The Harwich Housing Committee is signaling a major shift in strategy, pivoting away from state-mandated affordable housing projects to focus on attainable workforce solutions for municipal employees. During a session marked by fresh urgency, the committee explored aggressive financial tools including $150,000 mortgage buy-downs and rent subsidies designed to lure and retain the town’s teachers, police officers, and firefighters.

The discussion followed a period of inactivity for the board, which Chair Elizabeth noted was due to recent administrative difficulties. After an initial procedural vote to approve past records, Motion Made by Matt to approve the April 22nd, 2025, minutes as presented. Motion Passed (4-0-0). The committee then moved to solidify its leadership for the new fiscal year. Motion Made by Elizabeth to maintain current leadership with Elizabeth as Chair and Art as Vice Chair, with Elizabeth acting as Clerk. Motion Passed (4-0-0).

The meeting’s central focus shifted toward creating a lowercase a affordable housing market—homes that are attainable for middle-income residents but do not necessarily fall under the strict state lottery systems. Guest speaker Lou Orbano urged the committee to reimagine the Affordable Housing Trust as a financial institution rather than a developer. I personally think of the Trust as a bank, Orbano said. Banks are good at collecting money, but I hate to see banks spend money. You target the solution to a particular problem and gather support by going to town workers.

Orbano proposed a model where the town partners with local banks to provide buy-downs of $150,000 to $200,000 for qualifying town employees. These would function as 30-year interest-only or zero-interest loans that the town would recoup when the house is eventually sold. He noted that for every dollar the town invests, banks could potentially leverage seven times that amount in private lending. He also suggested rent assistance to bridge the gap between the $1,200 a worker can afford and the $1,800 market average. It changes the focus from 'we need to build more' to 'we need to help more people,' Orbano added.

Committee members reacted with cautious optimism, noting that Harwich has recently reached the 5% affordable housing milestone but faces a looming 2027 expiration cliff for many current units. Art emphasized the need for a ladder of housing options. If you have affordable housing and there's nothing above it to reach, you stop reaching, he said. You wind up staying in the affordable housing market because there's not another rung on the ladder. If there's another rung, it would help total affordable housing because you'd have people coming out of it.

The committee discussed the potential of using short-term rental (STR) tax revenue to fund these initiatives, similar to models used in Provincetown. Matt raised questions about how Harwich currently allocates its 5% share of the 14.5% total rental tax. Provincetown is getting their money from short-term rentals. What is Harwich doing with their money? he asked, noting he would research the town's current tax levels. Anthony echoed the need for fiscal precision, stating, I wouldn't want to raise funds unless there's a smart idea on how to spend it. If you don't have a smart way to spend it, I wouldn't be able to get behind it.

The committee also looked at legislative tools like the Seasonal Communities Act, which Elizabeth noted provides more flexibility for municipal housing than traditional acts. We can do other things to help young people who would like to get out of mommy's basement or older people who would like to sell their big house but don't want to leave their friends and churches, she said. To advance these goals, members accepted research assignments on accessory dwelling units (ADUs), tiny house experiments on Oak Street, and zoning changes for multi-family units in Harwich Center.

Before concluding, the committee recognized the value of the new proposals brought forward during the session. Motion Made by Elizabeth to send a letter of thanks to Lou Orbano for his presentation. Motion Passed (4-0-0). The board also addressed administrative lapses, with Elizabeth presenting a final version of the committee’s charge that she plans to hand-deliver to Town Hall after it failed to be posted following a Select Board approval a year ago.