WELLFLEET – The Wellfleet Zoning Board of Appeals recently voted to approve an application for 46 units of affordable housing at 95 Lawrence Road.
The Preservation of Affordable Housing has been one of the parties involved in planning the project.
The president and CEO of local housing nonprofit Community Development Partnership Jay Coburn said that the project has been in the works for years and that the land is town-owned.
The project received a petition of support from several Wellfleet business owners and a letter of support from the Cape Cod Commission.
Zoning Board of Appeals Chair Sharon Inger read from the commission’s letter during the board’s September 22 meeting.
“Importantly, the project addresses the urgent and growing need for affordable housing in both the town of Wellfleet and the broader Cape Cod region,” Inger said.
Board member Michael Lynch asked if POAH would be providing services to vulnerable members of the community who may not be comfortable with computers or could be intimidated by the application process.
POAH Vice President of Real Estate Development Cory Fellows said the organization would perform community outreach as the project moves forward.
“We know there’s a lot of pent-up demand but we’ll be very transparent and we’ll make sure we’re communicating about all of that,” Fellows said.
He added that the group intends to keep working with housing nonprofit CDP and other local partners.
Seventy-five percent of the units are intended to go to those earning no more than 60% of the area median income (AMI). There would also be community rental units that would go up to 120% AMI.
The units would count towards Wellfleet’s subsidized housing inventory.
The board was unanimous in supporting the application.
Fellows said the project would apply for state funding and would hopefully know the state’s decision by the spring of 2023.
By Brian Engles, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
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