Most meetings are being held in person, but some are still remote or virtual. Go to eastham-ma.gov/calendar-by-event-type/16 and click on the meeting you are interested in to learn about meeting locations and any remote options that may be offered.
Thursday, Sept. 23
- Council on Aging Board of Directors, 9:30 a.m., virtual
- Cape Cod Commission, 3 p.m., virtual
- Nauset Regional School Committee, 6 p.m., virtual
Monday, Sept. 27
- Visitors’ Tourism and Promotion Services Board, 3:30 p.m., virtual
- Nauset Schools Policy Subcommittee, 4:30 p.m., virtual
- Select Board, 5:30 p.m., Town Hall
Tuesday, Sept. 28
- Conservation Commission, 6 p.m., virtual
Thursday, Sept. 30
- Board of Health, 3 p.m.
Conversation Starters
New Housing Plan
The town released a multi-year housing plan last week, drawing from data collected in 2019 and 2020. The lengthy document provides a by-the-numbers look at how the town’s housing profile has changed over the past two decades, and outlines steps to increase the stock of affordable housing.
Over the past 20 years, housing options in Eastham have become less diverse and more expensive. Ninety-five percent of the housing in Eastham comes in the form of single-family detached homes (nearly twice the state average of 52 percent). From 2000 to 2019 the median home sale price in Eastham rose from $192,300 to $520,000. Over the same period, the town lost 201 rental units, bringing the proportion of rental units down to 9.3 percent of its total housing stock. In 1990, 24.6 percent of all Eastham housing was composed of year-round rentals.
From 2015 to 2020, Eastham’s subsidized housing inventory (SHI) rose from 1.9 percent of the town’s total housing to 4.5 percent, thanks in large part to the Village at Nauset Green’s 65 units and efforts by the Community Development Partnership, which manages eight rental units in town. While still below the state’s 10-percent target, the town currently has about twice as many subsidized units as Truro and Wellfleet (2.3 and 2.5 percent, respectively).
To increase the number of affordable units, the plan discusses the use of multiple town-owned properties. Among the strategies mentioned is moving the council on aging to the T-Time property and converting the property into senior or workforce housing. The plan also discusses developing the 21-acre property on Ballwic Road once intended for the elementary school.
The select board will review the plan at its next meeting on Sept. 27. The report is available in full at eastham-ma.gov. —Cam Blair