Housing coordinator updates trust on regional services, training and local bylaw 4.9

Ashley, the town's housing coordinator in the Planning Department, gave the trust an update on July 13 about the town's Shared Regional Housing Services contract and other work.

She said the regional program (facilitated by Barrett Planning Group) provides three services: biweekly office hours, a training program and a monitoring service. She reported the monitoring subcontract identified changes for 37 homeownership units and that the consultant's current estimated cost for FY27 was reported in the transcript as "$17.87" (the figure in the recording appears truncated and needs verification for the accurate fiscal-year cost).

Ashley proposed taking a National Center for Emergency Housing Management certified occupancy specialist course (four consecutive days) to strengthen local capacity to determine income and assets, calculate rents and provide fair-housing compliance guidance. She and another speaker noted the course fee is $995.

Ashley also reviewed clarifying language the Planning Board is moving to the October special town meeting for local bylaw 4.9; Paul (speaking for the Planning Board discussion) said the revisions rely on existing definitions (Massachusetts General Law and a Cape Cod Commission model bylaw) and add an explicit prohibition on short-term rentals for the affordable units produced by the 25% density bonus: "we added no short term rentals." The trust discussed timing and whether the town could opt into only some regional services; Ashley said she would review the contract and report back.

The trust did not vote on funding for the training at the meeting and will revisit the item when the treasurer is available to review budget implications.