reads. “In the face of change, our vision aspires to create a sustainable haven where diverse housing options, economic vitality, and the cherished essence of our community coexist harmoniously.” 

The updated LCP is expected to go before the annual town meeting in May for approval.

Mcintyre highlighted the data collection process, which included interfacing with stakeholders, town professionals, ad hoc groups, and the Cape Cod Commission as well as housing and other forums. In summer 2023 a postcard sent to residents drew more than 1,000 and provided quality and descriptive data, she said.

“We were appointed to truly listen, but also to distill this information so it can be approved with the local comprehensive plan to be useful and be used,” she said.

The select board has yet to approve the housing production plan (HPP), as is required by the state before the document is sent to the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities for approval. The planning board also had some issues with the document, but has since voted to approve it. State approval helps to leverage state and federal funding opportunities for the town, according to Flynn.

Select Board members Chair Julie Kavanagh and Jeffrey Handler have supported the HPP.

 Select Board member Donald Howell, who has withheld support for the document, said the town is losing year-round housing because Airbnb’s and LLCs are coming in and buying homes for short-term rentals. He said the issue needs to be addressed in the HPP and in the growth policy section of the LCP.

Howell said rentals are businesses operating in residential zones. The town needs an overlay district across to define where such rentals should be allowed.

“The trend rate has exploded, and it drives the cost of housing because of the porosity of inventory,” Howell said.

Handler said he saw a statistic that places Barnstable County as the fourth most popular destination in the country. He said growth can impact the town in multiple ways.

But planning board member Mary Maslowski said the town should not demonize growth because it's needed to maintain the tax rate. She also agreed larger subdivisions can be a challenge for the planning board. But people have the right to build a “modern monolith,” if it meets zoning provisions, she added.

Board of Assessors Chair Richard Waystack said without second homes the tax rate would be so high people wouldn’t be able to live here.

 “We need to find balance,” Waystack said. “They are paying for our schools, public safety and infrastructure.”

“We want to grow the year-round people,” said resident Patrick Otton, “not the people here for a month a year, but families. We don’t want to lose those people.” 

Planning Board Chair J. Duncan Berry said growth is the centerpiece of planning. He emphasized the need for a plan that represents the granular understanding of the uniqueness of the town, providing for the different character qualities of the seven different villages. 

 Berry recommended establishing a mix-use village, a cluster that does not require automobiles. That’s a different level of growth than the plan is looking at, he said. Handler praised the efforts already underway in West Harwich in shaping that type of village atmosphere, which Berry is spearheading.   

Waystack said he liked the idea of a micro-village where starter homes can be developed. Density is important in attracting private developers; without it, he said, developers will not come. He also took issue with the time it takes to get projects permitted in town, noting that it took two years to get the Habitat for Humanity project in West Harwich permitted.

Mcintyre asked if there was anything in the plan that would prevent the select board from supporting the HPP. Howell said he is particularly concerned that the plan does not concentrate on the differences in character of the seven villages. He said that there are different strategies that need to be employed for each village. He said he would like to see an emphasis on reutilization and redevelopment of existing buildings for housing. 

Select board members had also expressed concern about  language in the HPP that supported the 248-unit Pine Oaks Village 4 project. Mcintyre said the group would include an emphasis on the reutilization and redevelopment of existing structures and tweak the language relating to POV4 so that it does not support any particular projects. 

Handler responded that the HPP dovetails with the LCP, and the village differences are addressed in the LCP. There was strong support from Handler; the LCP defines the edges and framework for how Harwich will grow in the future and the vision statement is spot on as well, he said.

The open space and recreation plan drew very little discussion during the meeting. The previous update that took place in 2012 had a lot of good ideas but nothing came out of it, said Kavanagh. 

There was strong support for an ongoing process for implementation once the plans are approved. Local planning committee member Brain Scheld said that an ongoing committee should be appointed to oversee implementation once the plan is adopted. 

Kavanagh said she would bring the HPP back before the select board for reconsideration.