Island leaders urge legislature to let seasonal towns levy real-estate transfer fee to fund year‑round housing

The Joint Committee on Housing heard hours of testimony on bills S.966/H.4410 and S.967/H.4411 on the use of a local-option real‑estate transfer fee to raise money for year‑round affordable housing in seasonal communities such as Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.

Supporters told the committee on Beacon Hill that the fee — modeled after the long‑standing Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard land‑bank transfer mechanisms — would create a predictable, local revenue stream to preserve existing year‑round housing, convert short‑term rentals to year‑round use and finance new modest housing targeted to public‑safety workers, health‑care staff and school employees.

The measure matters because housing shortages on the islands, witnesses said, are affecting essential services. "We cannot afford to stand idly by while Martha's Vineyard... grapples with the detrimental and erosive effects of the housing crisis. We cannot wait any longer to ensure the men and women who protect our communities can afford to live where they work," Sheriff Robert Ogden of the Dukes County Sheriff's Office said while urging the committee to…