Stepping Stones Housing Gets Go-ahead; Goal Is Affordable And Attainable Homeownership

CHATHAM – While expressing concerns about density, the select board has agreed to ask developers for proposals to build affordable and attainable housing on a town-owned parcel on Stepping Stones Road.

 At their Sept. 2 meeting, board members set a minimum of 12 units for the approximately two-acre parcel between the road and the bike trail. Aware that density has become a critical issue with two other affordable housing developments now in the permitting process, some board members wanted to cap the number of units on Stepping Stones Road. However, a majority agreed to leave the maximum figure open to allow developers more flexibility.

 Town meeting voters will eventually have a say over the development, since it is expected to require municipal funding to subsidize the attainable housing.

 Town meeting designated the parcel for housing after the Monomoy Regional School Committee declared the land surplus. Located immediately south of the school’s playing field, the land is one of four parcels where officials are hoping to build affordable and attainable housing to address the region’s housing affordability crisis.

 A draft request for proposals to develop housing on the property was approved by the affordable housing trust fund board in March. The select board left the details of the draft largely intact, and Housing and Sustainability Director Gloria McPherson said the final document will be available to developers within a few weeks.

The Stepping Stones Road project, as well as another on Old Harbor Road, are specifically targeted for home ownership, unlike the Meetinghouse Road and Main Street developments now before the zoning board of appeals, which will consist of affordable rental units.

The draft request for proposals (RFP) for the Stepping Stones land calls for 25 percent of the units to be classified as affordable — available to households earning 80 percent or less of the median area income — with the remaining 75 percent designated as “attainable,” reserved for those making 90 to 200 percent of area median income. All units would be sold to qualified candidates who would be required to be year-round residents. Depending on how the project is financed, the town may be able to reserve some of the units for municipal employees, teachers and creative artist professionals based on the town’s seasonal communities designation under the state Affordable Homes Act.

The draft called for between 12 and 20 dwelling units on the Stepping Stones land, ranging from one to three bedrooms, but the higher density was problematic for some board members.

 “Density is a hot-button issue,” said board member Stuart Smith. “It’s rearing its head in West Chatham and South Chatham.”

 “It’s the one thing that kind of pushes people one way or another,” agreed board member Cory Metters.

 Many factors will influence the number of units a developer can fit on the property, McPherson said, including topography, the shape of the lot and other factors. The land is narrow at either end and flanked by the bike trail on the west and the roadway on the east, and will probably require an access road so as not to have too many driveways directly on Stepping Stones Road. 

 “It really does reduce the number of units that you can physically fit on the site,” she said. Twenty units was probably "unrealistic," she added, with 12 or 13 more likely.

Twenty units on two acres is too dense, Smith said, but board member Shareen Davis urged the board not to hamstring developers with a maximum number of units. 

 “I don’t want to see this group get bogged down with density,” she said, adding that restrictions could limit the design and number of bedrooms. Setting only a minimum will allow a developer more creativity, said Davis, who is also a member of the affordable housing trust board. She also noted that the neighborhood across Stepping Stones Road is mostly modest homes on small lots, so a higher density would not be out of place.

 Smith said he was concerned with “overwhelming” the property, but community housing partnership committee chair and affordable housing trust board member Karolyn McClelland said the massing and scale of buildings will be a better indicator. 

 “The number of units doesn’t necessarily mean the site’s overburdened,” she said. She allowed, however, that “it has to be something that’s palatable to the entire town” and “delivers the best aesthetically pleasing project without overburdening the site.”

 Because of its small size, the project would likely not qualify for affordable housing tax credits, a chief method of financing affordable housing, McPherson said. Funding for the affordable portion of the project could come from the affordable housing trust fund, which currently has just over $3 million on hand. That requires only a vote of the trust board and not town meeting. 

There is also limited state and no federal money for attainable housing, she said. The town also has more than $2 million available from short-term rental tax revenue earmarked for attainable housing that could also be used in the project; that would require town meeting approval, according to McPherson.

 That means that town meeting will have “absolute control” over the project, said Chair Dean Nicastro.

 Two other issues are sewers and the seasonal community designation. 

Currently, sewers are only available to a portion of the property; a pump station would be required to sewer the entire parcel at present. However, sewers could be available to the entire parcel within a few years, and a developer might want to wait until then rather than have a pump station increase overall costs, McPherson said.

The seasonal communities designation could have an impact on the attainable portion of the project, she added. The state is expected to soon issue guidelines for communities, like Chatham, that have been designated as seasonal communities under the Affordable Homes Act. 

 Board members agreed to add language to the RFP regarding the pending seasonal communities designation regulations and the fact that funding is likely to be contingent on a town meeting vote. They also agreed to set a minimum of 12 units for the parcel.

 Smith cast the sole dissenting vote, arguing that the board should not rush to get the RFP out. 

 “I don’t think waiting a few weeks will hold us up,” he said. “I’m worried we could get too far down the road and end up with something we don’t want. We absolutely have to get this right.”

Once proposals from developers are received, Town Manager Jill Goldsmith will name a committee to review the proposals and make a recommendation. As chief procurement officer, the final decision is hers, but she said she will ask the select board to endorse her choice.