Stepping Stones To Get Priority Over Old Harbor Rd.

CHATHAM – Plans for housing at the town-owned property at 127 Old Harbor Rd. are on hold.

 On a split vote June 26, the select board decided not to move forward with design guidelines for housing on the land, also known as the Ellis property. Instead, the board directed town staff to concentrate on moving ahead with housing on a different property on Stepping Stones Road.

 In April the board asked Housing and Sustainability Director Gloria McPherson to work with consultant Utile Architecture and Planning to develop a scope of work encompassing design guidelines, drawings and evaluation criteria to send to developers to solicit proposals for housing on the Old Harbor Road property. Utile had come up with several “test fits” for housing on the property, which could fall under affordable or attainable guidelines, depending on the response from developers.

At the June 26 meeting, McPherson said it would cost $15,000 and take about three months for Utile to assemble the guidelines and other material.

That’s too long, said board member Shareen Davis. She said she’d rather work on advancing housing at the Stepping Stones Road property. That project is “less controversial” and will provide “a larger bang for the buck,” she said.

While some members of the board opposed using the Old Harbor Road property — which was gifted to the town for use as a playground in the 1970s — town meeting voted to devote the 41,817-square-foot lot to housing. An old house and bar sit on the land; the house, once used as the headquarters for the town’s water department, has been vacant for years, and the barn is used for storage by town departments.

Town meeting also voted to accept the Stepping Stones land for housing after the Monomoy Regional School Committee declared it surplus. The land is located next to the tennis courts along the Stepping Stones Road side of Monomoy Regional Middle School.

A “test fit” in 2022 found that the property could accommodate eight to 10 housing units with 20 to 36 bedrooms. Select board members have said they prefer the project to involve attainable or workforce housing, available for those who earn too much to qualify for subsidized affordable housing.

At the June 26 session, Davis said that rather than get bogged down in the potentially controversial details of housing at 127 Old Harbor Road, she’d like to see the board advance the Stepping Stones Road project.

 “I want to see a successful story for attainable housing,” she said. “I really think Stepping Stones would have more of a success than 127” Old Harbor Rd.

 “We need to have an attainable project underway and supported,” agreed board vice chair Jeff Dykens.

 The board voted 3-2 not to pursue the design guidelines and other material for 127 Old Harbor Rd. at this time.

 In late 2024, the select board asked the affordable housing trust board to develop a draft request for proposals for the Stepping Stones Road property, according to McPherson. The trust reviewed several drafts and sent a final version to the select board in March, she said in an email.