Wellfleet’s Annual Town Meeting is on April 29th!

Sent April 19, 2023

What to Expect at the Annual Town Meeting

Welcome back inside! 
Handouts and materials will be included in the motions booklet. Other informational handouts may be given to voters outside the gymnasium. There will be no PowerPoint presentations at this town meeting. There will be motion booklets for all voters at town meeting. 

2023 Annual Town Meeting

WHEN:  Saturday, April 29, 2023
TIME: 10:00 am  
WHERE: Wellfleet Elementary School, 100 Lawrence Road

2023 Town Meeting Election 

WHEN:  Monday, May 1, 2023
TIME: 12:00 pm to 7:00 PM 
WHERE: Adult Community Center, 715 Old Kings Highway 

Read the ATM Warrant Article Here!

Article No. 4: FY2024 Capital Budget - Maurice's Campground 13a, 13b and 13c &

Article No. 27b: FY24 Community Preservation
 

13a: Water Main Extension 

This is a funding request to bring Eastham town water to the Maurice’s Campground property which includes crossing Route 6.  Extending the water line from Eastham is a critical element in any development plan for Maurice's. We have a limited window of opportunity to extend the water main to the property as Mass DOT will be repaving the highway and once they do, there will be a moratorium on work involving the roadway.  Hookup to this Eastham town water source may also become available to homes and businesses in the immediate area.
 

13b: Housing Development Planning & Development 

The Town has issued a detailed Request for Proposals for master planning services for Maurice's Campground.  Maurice’s Campground is a complex property and the hope is to address our housing needs while knitting the property together with the surrounding neighborhood. The process will include opportunities for the Wellfleet Community to participate and give their input. This funding request is essential to making the planning efforts a reality.
 

13c: Wastewater System Design & Construction 

As the Wellfleet community is aware, the Town needs to develop an engineering plan to address the wastewater needs at Maurice's Campground.  This will also be a critical element in the Town's Targeted Watershed Management Plan.  Requested funds are to begin the process of high level information gathering, including drilling test holes (the “construction” part of this request) necessary to any wastewater management design work. Ultimately, the hope is that a system will be developed that will not only handle new housing at Maurice’s but potentially include local existing neighborhoods and businesses all at a net REDUCTION in nitrogen load from the area.

27b: Community Preservation Article, Allocation of Reserves 

Community Housing’s 10% is divided between $25,000.00 for debt service for Maurice’s Campground. This is a housekeeping article. This will fund a portion of the annual debt service obligations for the purchase of Maurice’s Campground, previously approved by Town Meeting. 

Article No. 17: Housing | Community Preservation Act Specialist 
 

Wellfleet needs a Housing Specialist now because:

1. Wellfleet has the lowest percentage of affordable homes on the Cape and among the Highest Affordability Gaps- the difference between what people make and the cost of owning or renting a home. 

2. Why? Well, in part because Wellfleet is the only town on Cape Cod  without a  Housing Professional and/or a dedicated Town Planner on staff.  Our hard working volunteers just don’t have the knowledge, expertise, time and experience.  They need help.

3. Wellfleet has two over $30 million Housing efforts underway – 95 Lawrence and Maurice’s Campground. We need a professional to take a leadership role in both projects.

4. After many months and the work of dozens of folks, Wellfleet has completed a new Housing Production Plan and an overwhelming finding is that a critical strategy and goal is to hire a Housing Specialist. 

5. Our incredibly over-worked Assistant Town Administrator spends a lot of her time on housing issues.  Hiring a Housing Specialist will free up her time so she can focus on other critical issues for Wellfleet including Planning and Wastewater.

6. Many Cape Towns, and even the County, are looking to add Housing Professionals.  It will take us time to find the right candidate.  If we don’t approve Article 17 now, we will be yet another year behind.

7. $115,000 seems like a lot of money but this includes the benefits.  The actual salary being offered is consistent with what other Cape Towns are offering for the same job.  By combining the Housing Specialist position with the CPA, we can use CPA funds to help offset the cost to taxpayers. 

8. There is additional State and Federal grant money available to support affordable housing.  Our expectation is that a Housing Specialist will be able to bring new dollars to help the effort in Wellfleet.

   Article No. 28: Community Preservation Act  - 95 Lawrence Road 

   
   The main goal of community housing, planned across the street from the Wellfleet Elementary School at 95 Lawrence Road, is to provide 46 units of equitable and affordable housing for a range of household types in Wellfleet’s community.
   
