CCB MEDIA PHOTO
Provincetown Town Hall
PROVINCECETOWN – Provincetown officials are looking to tackle the affordable housing crisis in their town and across the Cape Cod and Islands region at next month’s upcoming Annual Town Meeting on Monday, April 4.
According to Town Manager Alex Morse, ten articles will address the issue, including the redistribution of the Room Excise Tax to provide more funds for affordable housing.
“This recognizes that short term rentals have an impact on housing and that the funds received should be reinvested to mitigate that impact on housing inventory and availability,” said Morse in a statement.
The change would set aside 30 percent of all room occupancy funds—including traditional lodging and short-term rentals—for the select board to split towards the Affordable Housing Trust Fund and Year-Round Market Rate Rental Housing Trust based on annual reviews of funding priorities.
The town estimates that including other investments into housing from the general fund and the sewer fund, approximately $2.2 million would go towards the town’s housing efforts.
Other articles include the purchase of 288A Bradford Street for both open space and affordable housing development.
The agreed upon purchase price is $1,475,000 with an additional $100,000 to handle diligence costs as well as the relocation of two existing tenants and site preparation.
Under inclusionary zoning, up to 45 units could be built on the property.
Voters will also consider an article increasing the building height for housing developments to four stories in the General Commercial Zone, as well as allow the Planning Board to waive certain dimensional regulations.
The full meeting warrant can be found here. Provincetown’s Annual Town Meeting resource page can be found here.
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