Trust hears $40,000 state grant and extends RFQ to update housing production plan

The Portable Housing Trust was told Tuesday that the trust has secured $40,000 in District Local Technical Assistance (DLTA) funding through the Cape Cod Commission to update the town’s Housing Production Plan, and staff extended the request-for-qualifications deadline to this Wednesday to draw more consultant responses.

The planner for the trust said, “We got 40,000 through the DLTA, District Local Technical Assistance grant, which is the state through Cape Cod Commission to update our guests,” and described plans to use the money to update population and housing numbers and to run community outreach. The planner said a kickoff meeting for related master-plan work is scheduled next week.

Why it matters: the updated plan must be approved by both the state and the town by December to remain current and to support state programs and funding. Trust members pressed staff on timing and outreach, saying a six- to nine-month schedule could be tight but is doable if consultants can move quickly.

Staff said they had revised the RFQ deadline after initial low response and had sent the solicitation to at least one additional firm to reach a target of four proposals. Potential consultants mentioned during the discussion included Jared (who worked on prior efforts), Karen Soderborg, LynnSuite Consulting, Barra Consulting and other local firms; the planner also referenced an incoming kickoff with a firm transcribed as “B s c.” The planner said any selected consultant would be asked to prioritize community outreach and to reuse existing data where possible to shorten the timeline.

Members discussed adjacent program items: updating marketing plans for individual developments (a developer is expected to prepare a required affirmative fair-marketing plan), challenges with wastewater capacity for denser projects, and an outstanding environmental-assessment requirement lenders demand before issuing reliance letters. The planner noted that environmental-assessment reports often have limited shelf lives and said the trust could use CPC or affordable-housing trust funds to pay for an update.

The planner said the trust will aim to have a draft update for review well before the December deadline and expected to choose a consultant promptly after the extended RFQ deadline. The master-plan kickoff meeting for related planning work is scheduled next week, and staff said they will return with a consultant recommendation and an outreach plan.