Nantucket wins safe‑harbor extension; housing trust ramps up deed‑restriction pilot and projects
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Summary
The Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities certified Nantucket’s housing production plan amendment, extending safe‑harbor through Dec. 10, 2027. The Affordable Housing Trust announced a second‑round RFP for a year‑round deed‑restriction pilot, updates on Tacoma Green and other projects, and recommended town‑meeting articles to expand tools for year‑round housing.
The Select Board heard an update Feb. 4 from deputy housing director Dylan Machampel that the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities has certified the town’s housing production plan amendment, extending Nantucket’s safe‑harbor status through Dec. 10, 2027. The town credited the addition of the Tacoma Green project to that outcome.
Machampel described the Affordable Housing Trust’s year‑round deed‑restriction pilot, a program that offers financial incentives for property owners to place permanent deed restrictions limiting sale or rental to year‑round Nantucket residents. The trust reissued the request for proposals to allow applicants to submit with either an executed deed, an offer, or a purchase‑and‑sale agreement; questions are due Feb. 9 at 2 p.m., applications are due Feb. 18, 2026, and awards are expected to be announced April 1. Staff said evaluation‑committee meetings for round two will be public and that prior applicants who were ineligible under the original deed requirement are encouraged to reapply.
“We’re learning through this process,” Machampel said, adding the town is the first in Massachusetts to launch this pilot and staff are working with state partners to refine the RFP.
On supply, Machampel said the town added 92 units to the subsidized inventory in the fourth quarter of 2025: 28 rental units from Richmond Meadows I and 64 rental units at Tacoma Green, which is under construction. He said Tacoma Green will include 55 units restricted between 30% and 120% area median income and nine market‑rate units, and that the project’s leasing will be handled by the manager identified in the presentation.
Other active efforts include a 32‑unit development on Sparks Avenue (eight units restricted to 80% AMI), a Habitat for Humanity project on Wake Drive (about 73% of funds spent and families moving in), and a bundled procurement for workforce housing on Orange Street, Vesper Lane and Bartlett Avenue that was awarded to Affirmative Investments.
The trust approved program guidelines for a rental preservation program intended to provide subsidies to year‑round renters at affordable rates and noted two town‑meeting articles: a good‑landlord tax exemption for year‑round affordable rentals and an amendment to the trust declaration to raise income limits to 250% AMI and permit formation of a year‑round housing trust.
The board asked several clarifying questions about eligibility in the deed‑restriction pilot and whether applications were for new purchases or existing owners; staff said two of the initial six applications were for new purchases and noted changes to the RFP should broaden eligibility.
The town encouraged residents to sign up for project updates via the housing department and the town website and to review the RFP and related materials posted on the meeting agenda.
What’s next: Applications for the deed‑restriction pilot are due Feb. 18, 2026 (questions due Feb. 9), and awards are expected April 1. The Housing Production Plan outreach continues through spring, with community events and a public survey planned.