Meetings Ahead
Meetings in Truro are often held remotely. Go to Truro-ma.gov and click on the meeting you are interested in for an agenda and details on how to join.
Thursday, March 27
- Ad Hoc Town Seal Committee, 9 a.m., Public Library
- Ad Hoc Walsh Property Advisory Committee, 12:30 p.m., Town Hall and online
- Ad Hoc Building Committee, 4 p.m., online
- Beach Advisory Committee, 4 p.m., online
Friday, March 28
- Finance Committee, 10 a.m., online
Tuesday, April 1
- Board of Health, 4:30 p.m., Town Hall and online
- Truro Center Road & Pamet River Restoration Project Community Meeting, 6 p.m., online
Wednesday, April 2
- Climate Action Committee, 10 a.m., Town Hall
- Housing Authority Public Forum, 5 p.m., Town Hall and online
- Charter Review Committee, 5 p.m., online
Conversation Starter
A Policy Buffet
At the March 25 select board meeting, state Sen. Julian Cyr urged Truro to adopt the state’s new “seasonal community designation” that will appear on the May town meeting warrant.
The designation was part of the Affordable Homes Act that passed last year, and Cyr described it as a critical tool for towns like Truro, where 67 percent of the housing stock is “reserved for seasonal or occasional use,” according to the American Community Survey. If adopted, it would give Truro access to a bundle of housing policies, including the right to create perpetual deed restrictions for year-round occupancy, the ability to develop housing specifically for town staff or artists, and the option to expand the residential property tax exemption to 50 percent of the average home value in Truro.
Without the designation, Cyr said, the town could be ineligible for future state grants aimed at the housing crisis.
Because most of the policies allowed to seasonal communities are optional, Cyr described the program as “a buffet — you can choose what you put on your plate. I expect you’re probably going to need these tools,” he added, “but implementation will be up to the town.”
Cyr was the primary author of the seasonal communities provision in the new law. —Aden Choate