   It is meant to serve families, seniors and individuals who are living on modest incomes. Initial residents from the low Area Median Income (AMI) up to 27 workforce AMI will be chosen by lottery with the intent that preference be given to Wellfleet applicants.
   
   Thereafter, rental units become available to future residents from placement on a waiting list. An upper village, designed with 2- and 3-bedroom townhouses in the mid-century modern architectural style, will have a community building with a laundry and storage areas. Outside amenities include a play area and a community garden. A driveway and walkway will connect to the lower village at the corner of Lawrence and Long Pond Roads. The lower village will offer sixteen 1-bedroom rental units and a laundry. Everything has been planned with environmental sustainability and minimal impact on the surroundings.
   
   Landscaping will be left natural. Solar panels will be installed on the roof tops for a goal of net zero energy consumption. An on-site wastewater treatment system will be shared with the Wellfleet Elementary School and the Wellfleet Police and Fire Departments. POAH will be responsible for the ongoing maintenance of 95 Lawrence Road, with a property manager available on the site. The property will remain affordable in perpetuity. The name of the development is Lawrence Hill.

   Article No. 29 - No. 31: Community Preservation Act
    

   Article 29: Down Payment Assistance Program 

   The Housing Authority and the Local Housing Partnership have successfully helped five income-eligible, first-time homeowners with down payment, closing cost assistance and necessary repairs authorized by the Housing Authority to purchase homes in Wellfleet. This grant will build on this successful program with the goal of increasing the availability of affordable home ownership opportunities to eligible applicants in the Town.

   
   Article 30: Orleans - Affordable Housing 

   This is an opportunity for Wellfleet to collaborate regionally and contribute to the repurposing of the Cape Cod 5 office building in Orleans with the addition of 62 affordable rental units in two new buildings. These include 30% Area Median Income (AMI) affordable units, 60% AMI affordable units, and workforce housing. All are year-round rental units. The complex will offer a playground and a community garden. Wellfleet residents who work in Orleans or have children enrolled in the Nauset School System should be eligible for a local preference in the drawing of the initial lottery for the units. Completion of the complex is anticipated in 2024.

   
   Article 31: Lower Cape Housing Institute 

   The Community Development Partnership (CDP) is offering the Lower Cape Housing Institute for a seventh year. The CDP seeks contributions from the eight participating towns towards the costs of continued education and technical assistance to develop better understanding of community housing needs and to support the town in meeting its housing production goals. Sessions are available at no additional cost to Town officials and other interested parties. CDP expects to continue large audience virtual sessions on particular topics and hold in-person peer group meetings.

   Article No. 41 - No. 48: Zoning Articles 
    

   Article 41: Accessory Dwelling Unit Bylaw Amendment

   The purpose of Article 41 is to make the Bylaw easier to interpret. These small, housekeeping changes were suggested by Interim Building Commissioner Victor Staley. They in no way change the intent or the substance of what was approved by the 2021 Annual Town Meeting.

   
   Article 46: Home Rule Petition - Establish a Real Estate Transfer Fee 

   Wellfleet needs as many funding sources as possible to address our housing crisis. This fee is assessed on the sale of a property 120% over the median home value and excludes transfers between family members or beneficiaries of estates. Only the sale value over 120% of the median would be subject to the fee. This fee creates a modest but consistent source of revenue of approximately $250,000 in a typical year and is sorely needed to start addressing Wellfleet’s housing issues. The median sale price in of a single-family home in Wellfleet was $940,000 in 2022. 

   
   Article 47: Home Rule Petition - Acquisition of Year-Round Housing Occupancy Restrictions

   This article would create a Home Rule Petition to allow the Town of Wellfleet to create a year-round deed restriction program to promote year-round housing occupancy. This would allow the Town to purchase deed restrictions from homeowners and developers to permanently limit the occupancy of a given unit via a year-round housing occupancy restriction for rental or ownership housing. This would be a voluntary program where homeowners could sell a deed restriction to the Town, for a yet to be determined amount, whereby the deed restriction would live with the property in perpetuity and would only allow for the property to be occupied by an owner or renter who lived at the property year-round with no Area Median Income (AMI) restrictions.
   
   Article 48: Home Rule Petition - Expanded Residential Property Exemption to Year-Round Rental Units 

   In the interest of creating and retaining year-round rental housing for residents of Wellfleet this article would allow the Selectboard to petition the General Court to expand the Residential Tax Exemption (RTE) to property owners who rent their property on a year-round basis. In order to qualify, the property would need to be rented on a year-round basis to a resident of Wellfleet who declares the property to be their principal residence for income tax purposes.