Affordable housing efforts subject of Feb 1 conference

ORLEANS — The Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board and the Affordable Housing Committee will host a housing conference on Feb. 1.

Trust Fund Chairman Alan McClennen said the goal of the event is to talk about the town’s affordable housing efforts, give updates on projects in the pipeline, explain the roles different town committees and boards play in the process, and discuss what the town is doing to create more housing in Orleans.

Invited boards include the Planning Board, Community Preservation Committee, Finance Committee, Old King's Highway Regional Historic District Committee, Architectural Review Committee, Site Plan Review Committee, Affordable Housing Committee, Affordable Housing Trust Board, the Governor Prence Planning Committee and the Select Board.

McClennen also wants community support.

While a number of people serve on town committees and boards, it reflects a small percentage of the town population. The effort on Feb. 1 is aimed at getting more people involved in the discussion in a bid to expand the conversation, he said.

The need for affordable housing on Cape Cod is greater than ever. With median home prices in Orleans increasing by about $200,000 since pre-pandemic records, it’s not just lower-income workers who are getting squeezed out of a tight housing market. Teachers, firefighters, police and even some town officials are having a hard time finding housing that they can afford.

“If we want services here, if we want restaurants open seven days a week, lawns mowed and trees trimmed, we need to provide housing for those people,” McClennen said. “We see it when we have vacancies in the police and fire departments.”

Orleans has been a leader in creating affordable housing on the Cape. There are more than 300 affordable housing units in town, with 25 more needed to make the state’s 10% affordable housing benchmark. But even 10% isn’t enough, town officials say.

“Things have dramatically changed,” Select Board member Michael Herman said during a joint meeting between the board and the Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board on Tuesday. “We're in crisis. Our goal was 10% but we need to look at today. We might need 20% to 25%. This town has done amazing job, but we're not close to where we need to be.”

More projects are in the pipeline, but they will take years to come to fruition.

A land disposition agreement between the town and Housing Assistance Corporation for a 14-unit affordable housing rental project at 107 Main St., is undergoing counsel review.

HAC is slated to receive $1 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding for the project. Construction could start next fall if it can get other funding sources, obtain a comprehensive permit from the town, and obtain all other required federal, state, regional and local permits.

Pennrose, the company that wants to turn the old Cape Cod Five headquarters into 62 units, 52 of which would be affordable, should know by June if it has been approved for state and federal tax credits for the project.

If the tax credits are approved, and everything else goes well, that project could be ready for construction in a year, McClennen said.

The jury is still out on whether the town wants to turn the former Governor Prence Inn into affordable housing. Town meeting last May agreed to buy the 5.5-acre downtown property at a cost of about $3 million, for purposes undetermined.

In the meantime, the Planning Board is studying how bylaws could be changed to allow for dormitories and congregate dwellings. There was discussion last month about building a dormitory in the industrial park for seasonal workers, but any changes to bylaws would require public hearings and town meeting approval.

Housing advocates are pushing the Barnstable County Board of Regional Commissioners and the Assembly of Delegates to direct some of the county's $40 million in ARPA funds toward affordable housing.

And the Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association, a nonprofit that advocates for affordable housing, is behind two pieces of legislation, H.1377 and S.868, that would permit cities and towns to adopt a local transfer fee on real estate transactions. Municipalities would determine the range of tax, between .5% and 3%, and they would also determine the home sale price point.

In 2018, Orleans voters approved a general override that earmarked 1% of real estate tax bills to go to affordable housing. It generates $275,000 annually.

“Maybe we need to change that number,” McClennen said.

The housing conference will be part of the Affordable Housing Committee’s monthly meeting starting at 4:30 p.m.

Contact Denise Coffey at dcoffey@capecodonline.com. Follow her on Twitter: @DeniseCoffeyCCT.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Affordable housing in Orleans subject of Feb 1 conference