TRURO — The view along Shore Road stirs recollections of days gone by when families with modest incomes could spend a week or two in simple cottages on the water. […]
Housing
EDUCATION
Housing Crisis Hits Schools — and Will Get Worse
Enticing new staff to towns where teachers can’t live is ‘a really hard sell’
Faced with significant turnover of teachers, administrators, bus drivers, and support staff, every one of the Outer Cape’s schools is feeling the effects of Cape Cod’s year-round housing shortage. When […]
LEDGERDEMAIN
Short-Term Rental Taxes Boom — but Not in Provincetown
Receipts from state rooms tax actually fell despite strong sales reports
PROVINCETOWN — The Outer Cape had another banner year for rooms tax receipts, with revenue up 42 percent over last year in Eastham, 46 percent in Wellfleet, and 47 percent […]
DUNE SHACKS
As Deadlines Draw Near, Park Service Clams Up
Silence from agency’s director, but Seashore supt. offers falsehoods
PROVINCETOWN — Janet Armstrong is not sure exactly when she has to leave the dune shack where she took her first steps as a toddler in 1952, 71 years ago. […]
HOUSING
Walsh Committee Readies Plan for Fall Town Meeting
A website, surveys, and tables at the dump for gathering last-minute input
TRURO — The 70-acre Walsh property, which has been in the town’s possession since 2019, has been sitting in limbo on the eastern side of Route 6 since it was […]
SUBSTANDARD
Double Rent, Broken Appliances at Lexvest’s Gov. Bradford Properties
Meanwhile, the Prince of Whales in Truro becomes mostly short-term rentals
PROVINCETOWN — When the Governor Bradford restaurant and four adjacent buildings were sold in April 2022 for $6.95 million, it was no secret that the buildings were not in great […]
HOUSING
Provincetown Takes Two Steps Toward Building More Housing
Select board endorses 40 units on Shank Painter and a land purchase on Nelson Ave.
PROVINCETOWN — The select board took two votes on July 24 that put the town on course to create up to 100 new apartments at two locations — one on […]
LOCAL ECONOMY
Fox & Crow Café Gets an Eviction Order
Landlords and tenant spar over unpaid bills and ‘uninhabitable’ staff quarters
WELLFLEET — Trudy Vermehren, the owner of the popular Fox & Crow Café on Main Street, is facing a threat of eviction at the height of the tourist season following […]
HOUSING WORKSHOP
On Provincetown’s Agenda: Short-Term Rentals and Zoning Reform
A ‘working group’ that can engage the public is in the works
PROVINCETOWN — At the four-committee housing workshop held on June 20, the town’s leaders expressed support for moving toward three large-scale policy goals: new regulations on short-term rentals, new rules […]
HABITATS
After 9 Years, 4 Habitat Houses Reach Final Wellfleet Review
And at Lawrence Hill, completion date is pushed back to 2026
WELLFLEET — Habitat for Humanity of Cape Cod will ask the zoning board of appeals at its July 13 meeting to take the final step in its review of a […]
DEVELOPMENT
Two Inclusionary Bylaw Projects Meet Different Fates
Both are now for sale, but only one received permits from planning board
PROVINCETOWN — A hotly-contested inclusionary housing project at 22 and 22R Nelson Ave. in Provincetown is currently for sale. After securing permits to build 12 townhouse-style condominiums on two adjacent […]
HOUSING AND HEALTH CARE
State Health Officials Get an Earful on Cape’s Needs
Unsurprisingly, housing is the number one issue
PROVINCETOWN — The regional housing crisis is also a health-care crisis. At a June 30 roundtable with top state health officials, social service providers from the Outer, Lower, and Mid-Cape […]
HOUSING
Eastham Board OKs Closer Look at Tiny Houses
Changes in state rules may help towns take up small-scale solutions
EASTHAM — Tiny houses — often defined as dwellings smaller than 400 or 500 square feet — may be coming to Eastham if regulatory departments and the local zoning task […]
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Paine Hollow Project Delayed for Another Year
Wellfleet withdraws RFP for 90 Freeman Ave. house
WELLFLEET — The nearly two-decade-long delay, caused by abutters’ lawsuits, of an affordable housing development at 120 Paine Hollow Road just got longer. Developer Ted Malone received word from Assistant […]
SUPPLY AND DEMAND
Even in a Lull, Prices for Most Short-Term Rentals Rise
Some formerly hot properties are vacant for the first time in years
PROVINCETOWN — When Anna Leister bought a small seasonal cottage on the Wellfleet-Eastham line at the outset of the pandemic, she wasn’t looking to make money. Leister lives in Braintree, […]