Housing Trust Funds Approved, But Chatham Development Money Nixed

HARWICH – Affordable housing issues consumed a good portion of the second and final night of the annual town meeting on Tuesday, especially the affordable housing trust article recommended by the community preservation committee seeking $650,000.
The trust has traditionally received $500,000 each year in Community Preservation Act funding, but additional funds were sought this year to expand the rentals assistance program, said trust member Brendan Lowney. 
But questions were raised about how the trust is spending its money, including providing funds for large development projects, such as the $1 million it approved for Pine Oaks Village IV (POV4). Resident Matt Sutphin took issue with the 242 units proposed at the POV4 development in the woods of North Harwich, stating that it will severely impact the neighborhood. Sutphin said he sees the trust as trampling zoning in trying to establish large rental complexes.
The project is taking money out of the town’s pockets that POV doesn't need because it has plenty of investors, and money in town is in short supply, he said. 
North Harwich resident Sherry Stockdale also took aim at the POV4 project, charging that the trust is providing $1 million for a “hostile” 40B that will bring 800 to 1,000 people into the neighborhood where the roadways are dangerous and overloaded with trucks. She said the development is five times larger than any other proposed developments on Cape Cod and that 20 acres will be clear-cut and three-and-half story buildings will be constructed.
Moderator Michael Ford said the article was about funding the affordable housing trust and not a referendum on POV. 
Stockdale responded that it was about the $7 million POV will be seeking from the trust over the five phases of development. She also said the trust has not been a good steward of the town’s money.
Despite a slow start in 2018, the trust has blossomed, Lowney said, assisting with 137 units that are in place or planned. The trust committed $4 million, he said, pointing out that’s just $29,000 per unit. Lowney said the trust will help with 7 percent of the 10 percent of affordable housing the state has set as the goal.
Bob Weiser said the trust has worked tirelessly on complicated issues, adding that trying to please everybody is not an easy task.
North Harwich resident Pamela Kendall said the affordable housing trust has lost the trust of the residents of the town.
Simon Evans said taking the funds away from the trust will be taking money away from the rental assistance program and the people that need it most, just because some do not like a particular development. Lowney said the trust is looking to expand the rental assistance program with 14 applicants on a waiting list. 
Select Board member Jeffrey Handler, who serves as the board’s representative on the trust, said the conversation needed to happen. The board is looking into Safe Harbors provisions with the state providing additional controls over 40B developments when the town can show it is meeting state goals in providing new affordable housing units, he said.  
Richard Houston said voting no on the funding will not stop POV4. None of the money approved by the trust has yet to go to developers, and that developments have to meet certain milestones before money is released. He said if people don’t like what town officials are doing, they should work to have them removed.
In the end, voters approved the trust’s funding 213-75.
The community preservation committee also recommended $100,000 for each of two Pennrose developments planned in Chatham. While neither article received the support of the select board or finance committee, CPC member Mary Maslowski said her committee sees it as a way to support what is a regional problem. 
Ken Dickson cited the $100,000 Harwich provided to the Pennrose project in Orleans under a regional preference program that landed six Harwich residents in that at a cost of $17,000 each. Dickson said the Chatham project would provide affordable housing without impacting the Harwich environment.
“Let them build it and we will come,” said Dickson.
But Select Board member Peter Piekarski said the town does not gain units on the state’s subsidized housing inventory by supporting the Chatham projects. He also pointed out that the Chatham Select Board did not support using its own CPC funds for the developments on a split vote. 
Voters soundly defeated the two articles.
The article seeking $667,500 in Community Preservation Act funding for the preservation of the exterior of the West Harwich Baptist Church was a big winner in Tuesday’s session. Voters approved the funding 255-13.       
Developer John Carey of West Harwich Group, Inc. said there was no way he was going to let that 185-year-old church be torn down. West Harwich resident Duncan Berry said seeing the church come back to life is like a historic village reactivation. 
Patricia Tworek praised the work Carey has done placing 10 apartments, three of them affordable, in the 1871 West Harwich schoolhouse. She said he has earned the trust of the residents of West Harwich and will put the church building back on the tax rolls. 
Carey said that he has communicated with the church in Yarmouth that now has the bell that was in the Baptist Church, and they have agreed to return it.
In other action on Tuesday night, petition articles suffered defeat. Petitions seeking to create a tree preservation bylaw, a tree removal oversight procedure, a leaf blower noise bylaw, a regulation limiting town committee membership to no more than one position, a zoning amendment removing multifamily developments from residential zones, and provisions directing the affordable housing trust to develop a housing for local residents program all failed to gain town meeting support.