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Oak Bluffs moves to pursue 2026 Housing Choice designation, citing roughly $650,000 in potential grants
Summary
The Select Board agreed Feb. 17 to pursue a 2026 Housing Choice Initiative designation with Island Housing Trust and town committees; Town Administrator Deborah Potter said the designation could open an estimated $650,000 in grant resources for local housing projects.
The Oak Bluffs Select Board voted Feb. 17 to pursue a 2026 Housing Choice Initiative designation that town staff and housing partners say could open new streams of statewide grant funding.
Town Administrator Deborah Potter told the board the designation application has a tight turnaround and that staff are working with Island Housing Trust and the Affordable Housing Committee (administrator Dr. Eli) to assemble the submission. Potter estimated the designation could make about $650,000 in additional grant funding available to the town.
The board discussed past examples in which Housing Choice funds aided local projects, and members agreed the designation is an important step to expand the town’s access to housing grants. Potter said the submission is an administrative designation based on existing best practices and does not require a new town application vote beyond the board’s concurrence to proceed.
Housing advocates and town staff have used prior Housing Choice grants to support planning and conversion projects; the board noted that the town’s previous Noyes building conversion benefited from Housing Choice planning funds. Select Person Mark Leonard described the designation as "an important step" toward ensuring funding options for small‑scale housing initiatives.
Next steps: town staff and partnering organizations will finalize materials for the Housing Choice submission and circulate the draft letter and application materials to the board for review before filing.
