CPC Sends $2.6 Million In Projects To Town Meeting

CHATHAM – Faced with applications that totalled more than the funds available, community preservation committee members last week agreed to reduce the amount of several proposals, including cutting nearly $500,000 from affordable housing requests.

 The committee voted Jan. 2 to recommend that voters at the May 11 annual town meeting approve 13 requests totalling $2,601,200, $755,000 less than requested. The money comes from a property tax surcharge established through the Community Preservation Act.

 The highest-ticket requests involved affordable housing, with developer Pennrose seeking $500,000 each for its rental apartment projects on Meetinghouse Road and Main Street, and the town’s affordable housing trust asking for $750,000, mainly for a proposed affordable homeownership project on Stepping Stones Road.

 Both of the Pennrose projects are seeking comprehensive permits from the zoning board of appeals, but so far only the 48-unit Main Street project, on the former Buckley property, has been approved. The 42-unit Meetinghouse Road project ran into substantial opposition from neighbors, and Pennrose postponed recent hearings in order to revise the project’s plans.

 Pennrose will seek state tax credits for both, but is only likely to apply for the Main Street project in the near term, said CPC member Bruce Beane. A town contribution in the form of CPA funding shows local support and adds to the application’s chance of success, he said.

 “These things aren’t going to get built without state [tax] credits,” he said.

 Chair Gary Toenniessen suggested the amount for Main Street be reduced to $100,000, which is what Pennrose requested from other area towns. The amount should be higher, select board member Jeffrey Dykens argued, saying that it’s important to demonstrate local support. “It sends a message,” he said.

Dykens added that he was “appalled” that Orleans turned down that request, even though Chatham previously voted to provide CPC funding for two Orleans affordable housing projects. The housing crisis is regional, he said, and a regional approach makes sense.

 The two Pennrose projects are the most significant affordable housing developments the town will likely see for some time, Toenniessen said, and agreed that the Main Street project should receive $400,000 in CPC funds. That motion passed unanimously.

 The committee approved $100,001 for the Meetinghouse Road project by a vote of 6-1, with two abstentions. 

 The group unanimously OK’d $750,000 for the affordable housing trust; the town meeting article will specify that the funds are for the Stepping Stones Road project, which seeks to create several affordable single-family homes on a lot adjacent to the Monomoy Regional Middle School.

 The committee also backed $20,000 for the Lower Cape Housing Institute and $100,000 for a planned assistance resource center shelter in Hyannis.

 A proposal to complete restoration of two of the the three antenna towers on the Marconi property was reduced to provide funding for preservation of only one tower. The CPC previously funded restoration of one of the towers, which are contributing structures in the RCA-Marconi Historic District site on Orleans Road; that work is getting underway soon.

 Because of the funding shortfall, committee members agreed to provide $200,000 for work on a single tower, rather than the $455,400 requested for two towers. 

 After debate, the committee also voted to support $25,000 for the Kate Gould Park restoration project. Only very preliminary plans to beautify the downtown park have been developed at this time, said Chatham Chamber of Commerce member Kristin Muller, and the CPC funding will be used for community outreach to refine the plans.

 “There needs to be engagement with folks in town to see what they want,” said chamber member Lauren Arcomano. Dykens also weighed in. “We very desperately need a refresh there,” he said of the park. “We need this money to prime the pump.”

 Other open space/recreation category projects endorsed by the committee include $17,000 for new Chatham beach signs; $100,000 for restoration and revitalization of Frost Fish Creek; $125,000 for an accessible trail at the Chatham Conservation Foundation’s Mill Pond Overlook; and $98,000, split between recreation and historic preservation, for restoration of the Mack Memorial adjacent to the Chatham Coast Guard Station.

 Historic restoration projects supported by the committee include the Marconi tower, $100,000 for restoration of the exterior of the harbormaster building; and $100,399 for restoration of headstones in People’s Cemetery.

 The committee also approved $15,000 for administrative expenses.