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Falmouth Select Board endorses two LIP affordable-housing applications, including 36-unit Sandwich Road project
Summary
The Select Board voted to endorse Local Initiative Program (LIP) applications for 464 Main Street (15 units) and 809 Sandwich Road (36 units) after staff presentations and developer Q&A. The 464 Main endorsement was unanimous; the 809 Sandwich endorsement passed 4–0 with one abstention.
The Falmouth Select Board on Dec. 16 endorsed two Local Initiative Program applications intended to add deed‑restricted rental housing in town.
Town staff recommended the board send letters of approval to the state Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities for 464 Main Street and 809 Sandwich Road, both of which include deed‑restricted units intended to be added to the subsidized housing inventory.
At 464 Main Street, planning staff said the project would build 15 rental units with 900 square feet of commercial space and that 4 units are required to be restricted at 80% of area median income (AMI). The developer has agreed to deed‑restrict an additional 11 units at 120% AMI after the Falmouth Affordable Housing Fund approved $1,875,000 in funding to help the project move forward. Housing Coordinator Kimberly Fish said the monitoring agent will be an outside third party (Maureen Hagen) rather than the town. The board voted unanimously to endorse the LIP application and sign the state paperwork.
On Sandwich Road, Northland Residential president Jack Dolley presented a plan for 36 rental units on roughly 4.65 acres formerly used for horse boarding. The project would include 13 affordable deed‑restricted units (nine at 80% AMI, two at 100% AMI, one at 110% and one at 120% AMI as negotiated) and a mix of 2‑ and 3‑bedroom units, with proposed on‑site advanced septic and single‑car garages. Dolley said he had discussed the plan with the town’s Housing Development Working Group but had not yet done neighborhood outreach; he said he would begin outreach if the board supported filing a project‑eligibility application with the state.
Select Board members asked about screening for abutters, opportunities to lower some AMI levels and whether the project team had met with immediate neighbors. Dolley said the economics limited deeper affordability but pledged to pursue neighborhood engagement during the comprehensive‑permit process. The board voted to endorse the 809 Sandwich Road LIP application 4–0, with one abstention recorded.
Next steps for both projects include filing the required state LIP materials, finalizing monitoring arrangements, and, for Sandwich Road, neighborhood outreach and the comprehensive‑permit process with the Zoning Board of Appeals.
