Meetings Ahead
Most meetings in Wellfleet are remote only, but some are held in person. Go to www.wellfleet-ma.gov/calendar and click on the meeting you want to watch, then follow the instructions on the agenda.
Thursday, Dec. 15
- Herring River Executive Council, 3 p.m.
- Nauset Public Schools Building Committee, 4 p.m.
- Energy & Climate Action Committee, 7:15 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 19
- Natural Resources Advisory Board, 4 p.m.
- Shellfish Advisory Board, 6 p.m., Adult Community Center
- Dredging Task Force, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 20
- Select Board, 7 p.m., Adult Community Center
Conversation Starter
Housing Plan Findings
The town’s housing consultant, Jenn Goldson of JM Goldson, presented her team’s initial findings on Wellfleet’s housing needs during a housing forum on Dec. 8.
The goal is to develop strategies for the town to reach compliance in the next five years with the state’s Chapter 40B, which requires that at least 10 percent of every community’s year-round housing stock is affordable.
Wellfleet is currently at 2.58 percent with 40 state-recognized units total. No town on the Cape has reached the full 10 percent, said Goldson.
Goldson said 35 percent of the houses sold so far in 2022 cost between $900,000 and $1.2 million. Another 35 percent were between $600,000 and $900,000. “The bottom line is that a household in Wellfleet living here year-round really can’t afford these prices,” Goldson said. “But I don’t think that I need to tell you that.”
Sixty-six percent of Wellfleet homes are estimated to be for seasonal use.
With limited wastewater treatment infrastructure and more than half of the town designated as protected open space, opportunities for development are limited, Goldson said. “With all of these pressures on your housing stock, you can see how you’re in this housing crisis,” she said.
But Goldson noted the progress the town has already made with the 95 Lawrence Road project as well as the purchase of Maurice’s Campground. Both projects are going to create year-round and so-called workforce housing.
Goldson also found that Wellfleet’s population grew only slightly older in the decade from 2010 to 2020 — from 33 percent of residents aged 65 and over to 34 percent. But “the projections are indicating that this population will grow quite a bit by 2030,” Goldson said.
The housing needs assessment survey conducted by the production plan committee received a total of 658 responses, which is just under 20 percent of the population of Wellfleet. “I’ve never worked on a project with that much engagement on a survey,” Goldson said. —Sam Pollak
