November 2023

Last month, the Healy-Driscoll Administration released a historic proposal to invest $4.1 billion in affordable housing and make significant policy changes to support the production, preservation, and rehabilitation of more than 65,000 homes state-wide. The proposed bill is the largest housing investment in state history, positioning us to make substantial strides at addressing our state’s estimated housing shortfall of 200,000 units. This development coincides with the Cape Cod Commission’s nearly completed Regional Housing Strategy, which forecasts that Cape Cod will need 11,000 to 21,000 housing units by 2035.

The Healy-Driscoll bill, which the Massachusetts legislature will debate, proposes several measures that will be particularly helpful to our region.

• The bill proposes a local option real estate transfer fee that has the potential to generate millions of dollars for towns to support investments in housing production.
• Proposed zoning reforms will allow for the construction of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) by right and the adoption of inclusionary zoning by a majority vote at town meetings.
• The bill also provides $275 million for sustainable/green housing initiatives and a homeownership tax credit to spur the development of affordable homeownership units and a new Seasonal Communities Designation.

You can learn more about the Governor’s proposal here.

Over the past year, Governor Healy and our legislature have advanced several new initiatives and investments to give communities more tools and resources to address the affordable housing crisis. Our state leaders are making progress. Now is the time for more aggressive action in each of the eight towns we serve. 

Many of our towns are rising to the challenge. Sadly, others face obstruction and encounter delays. All towns must be bold and act now to meet the urgent needs of the far too many Lower Cape residents facing housing instability.

Rest assured, the CDP will continue to assist our towns in adopting every tool possible and advocate for and promote innovative and collaborative measures necessary to solve our region’s housing crisis. Thanks to your support, we are leading the way to build a diverse, year-round community of people who can afford to live, work, and thrive here.  

Housing Matters

Coming Full Circle – Family Taking Care of Family

After years of renting in Provincetown, Jody Melander was excited to find an opportunity to purchase a home in Truro. She saw it as a place where she and her 90-year-old mother, Jacqueline, could live full-time. Jacqueline lived independently in their family home in Pennsylvania for nearly 60 years and was eager to sell her house and join Jody. They agreed moving in together would make a lot of sense. Although they wanted to be close, they still wanted space to call their own.

Jody learned about the Lower Cape Housing & ADU Resource Center, a collaboration between the CDP and the Homeless Prevention Council (HPC), in the beginning stages of her process to build an ADU. Accessory dwelling units (ADUs) can add much-needed space to support multigenerational living at an affordable price point. In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in multigenerational housing. As of 1980, only 12% of American adults lived in a multigenerational home. 

Read more about the Melanders

Supporting Local Businesses

Growing a Business and Legacy

"We were going into the winter – the slow season – and we needed help. The CDP got us going."

 – Bill Conley, Owner of Pine Tree Nursery & Landscaping and CDP Microloan Client

Traveling throughout the Lower Cape, you probably have seen trucks bearing the name Pine Tree Nursery & Landscaping around town for many years. What you might not know is that the company, based in Chatham, has served Cape Cod for over 50 years and is the oldest landscape company in the Chatham/Harwich area. You also might not know that new owners – Bill and Anastasia Conley – bought the business one year ago in September 2022. The Conleys are deeply committed to continuing the company’s strong legacy of providing quality, expertise, and value at every level.

Cape Cod 5 helped the Conleys with financing to buy the business, but they still needed start-up funding. “We were going into the winter – the slow season – and we needed help,” said Anastasia. The bank recommended they contact the CDP. After talking with Pam Andersen, CDP Business & Credit Program Director, they applied for a microloan. Given Pine Tree’s long history, they said it wasn’t so daunting to put their application together, but they had to move quickly.

Read more about the Conleys

Community Partners Spotlight

Did you know free small business assistance from the Community Development Partnership (CDP) is available in-person during monthly Business & Credit Office Hours at multiple locations across the Lower Cape?

The dynamic duo of Pam Andersen, Director of Business and Credit Programs, and Tricia Murray, CDP Manager of Business and Credit Programs, regularly travel throughout the Lower Cape to community partner locations to provide help to start-ups all the way through to mature businesses. Any businessperson who lives or works in the eight outermost Cape Cod towns is welcome -- and encouraged! -- to sign up for office hours and receive free assistance. 

Read more about CDP Community Partners & Office Hours

Upcoming Workshops & Ongoing Programs

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